General Chat

My husband is 65 next april but he wants to finish in august this year..As he hasnt got a private pension where would we stand with getting help with paying rent c/tax etc.Any advice would be much appreciated...

well My Oh retired in Dec 1998 instead of Mar 1999 on a retirement offer from his employers that he jumped at. However he couldn't draw his State pension till after his birthday in the March. Fortunately he has a works pension plus his payoff was generous and included paying his outstanding holiday and three months pay in Lieu.

Your best bet would be to get advice from the local Dept of Social Security. he could find that he wont get unemployment as he would be deemed to have made himself unemployed.

what may have happened for one person may not happen in another area due to local interpretation of the rules.

Shirley

Thanks for that shirley thats whati thought so lookslikehewill have to continue till next year ..

many thanks Shirley

Hi Shirley,

I doubt very much if you would get any help with your rent, Council tax, etc. if your husband retires earlier than his 65th, unless it is for medical reasons, which he would need to have substantiated by his GP, or a hospital consultant.
The authorities would take the view that he wasn't entitled to the state pension by retiring early just to suit himself, so to speak.

Brian.

Ye you are right there stan ..he is a superviser with all youger blokes under him who dont want to work for their wages which leaves my (poor tired hubby ) trying to do it all so the company dont loose the contract .he averages 76 hours a week ..he has simply worn him self out ..sorry to moan

thanks shirley

hi Brian ..the trouble is im worried if he continues the way he is going he might not be able to enjoy his retirment .it looks like he will have to carry on just get broader shoulders .

thanks shirley

Shirley ,He,s got to show them who,s in charge been there myself.If you are good natured they will just take advantage.
Hope you can work it out

Stan

Sounds like he's got to start putting his lazy workforce in their place. He's their supervisor if they're not working he needs to start putting them on a warning or going to a higher authority that is able to do that.

Like you said, not worth him running himself into the ground.

he has done the warnings and disaplinarys but the new 37year old manager(sorry 38 he came in with his birthday dadge ) dosnt follow through i think he wants to be one of the lads ..which leaves my man with no where to go .never mind we could still win the lotto hehehehe

Regarding Rent and Council Tax Allowances. You would need to contact your local council housing office (NOT Social Security)even if you living in a privately rented house. All applications are means tested but even if one of you working and pay is poor you could still get such allowances but it all then depends on amount of savings you have - this also applies if neither of you working.

I know of a couple with one working (but low paid) t'other is disabled and gets benefit but their total income is such that they do not pay any council tax - they don't have any savings. If they were renting they would be also entitled to Rent Allowance.

I would suggest you make 'informal' enquiries with your council housing office about any possible assistance if your husband had to give up work. My feeling is that if he gave up work of his own accord and your savings and any income were below the set ceiling limit then you would get Rent and Council Tax Allowances

I would also suggest your husband sees his GP regarding a health check up Blood Pressure, Chol, Heart etc and explain to GP that he is stressed out and working 76 hours a week he might end up being given a sick note and then receive Incapacity Benefit.

I am not conversant with current employment regulations but I thought EU Directive is max of 48 hours per week.

If your husband is a member of a Union he should seek Union advice as soon as possible.

If he is not a member of a Union I would suggest he submits a formal letter of complaint to the company but not via his immediate superior. From wot you say he's not got anything to lose no company pension or lump sum so wot the hell. Could be they might give him the boot for complaining and this would mean he could then take them to an Industrial Tribunal but of course in the meantime he would have nil income He should explain all the problems and make sure he states the number of hours he works each week

If he did quit early there might well be other benefits applicable but of course his OAP Pension will only be paid out when he's 65.

For benefits advice other than Council Tax and Rent Allowance have a neb at http://www.direct.gov.uk

If he does quit your local Citizens Advice Bureau can advise you on benefits they will check to see if you receiving all benefits due and check you paying the right amount of tax

Hope this all makes sense and is of help

Reading between the lines here I get the impression that OH is not being treated too well. Is it a case that he is being pushed to leave early?

The current government introduced legislation which made age discrimination illegal. Unfortunately, many companies are using this to their advantage by asking older workers to perform tasks that their age no longer allows them to do and then getting rid of them on the basis that they have not performed up to scratch.

I was "removed" from my job last year aged 57 after 37 years with the company. I was lucky as it was done on the basis of redundancy which gave me 2 years salary, but they had originally tried to get rid of me on a disciplinary on the basis that I could no longer jump through the hoops as fast as a 25 year old earning half as much.

Fortunately I do have a company pension too, but it is not as much as I would have got If I had been kept on to my normal retirement date.

I do feel for you both, but I would advise that OH hangs on as long as possible, even if things are hard.

Good luck

Council Tax

You may get a reduction if someone living in the house has a disability. Apply to the council for this.

You may be able to claim Council Tax Benefit if you are on a low income with less than £16000 in savings ; or you are on Income Support, Pension Credit, Jobseekers Allowance or other benefits

This info from booklet “Money Advice Trust

Unfortunately I don't qualify for any of these state handouts, and wonder just where I have gone wrong.

I have no longer a job, my wife has not had a job for 30 years either yet has to pay for her prescriptions, there is no job prospect likely in the near future as my previous employer has put over 300 people on the job market, and it is a bit saturated, so to say.

Against all of this I am still expected to pay thousands and thousands of £ in tax each year, for what, I ask?

The fact that I have paid into the system over 37 years seems to count for naught as I have have been so stupid to have managed to save a few bob as well along the way and must apparently use this up first and make myself destitute, before I can claim a penny from the state.

Oh, the joys of a government who can't even make their members accountable for their £100k plus expenses.

For anyone who is deserving and entitled, all I can say is go for it hard and push for every penny.