Topic 2 - How The State Can Help Flashcards
how many of those over the age of 65 have no private income and are consequently dependent on basic state pension and other benefits
1.2million
state benefits are payable to anyone who is temporarily or permanently in need of financial help, designed as a safety net for those who…
have unexpectedly lost their main source of income
have a low level of income
are not able to earn an income
6 reasons why people tend to need benefits
redundancy lack of skills lack of experience lack of qualifications ill health/disability retirement
explain contributory benefits
paid to eligible claimants provided that they have paid the required national insurance contributions
define non-contributory benefits
for those who have not paid national insurance contributions or require a top up payment as contributory benefits do not meet income needs
define means testing
for income related benefits, involves a detailed examination of income, many people object to as they think it is too invasive of private lives
outline job seekers allowance (JSA)
for those of working age but not working full time but are available and trying to work
higher rate paid to those aged 25 plus
explain contributions based JSA
if employed for two tax years before claiming, and required amount of NICs paid, only paid for 6 months
explain income based JSA and differences to contributions based
for those unemployed or not paid required NICs
what are the conditions of full time students and JSA
cannot normally claim, with the exception of those who have children and may be able to claim during the summer break
what are the conditions of part time students and JSA
may be able to claim if they fulfil the eligibility requirements and are willing to give up course if they find a full time job
explain statutory sick pay (SSP)
employer has to pay at least SSP if you have been off sick for 4+ days
will be a fixed amount for a maximum of 28 weeks
not for the self employed or those not working
explain employment and support allowance (ESA)
if had SSP for 28 weeks or self employed, if illness/disability prevents you from working
either income or contributions based, depending on amount of NICs paid
how is is ESA paid at first
paid at a standard weekly benefit for the first 13 weeks (lower for those under 25
it is affected by income and savings
it is not paid at all if savings are more than £16000
after 13 weeks of ESA what happens if allocated to the ‘work related activity group’
for those whose illness/disability is not too severe to prevent them from returning to work, even if not the same work
have to attend regular meetings with advisers
failure to attend will result in reduced benefit (sanctioned)
allowed to work up to 16 hours a week and still claim as long as earnings are below the weekly limit
after 13 weeks of ESA what happens if allocated to the ‘support group’
when illness/disability severely limits work
not required at meetings but can talk to an adviser if necessary
can only work up to 16 hours a week but only ‘support permitted work’ which will be supervised by someone from the local council/voluntary organisation
what is used to determine how much illness affects ability to work
a ‘limited capability for work’ questionnaire and ‘work capability assessment’
what is personal independence payments (PIP)
for those aged 16-64 who have a long term illness/disability that means that they are unable to perform basic living activities or have limited mobility
what is attendance allowance
for those over 65
what do both PIP and attendance allowance provide for
to pay for things such as home help, cleaning services, mobility AIDS and taxis to help remain independent
what is the caters allowance for
for those over 16 who spend 35+ hours a week looking after someone who has substantial caring needs
it is taxable and may affect other benefits
what is the housing benefit for
for those on low incomes/unemployed to help with housing costs
conditions for a single person renting a property to still be eligible for the housing benefit
single and under the age of 35 can claim if they live in a beds it or a single room within a shared house/flat
why might the housing benefit not cover a full months rent
if paying unreasonably high rent to a private landlord
if In social housing and assessed to have more than necessary bedrooms
if household income is above a certain level
if have savings above £6000
what affects the amount of housing benefit received
your age
number and ages of children
disabilities within your family
what additional benefits may a person be eligible for
council tax and cold weather payments
what is cold weather payments
an additional £25 a week when temperature falls below 0* for 7 consecutive days
what is income support
for those not working/working less than 16 hours a week due to pregnancy/full time caring/single parent with child under 5 and not eligible for JSA or ESA
it is paid weekly and varies depending on age and circumstances and whether or not they have savings of £6000+
explain the state pension
a non-means-tested contributory benefit paid to everyone of state pension age and who has paid sufficient NICs
what was the qualifying period for maximum payment when reaching state pension age before 6 April 2013
30 years NICs
what is the qualifying period for maximum state pension after 6 April 2013
at least 10 years for any pension and 35 years worth of NICs for maximum
hat is the additional state pension
for those who reach retirement before 6 April 2013 then may be eligible if paid higher NICs
how does the rate of pension paid rise
rises in line with inflation (2.5%) or with average earnings, whichever is highest
the triple lock guarantee is so that pension pay out is ur same in real terms so pensioners can enjoy same benefits as employees
state pension age for men born before 6 December 1953 stays at
65
the state pension age for women has risen to what for women born after 5 April 1959 and before 6 December 1953
60 to 65
men and women will both be retiring at 66 by
October 2020
men and women will both be retiring at 67 by
2026-2028
what is defined as full time
30+ hours a week
16 hours a week for this disabled/over 60/single parents
explain working tax credits and child tax credits
claimed by eligible low paid workers, to provide an additional income to claimants to ensure that they are better off working than unemployed
explain statutory maternity pay
if a woman is employed, they must pay her up to 90% if her average weekly wages for up to 39 weeks for maternity leave
how many people of working age are there that are dependent on state benefits for all or part of their income
nearly 6million
explain statutory paternity pay
employers may pay him up to 90% of his average weekly earnings for only one or two weeks
unless mother decides to return to work early so father can take unused maternity leave : additional paternity leave
explain child benefit
flat rate cash benefit paid to all families or single parents with dependent children
it is means tested
what is the High Income Child Benefit Charge
there is an additional tax charge that any individual earning over £50000 a year will have to pay if thy or their partner receives child benefit
how much is paid as child benefit
2015: first child £20.50 per week, following children £13.55 per week
what did the government Social Fund provide until April 2013
additional grants and interest free loans to help those in ‘exceptional circumstance’
what 3 products are one off available assistance for emergencies
community care grant
crisis loans
budgeting loans
the welfare reform act 2013 abolished the social fund but gave money to local councils to do what
provide their own grants, loans and practical assistance to people who would’ve been eligible for community care grants or crisis loans
budgeting loans have been replaced by a provision in the universal credit which will
allow claimants to get an advanced benefit payment that they can use to cover the costs of occasional ‘big ticket’ items
explain the benefits cap
from April 2013, benefit claimants 16-64 have been subject to a cap on the amount of benefits they can recieve
two adults and two children
one adult and two children
two adults
received a cap of how much?
£500 per week
one adult
received a benefits cap of how much
£350 per week
Department for Work and Pensions estimates the cap will reduce the incomes of 40000 households by how much
how much will this cut from the governments benefit bill
£93 per week
£110million
explain personal independence payments (PIP)
replaced disability living allowance (DLA) from April 2013 for those aged 16-64, less people are eligible
the rate is paid depending on how condition affects the person, not the condition itself
rates range from £20-£140 a week
by 2015, how many people who were claiming DLA will not be getting PIP
how many remaining will be getting a higher benefit
170000
150000
what will the governments annual savings be by 2015 due to PIP
£2billion
why did those entitled to housing benefit see the amount cut if they are renting a council property
if the property was larger than they need
known as spare room subsidy/bedroom tax
what are the rules for how much space a family should have to avoid bedroom tax
one room for each adult or couple
up to two children under the age of 10 must share a room
same sex children aged 10-16 can continue room sharing
DWP suggests that how many households will lose an average of £14 per week
what will the annual savings be as a result
660000 households
£490million
universal credit is replacing which six existing benefits for those living on a low income
income support income related ESA income related JSA housing benefit child tax credit working tax credit
how many people will there be affected by universal credit
how much better off will households be per month
8million
£16
what are the rules/changes to universal credit
it will be means tested
no weekly limit on hours to work but amount will be reduce as income rises
paid monthly, may cause budgeting problems
must remember to pay landlords as housing benefit will not be paid directly
why was the money advice service funded
after financial crisis was decided that many people were financially illiterate, so FSA established MAS by the government and funded by levies on providers
what is the main purpose of the MAS
to provide info and advice to make broad financial decisions and help on financial difficulties
does not make recommendations
what does the citizens advice website offer
advice on dealing with benefits and help to those with unsustainable debts
covers problems such as legal rights, housing, employment, consume issues, discrimination, tax, health care and education
citizens advice trained volunteers and employed advisers are able to..
sit with people and discuss financial and personal problems and guide To a solution and set up debt management plans
what has the money advice trust been operating since 2000
the national debtline, which offers debt management advice and financial information
what does the money advice trust website offer (in partnership with Barclay card)
offers free personalised debt management advice to help deal with debt problems
explain local council debt counselling services
local authorities provide their own local services, such as county councils, district and borough councils and city councils
eg) Birmingham city council
explain the step change debt charity
free service with no government funding, relies on contributions from banks and building societies
offers personal debt advice and debt management services
helps with debt management plans
explain pay plan
free online debt management service
receives donations from lenders with which it arranged debt management plans
what are the conditions for being able to claim contributions JSA
aged 18-retirement not a full time student work less than 16 hrs/week able and available to work demonstrating efforts to find work willing to attend progress meeting every two weeks
what are the differences of non-contributions JSA to contributions JSA
not subject to time limit
eligible if you and partner have savings less than £16000
partner works less than 24 hrs/week
means tested
can be claimed by previously self employed if proof no longer trading
