transitioning to a working age benefit
young people moving from youth service support to work and income
The young person, their youth coach, and a Work and Income case manager will meet to discuss the appropriate support for the young person before they exit Youth Service.
working-age benefits
Most young people aging out of Youth Service will need to apply for one of two types of working-age benefits. These are:
- Jobseeker Support – a weekly payment that helps people while they are looking for work or can't work right now.
- Sole Parent Support – a weekly payment that helps single parents find part-time work or get ready for future work.
You can determine the type of benefit they may qualify for if you know what their circumstances are leading up to the end of the journey in youth service.
Exit plan
You'll need to do an Exit Youth Service plan with a young person when you are preparing for them to leave Youth Service. In the exit plan you'll cover what the young person is going to do next, whether that be further education, employment, or transferring on to a working-age benefit.
It will also prepare you for any significant changes in circumstances in case the young person isn't able to transition over to Work and Income through this process.
when can a young person transfer to a working age benefit
Young people whose payments have stopped because they've:
- aged out
- completed six months of receiving payments
- chose to continue in Youth Service and have finished the education, training or work-based learning activity or it's 31 March
- changed activity after choosing to continue in Youth Service.
age out of youth service notifications
Four weeks before the young person is due to age out of Youth Service, they will receive a text message or letter to contact their youth coach.
The young person’s youth coach will also receive a notification about their payments stopping. The youth coach will arrange a meeting with the young person to discuss next steps and complete the Exit Youth Service plan.
If the young person needs to transition from Youth Service to Work and Income, they will need to complete:
- the Continue or Stop payments form
- the YP/YPP Information handover form, and
- a Jobseeker profile in MyMSD.
The youth coach will need to talk to the young person about the new benefit obligations they'll have, and support them to fill in the form:
If they are transitioning onto Jobseeker Support and have full or part-time work obligations, they'll be booked into a Kōrero Mahi seminar. Their youth coach will need to let them know that they'll receive a text message and an email letting them know when their seminar is (they can rebook it once in MyMSD).
roles and responsibilities
The young person, their youth coach, and a Work and Income case manager will meet to discuss the appropriate support for the young person before they exit Youth Service.
The youth coach
A youth coach will receive an ART notification to let them know that when a young person’s payments are about to stop. It will prompt them to arrange a meeting with the young person to discuss transitioning from Youth Service to Work and Income.
The Youth Service provider is responsible for:
- making sure the young person's ART profile is tidy, including:
- updating the young person's ART record (check NCEA qualifications, contact details, relationship status, etc)
- update and end their activities
- follow up on incomplete actions (for example, any tasks that haven't been completed)
- meeting with the young person to:
- discuss transitioning onto Jobseeker Support or Sole Parent Support
- check that the Continue or Stop payments application form has been completed
- explain the new benefit obligations for the benefit they were transitioning to the young person, and support them to sign the obligations form
- make sure the young person's Jobseeker profile is complete
- if they are applying for Jobseeker Support, ask them what days/times are best for them to attend a Kōrero Mahi seminar (noting that YSSU will book them into a seminar within the indicated times if available)
- complete the Exit Youth Service plan
- doing the admin, including:
- complete the YP/YPP information handover form
- upload the supporting documents to ART, including the:
- Continue or stop payments application form,
- YP/YPP information handover form
- Jobseeker Support or Sole Parent Support obligations, and
- any other supporting documents in ART as per normal process.
- close all activities in ART
- complete the ART task (Task category: Reviews, Task Type: YP/YPP Transition to a Main Benefit) and send the task to YSSU
- contact the Manager Client Service Delivery or Manager Client Service Operations at the local Work and Income office to arrange a meeting to discuss transferring the young person.
The Youth Service Support Unit
The Youth Service Support Unit (YSSU) will process the tasks in ART and the other MSD system. If the young person is transitioning onto Jobseeker Support they'll book them into a Kōrero Mahi seminar.
The Work and Income Service Centre
When a young person ages out of Youth Service, their Youth Service provider will arrange a meeting, before the young person is due to Youth Service to discuss the young person’s Exit Youth Service plan, the YP/YPP information handover document, and the type of case management service they’ll receive while on a working-age benefit.
young people applying for a working age benefit on their own
Sometimes young people will ignore your messages about preparing for their exit and make contact directly with Work and Income after their payments stop.
Young people who apply for a main benefit through Work and Income will auto-exit from your service, sometimes without notice.
Notifications
Work and Income will notify YSSU about the transfer to a working-age benefit. YSSU will add a note on the young person's ART record to notify you. If there is no note in ART, YSSU may not have been notified yet.
learning module
To learn more, complete the transfer from youth service to work and income e-learning module