# means test on lump sum



## dockingtrade (9 Sep 2009)

Capital Weekly means assessed
First €20,000 => Nil
Next €10,000 => €1 per €1,000
Next €10,000 => €2 per €1,000
Balance => €4 per €1,000

Is this a correct calc based on the abpve table . 
If you have €28K and weekly dole = 200: you get 200 - (8*1) = 192?
if you have €38K you get 200: - (1*10) - (2*8)= 174?

Thanks.


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## Black Sheep (9 Sep 2009)

Seems correct to me


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## dockingtrade (9 Sep 2009)

doesnt seem too bad.. Me brother has about 30k and is about to be means tested. 
note: this is 10 weeks before the JS runs out

thanks


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## Rambler (9 Sep 2009)

Why doesn't he just spend some it, new car, holidays, home improvements, so that the lump sum is reduced, thereby increasing the JS Allowance ?


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## Welfarite (10 Sep 2009)

Rambler said:


> Why doesn't he just spend some it, new car, holidays, home improvements, so that the lump sum is reduced, thereby increasing the JS Allowance ?


 

In this case, he will lose a tenner a week. Hardly worth a big splurge on a new car that loses two grand value when driven off the forecourt! Best advice is keep the money for a 'rainy day' of which, when unemployed, they are many!


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## Rambler (10 Sep 2009)

Welfarite, of course you are right in saying the above. I was only putting forward these options as a means of bringing the savings below €20000. If there was a necessity he was planning on spending some money on, in the next 6-12 months, it would surely be worthwhile bringing that spending forward.
On the question of larger savings, over €40000, are there investment options available which mean the savings aren't included in mean-testing?


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## pudds (10 Sep 2009)

Rambler said:


> On the question of larger savings, over €40000, are there investment options available which mean the savings aren't included in mean-testing?



I was in a similar situ once, afaik they use a special formula to calculate the weekly value to you of any investments that you may have.


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## Welfarite (11 Sep 2009)

Rambler said:


> On the question of larger savings, over €40000, are there investment options available which mean the savings aren't included in mean-testing?


 
The only capital assets that can be disregarded are those that are not immediately accessable to you. Say you invested in a fund that would penalise you heavily if you withdrew your money before, say, 5 yeras. Or something like that. Then account would be taken of the fact that you haven't that money to spend on yourself. 
But 'ordinary investments' are assessed.


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## Rambler (12 Sep 2009)

Welfarite said:


> The only capital assets that can be disregarded are those that are not immediately accessable to you. Say you invested in a fund that would penalise you heavily if you withdrew your money before, say, 5 yeras. Or something like that. Then account would be taken of the fact that you haven't that money to spend on yourself.
> But 'ordinary investments' are assessed.


 
Thanks for the reply. So in other words, contributions to a pension scheme or say a 5 year fund that the banks operate at times where theres no access to the funds during the life-time the fund operates over, wouldn't be means-tested


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## Welfarite (14 Sep 2009)

No. There is very little wriggle room. My example was probably not a great one, sorry for putting you astray. Pension funds can be cancelled and withdrawn and are counted for means. It is only in very very exceptional cases, where most of the capital would be lost by early encashment, that SW will allow that you don't have reasonable access to use that money. See below from their website on Capital Assessment:

*"CAPITAL*

This may include:

Savings that have not been invested but are held in cash. A reasonable amount held for current needs can be ignored, but significant savings are assessable as means.
Stocks and shares of every description, which are assessed according to their current market value.
Savings certificates/bonds/national instalment savings, which are assessed according to their current market value.
Money invested in a bank, building society etc., or money on loan.
Where a person has an overdraft (e.g. on a current account) and a deposit account in the same bank, the deposit amount may be reduced by the amount of the overdraft and any credit balance is assessed as capital. Similarly the credit and debit balances in a Credit Union account are offset against one another, and only a net credit figure is assessed. The outstanding balance on a term-loan or mortgage is not offset in this way against savings in the same institution. An overdraft in one bank is not offset against a savings account in a different institution.

Cash out on loan to another is assessable unless there is no reasonable chance of recovery. 

Trust funds, pension funds etc. owned by the claimant."


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