# Made Redundant but Wife Still Working. Can SW refuse to pay me ?



## An Broc (7 Mar 2009)

Hi

I have recently been made redundant. I have paid PRSI for at least the last 7 years I think.

I am filling out the Jobseekers / Benefit form at the moment . One section I have a question about is the part about your spouse. I am married for the last 18 months and don't know what to do. Should I leave it blank and say that I am single or should I fill it in. I am afraid that my JA will be cut to shreds if they see my wife is earning 50,000. She has her own investments that she pays into (held them prior to getting married) so it's not as if she can support us both realistically. 

I guess what I'm asking is can the social welfare shaft me out of my payments due based on her earnings and if they can should I leave her details off page 1 of the form ?

Really need help on this , thanks


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## Brendan Burgess (7 Mar 2009)

*Re: Advice needed / Question not covered*

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## An Broc (7 Mar 2009)

*Re: Advice needed / Question not covered*

Sorry Brendan , I'm new. Does it look ok now ?


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## gipimann (7 Mar 2009)

If you've been working and have sufficient PRSI contributions, you may qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit which isn't means tested so your wife's income won't be taken into account.

You are still required to declare her income as to do otherwise is committing Social Welfare fraud.   It's likely that when SW check their computer system, they'll know you're married anyway, so declaring you're single would probably not be the wisest thing to do.


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## An Broc (7 Mar 2009)

Thanks Gipimann.

So to clarify , if I have 104 weeks PRSI paid, I can put my wife's details on page one of the form and I won't be means tested and her income will not be a factor ?

Thanks again.

P.s. it's not my intention to commit fraud , I just don't want to get screwed by the system when I have paid my dues for 15 years (with maybe 3 months not doing so in-between)


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## An Broc (7 Mar 2009)

Dumb question - what is the criteria for qualifying for JB , 104 weeks paid PRSI ?


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## eggerb (7 Mar 2009)

An Broc said:


> Dumb question - what is the criteria for qualifying for JB , 104 weeks paid PRSI ?


 

Qualfying criteria - see here.

You will also be able to transfer your tax credits to your wife but only to the extent that your tax credits exceed the tax due on your Jobseekers Benefit as JB is taxable. See here for full details of Taxaation of Jobseekers Benefit.


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## An Broc (8 Mar 2009)

Thanks Eggerb. When it says "260 paid contributions" , does that mean 260 weeks or 260 months (I have always been paid monthly) ? Probably a dumb question.

One other thing , I am living in Swords . The jobseekers site states that the Swords office and North Cumberland St cover the Swords area. Can I go to either, or can I go to Finglas , which is actually closer.

Any help much appreciated

Thanks


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## Swallows (8 Mar 2009)

It's really annoying the amount of people who come on here wanting to defraud the system. An Broc's wife has a salary of €50.000 a year and he is expecting to claim J/A and not let on he is married. Even if you weren't married and just cohabiting you would still have to declare the second income.

Why are you being screwed by the system?


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## gipimann (8 Mar 2009)

260 contributions refer to weekly (so it equates to 5 years contributions).

You can only sign on at the office which covers the address where you live.   You definitely won't be able to sign on in Finglas.

I suggest you contact Swords to see if they deal with new claims, or if they are only a signing centre for existing claims (i.e. persons sign on each month there once their claim is up and running) - if that is the case, you'll have to go to Nth Cumberland St to make your claim.


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## Swallows (8 Mar 2009)

An Broc, I can appreciate that you have bills to pay but so has everyone else and I have sympathy for anyone who loses their job but why do you want what you are not entitled to? everyone else has to adhere to the law.  You can call me what you like I dont mind one bit but the fact is Social Welfare will give you what you are entitled to nothing more nothing less.
If you claim J/A and it is means tested then depending on your circumstances your wife's salary will be taken into account. If you have evidence of other people defrauding the system then report them. This is the only way to improve the system.


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## An Broc (8 Mar 2009)

My understanding is that once I have 104 contributions then I am judged stand alone and not means tested so therefore my wife's earnings should not come into it.

As for evidence, it's all around me. Single parents getting housing and children's allowance and a boyfriend living there full time as well undeclared. Certain people seem to get away with murder where others who go by the rules get slaughtered


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## samanthajane (8 Mar 2009)

dont compare yourself to others An Broc you are certainly not in the same class as them.

I did a bit of searching for you... if you are awarded jobseekers benefit then no your wife's earning wont come into it. But if you have a joint account any savings MIGHT be assessed against you. In their words not mine roughly what they said was.... that what ever is in a joint account is classed as being both of yours, so even if you had 1000 euro in a joint account they would assess you as having 1000 euro and not 500 euro. ( which to me doesn't sound right but thats the rules ) also they MIGHT ( they have alot of mights) want to know what equity you have in the house and also MIGHT want to know about any shares and other savings. 

If they dont award you the jobseekers benefit and say you have to claim jobseekers allowance then going by what your wife earns if i understood all their calculations correctly i dont think you would get the full amount, i dont know what you would get but they means assess everything that you have. I'm not sure if they take into account your outgoings, on all the questions i saw they were only interested in what you had coming in. But i haven't seen the form so i dont really know whats on it, only what i have read on websites.


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## gipimann (8 Mar 2009)

If jobseeker's benefit is awarded, savings aren't means-tested, so the information re joint savings is irrelevant for JB.


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## An Broc (9 Mar 2009)

Thanks Sam , I really appreciate your time and effort , it means a lot.
The fact that I have over 260 / 104 contributions means that they will only look at my details and not my wife's , right ? In theory I should qualify for JB ?

Does it matter if the 260 / 104 contributions are accumulative (over my entire working career) and not consecutive ?


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## alaskaonline (9 Mar 2009)

> As for evidence, it's all around me. Single parents getting housing and children's allowance and a boyfriend living there full time as well undeclared. Certain people seem to get away with murder where others who go by the rules get slaughtered


 
if you mean single parents getting social housing which states that it can only be used for single parents and does not incl. partners - then report them. as a previous poster stated, the system can't be improved if known fraud isn't reported.

just a little side note though: not every single parent who lives in a housing estate and got their house through the council is commiting fraud  there are plenty of housing schemes where single parents are paying their honest contribution like everyone else!


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## Welfarite (10 Mar 2009)

Read the keypost at the top of this thread....it should answer most of your questions.


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## Black Sheep (10 Mar 2009)

Don't forget the application is a one size fits all form - hence the reason for all the questions about your wife.

Many wives are stay-at-home mothers or part-time workers and therefore may be entitled to a dependent allowance, so those questions are relevant to their situation (but not to yours as she is not a dependent)


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