# Redundancy payment; wait 9 weeks to claim JB?



## Kemo_Sabe (16 Apr 2012)

I was made redundant a few weeks back and received a lump sum of 107k, (96k after tax).

I see that I'm not entitled to any JB payments for 9 weeks due to the size of this payment - the question I have is should I register with the Dept of SW now (in order to keep my social insurance record intact) or should I wait until the 9 weeks have elapsed? 

Apologies for the simple nature of this question but I haven't been unemployed before! Thanks in advance.


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## eastbono (16 Apr 2012)

Kemo_Sabe said:


> I was made redundant a few weeks back and received a lump sum of 107k, (96k after tax).
> 
> I see that I'm not entitled to any JB payments for 9 weeks due to the size of this payment - the question I have is should I register with the Dept of SW now (in order to keep my social insurance record intact) or should I wait until the 9 weeks have elapsed?
> 
> Apologies for the simple nature of this question but I haven't been unemployed before! Thanks in advance.



If you are 55 years of age or over then there is no waiting period...redundancy payment is not taken into account. If you are <55 years of age then wait until the 9 weeks is over to make your claim. 9 weeks will not make much difference to further entitlements e.g. state contributory pension.


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## Ann1 (17 Apr 2012)

I think you are suppose to lodge a claim for Jobseekers Benefit the first working day after being made redundant. They will open a claim for you and given all the information provided by you... the deciding officer can then make a decision on how many weeks you will be disqualified for. While the imposition of a disqualification is mandatory the duration of the disqualification is discretionary and may range from one day up to the maximum period of 9 weeks. If you intend to use your redundancy to say pay off your mortgage or clear personal loans or pay bills... the deciding officer may offset these debts against the redundancy amount you received. Also it takes a number of weeks to process a claim so if you leave it for 9 weeks to lodge the claim you could be waiting a long time before you actually receive any payment.


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## truthseeker (17 Apr 2012)

Ann1 said:


> I think you are suppose to lodge a claim for Jobseekers Benefit the first working day after being made redundant.



Yes, this is what you'll find on various websites etc...

However in practice if you go to lodge the claim on Day 1 the staff will tell you to wait out the 9 weeks. Because the length of JSB is determined by the date the claim is lodged and if you wait out your disqualification period you get to claim for longer.

A friend of mine went through it before xmas. He went to make the claim on Nov 1 2011. He was told if he lodged claim on Nov 1, he would be disqualified for 9 weeks, begin collecting money in Jan 2012, and his JSB would expire in November 2012.

If he didnt lodge the claim until Jan 2012, the disqualification would be waived and he would be able to continue collecting JSB until Jan 2013.

He didnt believe this and went to check with citizens info - they confirmed. I dont think its the official line, but its whats happening.


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## wbbs (17 Apr 2012)

What truthseeker says is correct, nice lady in SW told me same thing, I went away and came back after 9 weeks was up and claim lasted the full term.


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## Kemo_Sabe (17 Apr 2012)

truthseeker said:


> Yes, this is what you'll find on various websites etc...
> 
> However in practice if you go to lodge the claim on Day 1 the staff will tell you to wait out the 9 weeks. Because the length of JSB is determined by the date the claim is lodged and if you wait out your disqualification period you get to claim for longer.
> 
> ...


 
thanks truthseeker, very comprehensive. I'll wait out the 9 weeks so.


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## Sunny (17 Apr 2012)

Actually you might be better off not waiting until the 9 weeks are up to apply. The tax advice I was given recently was to apply after 4 weeks even if I won't receive a payment for the 9 week period. It has to do with the PRSI credits and maintaining a complete social insurance record while trying to maximise the length of time that I will get Jobseekers Benefit for.


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## truthseeker (17 Apr 2012)

Sunny said:


> Actually you might be better off not waiting until the 9 weeks are up to apply. The tax advice I was given recently was to apply after 4 weeks even if I won't receive a payment for the 9 week period. It has to do with the PRSI credits and maintaining a complete social insurance record while trying to maximise the length of time that I will get Jobseekers Benefit for.



Sunny, my pal did query this (I told him to because I was concerned about a gap in his credits), but SW still maintained it made more sense to wait. Im sorry I dont have more detail on that aspect of it.


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## Sunny (17 Apr 2012)

truthseeker said:


> Sunny, my pal did query this (I told him to because I was concerned about a gap in his credits), but SW still maintained it made more sense to wait. Im sorry I dont have more detail on that aspect of it.


 
I know. It's very confusing. The problem is that if someone waits 9 weeks before applying for jobseekers benefit, they won't have the 48 PRSI contributions needed to make a 'full year'. If you apply after 4 weeks, you will because apparently the credits count for the day you apply even if you are not entitled to the payment until the 9 weeks exemption period is up. 

That's just the advice I was given by KPMG but no idea if it is correct.


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## Ann1 (17 Apr 2012)

truthseeker said:


> Yes, this is what you'll find on various websites etc...
> 
> However in practice if you go to lodge the claim on Day 1 the staff will tell you to wait out the 9 weeks. Because the length of JSB is determined by the date the claim is lodged and if you wait out your disqualification period you get to claim for longer.
> 
> ...


Hi Truthseeker
That is great that Social Welfare are waiving the disqualifying period if you delay a claim....makes sense too.  I was actually following what transpired when my hubby was made redundant and a rep from Social Welfare came out to his company and explained to staff what they should do. We used part of the payment to clear our mortgage...but that was a few years ago. Pity we were not aware of this info back then....


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