UK Budget for working people

UK Budget for working people

Different countries have different rules, and the UK new budget is not as bad as it is seems. The media creates much panic around new regulations.

What other countries have?

UK

Benefits

• £12bn of welfare savings will be found, with spending focused on the elderly and disabled, the Chancellor said.
• Disability benefit will not be taxed or means tested, while more money is going to women’s refuge centres.
• For those aged 18-21, they must “earn or learn”, Mr Osborne says, and will lose their automatic entitlement to housing benefits.
• From 2017, all working parents of three- and four-year olds must work if they want universal benefit, but also get 30 hours of free childcare each week, up from 15 hours.

Welfare reform

• The cap on benefits will be cut from £26,000 to £23,000 in London and £20,000 in the rest of the UK.
• Those on higher incomes in social housing will have to pay the market rate for their homes. That applies to those earning above £40,000 in London and £30,000 elsewhere in Britain.
• Working-age benefits will be frozen for four years, including tax credits and housing benefit. Maternity payments will be excluded from the freeze.
• Rent payments for social housing will be cut by 1pc per year for each of the next four years.
• Working benefits will be stripped from those who are not disabled and have no children, and will be withdrawn at a faster pace as a claimant’s earnings rise.

Child benefit

• Tax credit and universal credit support to be limited to first two children from April 2017.
• Housing benefit will also be affected by removing family premium for new children from April 2016.
• But multiple births like triplets will be excluded from the limit.

China – The second biggest economy in the world.

The social welfare benefit are subsidies and allowances from the government  provided to those groups living in extremely hard conditions such as poor old people, orphans and disables to ensure their life benefits. The PRC has promulgated the Protection of Old People’s Rights and Interests Law, the Protection of Disables Law and the Assurance of Eating, Dressing, Living, Medical Treatment and  funeral in Rural Areas Working Regulations, to feed and support of old people with no family, qualified disables and orphans in a centralized manner. These policies are carried out via establishment of government funded welfare institutes such as social welfare houses, nursing homes sanatoriums  and children welfare associations, which provided full service to these groups at low costs or free. As for disables, in addition to provision of education, health and recreation facilities at low costs or free, the government encouraged the establishment of various social welfare enterprises to assist the disables in employment by adoption of preferential policies such as tax reduction.

Unemployment benefits in China in general depend on salary and work experience. People have a right to get an unemployment benefits if they worked and made social payments at least for one year, were fired and registered at job centre.

Duration of benefits depends on work experience and social payments:

1-5 years – up to 12 months

5-10 years – up to 18 months

More than 10 years – up to 24 months

Unemployment benefits terminate if person became employed, got in to the army, refuses a job offer, refuses a job training offer, moved abroad or retired.

There are no child benefits in China.

Employees are eligible for most benefits programs on the first day of employment.

USA

No child benefits (exception poor category of people, individual case)

Unemployed Benefits are generally paid by state governments, funded in large part by state and federal payroll taxes levied against employers, to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. This compensation is classified as a type of social welfare benefit.

The standard time-length of unemployment compensation is six months, although extensions are possible during economic downturns. Once this six-month time period elapses and payment ceases, an individual who remains unemployed is left with little means of a social safety net other than through help from charities, family or friends.

In order to receive benefits, a person must have worked for at least one quarter in the previous year and have been laid-off by an employer. Workers who were temporary or were paid under the table are not eligible for unemployment insurance. If a worker quits or is fired they are not eligible for UI benefits. There are five common reasons a claim for unemployment benefits are denied: the worker is unavailable for work, the worker quit his or her job, the worker was fired, refusing suitable work, and unemployment resulting from a labor dispute.

Belarus

The decree №3 aims to “stimulate able-bodied citizens to engage in labor activity and fulfill their constitutional obligation to participate in financing state expenditures.” Adults who have not paid income tax covering at least 183 days of employment per year will be fined. Failure to pay will be punishable by additional fines and ultimately by detention, followed by community service.

According to the decree, certain categories of citizens are exempt, including students, parents caring for three or more children, minors, and people over the retirement age.

Turkey

All employees are obliged to make unemployment insurance contributions, which are calculated as one percent of their earnings. The amount of unemployment benefit is calculated by taking the last four months’ salary into account. The unemployed person receives 50 percent of this amount, but it cannot exceed the minimum wage. Payments are made monthly into a bank account.

Germany

Under the German social insurance system, unemployment premiums account for 3% of workers’ earnings – half paid by the employer. Anyone who has paid those premiums for at least one year over the past 24 months is entitled to unemployment benefit. Those with children can claim two-thirds of their previous salary, while those without children can claim 60%. The duration of benefit payments varies according to how long you have paid into the system and your age. Those under 50 can claim for one year, those aged 50-54 can claim for 15 months, those 55 or older for 18 months and two years for those over 58, as long as they have paid in for at least 48 months. Thereafter, if a person remains unemployed and wishes to continue claiming benefits, they receive a flat-rate unemployment benefit.

But payments are automatically reduced by 30% for three months if a recipient refuses to accept suitable work offered, or makes no effort to find work, and by a further 30% if they repeat the same behaviour. A person can earn an extra €165 a month, working less than 15 hours, without it affecting their benefit.

Russia

Unemployment benefits are fairly meagre in Russia, being offered for a maximum of 12 months and providing payment about £60 a month. The exact amount a person receives depends on their previous work experience and the reason they are out of work.

This is seen as the absolute minimum required to fulfil basic food and medical needs. To have a job is to benefit people more than to claim benefits.