Health Insurance Health insurance - young adult, 23, is it advisable to keep them on policy?

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Mothergoose

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I have a young adult daughter, 23, who went travelling for a year, returned and said she could not get a job - business and finance degree - and seems happy enough to stay on the dole. Says there is no point in getting a job if she could find one as it would only pay minimum wage. She worked all through college so this is a complete turnaround.

I am just taking her off international insurance and they are insisting that the 13 week break does not apply here and she has to go straight on to a domestic policy to keep cover.

I am going to be off for a year at least due to three surgeries, and will be reliant on Illness Benefit - there is a chance that the surgeries may not be successful and then this would be the end of my working life. It's a significant burden paying my daughters health insurance on top of 2750k per year for my own though I'm loathe to let her to the whims of the public system. Would welcome any advice from others who may have faced a similar decision or thoughts on continuing to pay for young adults over 23.
 
Mothergoose said:
Would welcome any advice from others who may have faced a similar decision or thoughts on continuing to pay for young adults over 23.
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I certainly wouldn't pay the health insurance for such a freeloader. She's old enough and qualified enough to stand on her own two feet with regard to private health insurance and probably other stuff. I presume that she's already getting free accommodation and board? Even a minimum wage job would pay c. €27K p.a. or a net of €2K p.m. and offers opportunities for progression. The late Norman Tebbitt's controversial comments come to mind...
 
I am really sorry to hear of your health problems. Normally 23 yr olds are very healthy and can rely solely on the public system for their health needs, normally accident related, like broken bones. If they have underlying health issues than it is a different story as the loss of cover might mean a 5 year wait for cover to be reinstated if they got medical insurance again in the future. I pay for my young adult child because of that. I don’t pay for my other young adult child but they informed me that I was unusual in their cohort as other parents continue to pay for their young adult kids.

But if the household income is going to be illness benefit and the dole, food, rent, heating etc come first.

Kick off plan ILH is €571 for the year for a young adult.
 
Thanks, Clamball and Clubman for your replies. Clubman - she is getting free rent and utilities. I eat in work a lot, so she buys her food on those days. I do feel she is freeloading - she still has enough money to go and socialise and eat out with friends whilst on the dole. I am not sure I believe her when she says she has not been able to get a minimum wage job. She says she has applied to hundreds of jobs but cannot even get one in Tesco or Centra as she has no retail experience.
 
Sorry to hear about your health issues and I hope the surgery is successful.

I think it is time to have a discussion with her on the realities of the household budget and her part to play in it. She is an adult, was adult enough to get her degree, travel etc. Time for her to understand that your circumstances are changing and that she needs to contribute herself. In this economy she should surely be able to find something....maybe not her first choice but she needs to think of her long term career and how any work will give her learning and skills development opportunities. Also worth having the conversation about what you will and will not be able for in your recovery, and what additional assistance you may need. She and other household members will need to pitch in more than they currently are. So it might be about a lot more than the health insurance.


Having said that, she is recently graduated and returned from travelling and she has shown her aptitudes and interest in supporting herself previously. A change in behaviour like this can indicate that she is struggling in some way. Have you spoken to her about that, other than in practical terms about getting a job? I remember that stage, when I graduated things seemed pretty bleak and also returning from travel was a shock to the system. She might just need some time to come to terms with the new reality of adulthood and might change her views on the employment situation.

I assume her unemployment payment is benefit, and therefore based on her prior contributions. This will only last for 9 months, and then she will need to apply for unemployment allowance, which is means tested based on household income and will require her to show she is genuinely seeking work. I am not sure how involved that last part is but is she aware of the practicalities?
 
HI! Misemoi - she actually got Jobseeker's Allowance as three months ago I had not yet returned from working abroad, so she was not considered as a dependant by SW. It seems like it is fairly easy to show that she is seeking work - she just shows them the jobs she has applied for and gives them details of some interviews she has been called for though she has apparently not gotten the jobs. I did not think it would be so difficult to get a job in Tesco, Dunnes, Supervalu etc to tide her over, but I feel she is genuinely not bothered with a job currently.
 
Mothergoose said:
I did not think it would be so difficult to get a job in Tesco, Dunnes, Supervalu etc to tide her over, but I feel she is genuinely not bothered with a job currently.
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Currently, a lot of students are probably in these jobs until the end of the summer. My young adult found one of these a couple of months ago with zero work experience. However, it was more difficult than he expected as he sent at least 200 CVS. At the end, handing out his CV directly was more effective.
I must say that I am not sure that he earns as much as he would on the dole as his hours are very variable. That might be your daughter's opinion too.
 
OK well she must be at least applying anyway as she is required so that is good, she is learning that there are responsibilities to the receiving the allowance.

I would see what other approaches she could take in order to get work and experience related to her field of study/career aspirations. She has probably missed the usual grad programs, Big 4 milkrounds etc but she can consider applying for their next cohorts. Volunteering can maybe help her to get some experience that might make her stand out in those applications, did she find any new interests while travelling etc. She might be able to find paid work in teaching English as well, depending on where you live there are lots of language schools in Ireland, local summer camps might need staff etc. Do you have another trusted adult in your lives that can give her some guidance, motivation etc as I am sure your mind is busy with the times ahead for you.
 
ClubMan said:
Doesn't sound like she's struggling to me...
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I think struggle can look like a lot of things. But agreed, this does sound good that she is getting out there so it would worry me less. But still, something to keep an eye on.
 
If she has any existing conditions I'd keep her on a basic health insurance policy, but if no health issues I'd pull the plug on it. It it were one of mine I'd suggest/help with a 5 year roadmap to improve her outlook. I'd be looking at something like a Masters in Post Primary Education as a mature student and try to bolt in Back To Education Allowance. Horses for courses, and you might be dealing with a lazy mare, but try to summon the mental energy to keep resetting with her and she'll likely make progress.
 
My son is the same age. He finished college last year and is saving to do a masters. However, there is no way we'd have allowed him to sit around on the dole while living here for free. He took a minimum wage job and has money to save for his masters, pay us a few quid weekly for his keep, run a car and have a great social life. So I'm not sure why your daughter thinks a minimum wage job is such a waste of her time. Has she just applied for jobs online, or is she going in to talk to the managers of these shops? Going in with a CV might be more beneficial and she could also be trying cafes/restaurants etc. Having any job on your CV is a better look than nothing when looking for a job in her chosen career.

As for health insurance, let her take it on herself if she wants to. She'd need to set up her own insurance as an adult and she can pay it monthly via direct debit. My sons is about €37 per month for a basic VHI plan to keep his foot in. Then he can increase his cover as he earns more. Even on the dole your daughter should be able to afford to pay that, along with paying you a few quid per week for her keep. Allowing her to freeload won't really incentivise her to get a job.
 
Thanks again for the replies. Clubman - I have come around to your thinking that a little less mollycoddling would be beneficial! Marsha25's comments about her son also helped - my daughter refused to pay for her health insurance from her dole - even half the cost, i.e. 35 per month. I pointed out to her that it is better in terms of references going forward and skills to have a job, even a minimum wage part-time job, that I felt employers would look on this far more favourably than someone who had spent months on the dole when there were plenty of jobs available.

My daughter is a qualified swim teacher, lifeguard and yoga teacher - her swim teaching got her money all through college - but now she doesn't want to do any of these jobs - there's always a reason, too far away - Dublin bus would get her there without too much difficulty - she doesn't want to go back to what she was doing before, it takes ages to build up a practice as a yoga teacher and studios don't pay well etc. When I have mentioned Marsha25's idea of going into shops with her CV, she said that all jobs are applied for through Indeed now. The upshot is that I have decided not to pay for her health insurance due to considering all of the above. This thread has turned into more parenting advice, but I appreciate it. My decision not to pay for the insurance was also influenced by having paid her air fare back from New Zealand when she ran out of money and wanted to return home suddenly, and then having paid out about 500 since her return home for Consultant and medication for acne, and being expected to do so.

In terms of attitude to work, her boyfriend is similar. He supposedly has a job in the Civil Service, but says he rarely has any work to do, so when I have returned home after a weekend or been away for a night and returned home, he is often there, in the middle of the day, lounging around with my daughter, getting takeaways at 10 or 11 in the morning, saying that he is working from home but actually has no work to do. It's mind boggling! He gets short shrift to leave when I arrive home.
 
Mothergoose said:
When I have mentioned Marsha25's idea of going into shops with her CV, she said that all jobs are applied for through Indeed now
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This is the exact answer my son gave me at the start of the summer. However, he got his job giving his CV directly. In all, 5 companies eventually got back to him for interviews, he had physically handed his CV in 2 of them (as he did for perhaps 30 business locally) while he probably applied to about 80/90 jobs through Indeed and others and sent another 70 to 80 CVs. He got an interview in a company he had applied online when he handed his CV directly.
 
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