Leaving work for a while. Am I meant to sign on?

yuloni

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machiavellianme

Sounds mad. What about all the stay at home parents whose partners work?
Many of them are inelligible for the dole and have no personal income. They still get a state pension as far as I'm aware.

yuloni

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orchidsrpretty

I think you should still be "signing" on just to get the stamps, even if you do not want/need any payments. Allot of state payments are calculated on tax years that are two years previous so you never know what kind of situation you could be in then. And because you won't have enough stamps, you won't qualify for anything.

Afaik you can collect stamps without claiming a payment.

eastbono

If you sign on for credited contributions which sounds like what you have been advised by your friends then you still have to be available and looking for full time work even for a contributions claim.

braddun

I think if you leave your job you cant sign on


I think you have to wait 9 weeks after you apply

DanDublin1982

If you're not intending to look for employment then you don't meet the conditions of job seekers. There will be a gap in your record but assuming you don't have many other gaps its unlikely to have much effect on your pension when the time comes.

yuloni

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DanDublin1982

The conditions are the same whether getting payment or not.

eastbono

You are talking about signing for credited contributions... you cannot do this unless you are available and looking for full time work. The same criteria applies to a credits claim as well as a benefit claim. You would not receive any payment on a credits claim but a credits claim goes toward future benefits so therefore you have to be available and looking for work.

yuloni

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eastbono

It could determine the level of contributory OAP you get in the future.

redbutler1

You would need to have up to date contributions if you want to claim illness benefit/carers benefit/invalidity pension in the next few years. Citizens Information has a section on social insurance that gives information on how important it is.