goverment are encouraging debt

[tali122]

its rather silly that when you apply for social security benefits if you have been careful with your money and saved it ( and not bought the latest ps2, plasma tv or excessive nightclubbing or another pair of overpriced shoes(ladies) or a luigi bumworthy shirt or the unncessary new car on rip -off finance),you can be penalised by having your benefits reduced if you have over a certain amount, yet another person can p*** away his money, buy all those unnecessary goods end up with huge amounts of debt and be entitled to full benefits
so essentially the goverment are not encouraging you to save

[stevie21]

The government must owe me a right fortune then!!

[Oneeyedvic]

Of course they are not encouraging you to save. They have just put interest rates down (yeah I know the Bank of England are 'independent' - believe that if you will) to get people to spend more and save less.

Still, neith Blair nor Brown will be about when the pension crisis really looms.

[twiglet4frog]

benefits are for those who are unable to live on what they have, they only deduct if your savings are over 9k i think. they consider that if u have that much in a bank account then u have sufficient money to live off until u find work again and dont need a handout from the governement

[scorpio61]

Just a thought (and only my personal opinion) but if anyone else finds themselves in that position, put your savings in someone elses name, even the children's. I know there are limits to how much you can have but at the end of the day I see it as "self preservation" and not dishonest. The dole office system doesn't reward honesty, it rewards those that know the system and you may need that money to get yourself back on your feet at a later stage, and one thing is for sure, if you've spent it the "system" won't be helping or rewarding you!!!