College deferral - Am I entitled to social welfare.

techguy

Hi There,

I'm after deferring my year in college with the hope of returning next year.

I have no real job prospects for my year off and am wondering will I be entitled to social welfare for the rest of this year?

I'm living away from home at the moment with no support from their either.

Just wondering about my entitlements?

Thanks.

Reginald P. DuM

Yo Techguy, best thing for you to do is head into your local Social Welfare office, or indeed the Citizens Information centre. I'd be very surprised if you weren't entitled to claim, your unemployed and not a long term unemployed prospect. It's very unlikely you'll get any money this side of Christmas however.

techguy

Reginald P. DuM wrote: »

Yo Techguy, best thing for you to do is head into your local Social Welfare office, or indeed the Citizens Information centre. I'd be very surprised if you weren't entitled to claim, your unemployed and not a long term unemployed prospect. It's very unlikely you'll get any money this side of Christmas however.

I'm going to head in there tomorrow and see what the story is..

I don't see why I should be refused but I know they have tightned up on the requirements.

DOes it matter if I have cash savings? I have a small amount but I need this for next year when I go back to college, if I have to spend that now then I won't be able return to college. I'm not eligible for a grant either because it's a private college so they wash their hands of us!

Reginald P. DuM

I'm not 100% on the savings thing now, they might means test ya and look for bank statements. Just go in tomorrow and see what ya need then get them together for your next visit. Tomorrow you'll need 2 forms of ID, passport, drivers licence, you'll need the letter of deferral from your college, proof of address, eg utility bill. Thats for starters. You could well be entitled to rent relief too, ask them about that. For this you'll need to get your landlord on board. These things take time but if they are happy with your claim you'll get it backdated to the first day of signing, ie tomorrow. So in Jan there could be a nice few bob accumulated. Best of luck.

fl4pj4ck

afair you need to wait up to 3 months before you get a payment if you are a graduate, not sure what if you just stopped

cee_jay

You will need a letter from the college to state you are not a registered student for this academic year, but will be able to claim.
If you do not qualify for Benefit, you will be means tested for Allowance, any savings oveer 20,000 will be assessed as means.