# unemployment assistance + proceeds of house sale



## Lorraine (8 Jun 2007)

I'm a legally separated mature student surviving on a grant and a college assistantship, unemployed during the summer months.  The family home has  been sold and half of proceeds are in the bank since the last two weeks (hope to purchase new home within the next six months). In requesting unemployment assistance the interviewing SW inspector requested dep. a/c statement and told me I'd be refused assistance because of my 'savings' in that they are in excess of 20,000. He did suggest and I go through the process and then appeal. 

Does anyone know if there is a time frame during which such 'savings' can be disregarded during a house purchase period.  Every 100 euro is vital when considering the excessive cost of property, stamp-duty, solicitors etc.,

I think I read a similar scenario on this site but can't find it. Would appreciate any comments.


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## ClubMan (8 Jun 2007)

Not directly related to your query but if you were not already aware of this then it may be relevant to any future house purchase that you make:

Separatees can be treated as first time buyers


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## Lorraine (8 Jun 2007)

not applicable to my situation as neither spouse is in the family home.  House was sold, proceeds split 50/50 therefore both are now classed as first time buyers when purchasing new homes.


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## ClubMan (8 Jun 2007)

Ah - I see. Just thought I'd err on the side of caution in mentioning it...


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## gipimann (8 Jun 2007)

The assessment of capital for Jobseeker's Allowance is as follows:

Weekly Means

First €20,000 nil
Next €10,000 €1 per €1,000.
Next €10,000 €2 per €1,000.
Excess of €40,000 €4.00 per €1,000.
The single rate of JA is €185.80 so persons with savings over €78,750 or thereabouts won't qualify.

(taken from welfare.ie )

I'm not aware of any exemption period for the savings in your account. If you don't qualify for JA this time, remember to ask for a re-assessment of means when you begin to buy the house and your savings start to reduce (if you're still signing at that stage of course).


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## levelpar (9 Jun 2007)

free mn_fuzkaHi , On the assessment of capital   if the capital was ,say, €41,000 then the means would be €164 weekly . Sorry if this sounds silly but if the money is on deposit ,how can they consider that one has this to live on?


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## levelpar (9 Jun 2007)

free mn_fuzkahi, I dont know what  free mn is but it is a bit weird. Anyone any ideas?


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## Murt10 (9 Jun 2007)

Lorraine said:


> I'm a legally separated mature student surviving on a grant and a college assistantship, unemployed during the summer months.  The family home has  been sold and half of proceeds are in the bank since the last two weeks (hope to purchase new home within the next six months). In requesting unemployment assistance the interviewing SW inspector requested dep. a/c statement and told me I'd be refused assistance because of my 'savings' in that they are in excess of 20,000.




This informaton is not quite correct. It depends how much in excess of E20,000 you have in savings. The first E20,000 is ignored and the formula for working out the means from savings has been posted by another poster. 

It's simpler to look at the attached link to show how much your savings are assessed as means. The table, in units on E1000 refers to how savings are treated for the Saving State Pension (Non-Contributory) but the method of calculating means is the same for both schemes. (Ignore savings over E78,000 as this would give you means in excess of the uemployment rate. Also ignore the Personal Rate on the right hand side as this refers to the OAP rate not the Jobseekers Allowance rate)

http://www.welfare.ie/publications/sw60.html

I don't see why you should be claiming unemployment payments in the first place. Why don't you get a job for the summer. There's plenty of them out there and if you are looking for a mortgage the bank certainly won't give you a loan if your unemployed. 

If you have over E78,000 in the bank why should the State support you, there are plenty of more deserving cases. Many people would argue that you have more than enough to look after your own needs without asking the taxpayer to pay you anything at all just to ensure that your savings remain fully intact.


Murt


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## levelpar (9 Jun 2007)

free mn_fuzkaHi , Please forget my previous. Just checked out welfare.ie and saw the word NEXT  in the example but was missing from the table which caused the confusion.


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## levelpar (9 Jun 2007)

free mn_fuzkaHi , Does any know why "free mn_fuzkahi keeps cropping up everytime I post?


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## Welfarite (11 Jun 2007)

Lorraine, apart from the factual assessment of capital, you might be able to agrue that you are in a transtional period and that the capital is to be used to fund another house purchase within, say, six months. I know that a friend of mine sold a house in Scotland, came here to set iup a business with capital and was able to get JA for a few months while getting organised. He obviously met an understanding SW Inspector who bent the rules a bit. He signed off after three months when he purchased another house and got his business going.

In saying that, the letter of the law is that capital should be taken into account. The reason you are penalised for having savings when getting JA is that the sheme is not insurance based and it would be ridiculous to have people claiming taxpayer's money who never paid social insurance but who also insist on keeping their own savings instead of living off them!


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## ClubMan (11 Jun 2007)

levelpar said:


> free mn_fuzkaHi , Does any know why "free mn_fuzkahi keeps cropping up everytime I post?


_Google _shows that this problem (insertion of "free mn_fuzka" into outgoing posts/emails) seems to happen for a few people out there. I wonder if it is symptomatic of a virus/malware infection or something? Have you scanned your _PC _lately? Can you try another browser (e.g. _Firefox _instead of _IE _if applicable)? Can you try another computer altogether to rule out something wrong with your _AAM _account?


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## levelpar (11 Jun 2007)

Thanks Clubman for your reply.   My son had some time ago installed Spybot which I went to for Search and Destroy. If this post does not have the gobble de gook stuff on it , it looks like the problem is solved . fingers crossed


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## Lorraine (11 Jun 2007)

'I don't see why you should be claiming unemployment payments in the first place. Why don't you get a job for the summer. There's plenty of them out there and if you are looking for a mortgage the bank certainly won't give you a loan if your unemployed. 

If you have over E78,000 in the bank why should the State support you, there are plenty of more deserving cases. Many people would argue that you have more than enough to look after your own needs without asking the taxpayer to pay you anything at all just to ensure that your savings remain fully intact'

Actually there are not 'plenty of them out there' (i.e. job for the summer for a mature person) let me assure you that ageism is very alive and well in 21st century Ireland!!!!! I have a load of rejection letters/texts/etc.  

With regards the taxpayer I have worked full time for over 30 years and have never ever looked to claim anything from anyone before.  I am genuinely looking to purchase a new home with a decreasing sum of money and am now wondering to what end did I pay PRSI for all those years!!!!!

Have written to my local TD's and look forward to see what might come from that.  

Thank you all for your replies.


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## Welfarite (14 Jun 2007)

Lorraine said:


> Have written to my local TD's and look forward to see what might come from that.
> 
> Thank you all for your replies.




Have you actually applied for JA and been rejected because of your capital situation? Have you appealed that decision? If not, writing to the TD will achieve nothing ...

My advice is to go that route. And while you might feel peeved at not getting any return for all that PRSI you paid over the years,remember that you paid towards a state pension in the future as well! Best of luck


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## Lorraine (13 Mar 2008)

just to inform anyone in a similiar position - yes when unemployed one can claim 'jobseekers assistance' despite funds in the bank when from the sale of the family home due to marriage breakdown.

I appealed the SW inspectors decision and after an appeal I've received back money for the 4 months I was unemployed for last year.

It is worth perservering if and when you believe a principle is at stake . . . . ..


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