AIBU to be angry about the benefits system

Maybe OP did not factor in any savings she has. I would find it hard to believe that a household on £60k+ that indulge in a lot of luxuries don't have savings somewhere.... especially if they have a mortgage. I mean, house repairs and maintenance needs to happen, and can be very costly.

It is always wise to check for yourself. See here.

Child tax credits is a benefit.

Thanks. It was my work coach that told me that I would lose money if I worked (back when I had one). Maybe she was wrong, but I tend to trust people who are there to give advice.

I used to work for CAB and whilst there were many excellent knowledgeable advisors there were also some really crap ones. I left in the end because I complained time and time again about a totally incompetent colleague who repeatedly failed to correctly calculate people's benefit entitlement, some of them terminally ill, and nothing was done. They still work there today.

You’re angry because you didn’t bother to check before…riiight! 🤣 You must live under a rock.

I'm a single parent on less than that and I get zilch 😭 got all excited and did the calculator again... still zilch

So confused. You earn near 4k a month as a family and are entitled to benefits?

I earn near 4k a month and I have checked, i am NOT entitled to benefits. Only child tax credits.

How is this even possible? Did I miss something?

If you have LCWRA on your claim you would also get a work allowance just like those with kids do. It is an extra help to enable people who due to illness or disability may only be able to work part time. UC is actually more generous than ESA in that you can still receive the LCW or LCWRA and work as many hours as you like unlike on ESA where there is a limit to 16 hours.

I think it has very recently switched to 3 months now but you are correct in that if you have earnings you can't claim it anyway.

You honestly wouldn’t get any UC. I didn’t when a single parent and earned £3k a month. Your wages would wipe everything out.

Have to say though UC and PIP saved my skin when I was suddenly diagnosed with epilepsy 2 years ago. It’s uncontrolled so I have seizures left right and centre and between PIP and UC I get just over £2.5k a month and don’t have to worry about seizing at work and can afford to live quite comfortably.

But I had to do all the research myself, there was no ‘oh your brain is fucked here’s what you need to do’ leaflet!

I can't understand how you would be entitled if your earning 4 grand a month as a couple...me and my partner earn half of that and we get a top up from universal credit but not alot, our income including benefits is still less than your income 🤔

You’re right the benefits system is broken, but not because of work shy parents gaming the system, but because the Gov have purposely made it very confusing and hard to apply. Plus if they make and error and give you too much benefit, you’re charged with benefit fraud and have to prove you didn’t know they’d made a mistake.

“I have recently discovered by using a free, independent benefits calculator called entitledto…”

The entitled to calculator isn’t perfect. It even says “know what you could be due”. Very often DWP and HMRC calculate entirely, and sometimes wildly different numbers.

I don't really think that you needed this money OP. Benefits should be for those who need them.

That is really appalling, shocking as my DM would say. Why is he paying nearly £600 pcm towards his carers wages when he has no money for his bills?

And then you get the likes of OP trying to claw back every bit of money she can.

Yes that is what we were told by an independant source too, she really is way behind others her age, especially in mobility, but I understand why ot's hard, as like you say babies need round the clock care anyway.
As for UC that is what I was led to believe too, but I get £8.14 a month transitional protection and that is it.

For a child to qualify for DLA, they have to have significantly greater care/mobility needs than a child of the same age without difficulties. That's why it's hard to get DLA for babies, all babies need pretty much round the clock care. The older the child is, the wider that gap becomes. A child who doesn't qualify at 2 may well qualify at 3, or at 5.

I guess that your move from TCs to UC was triggered by a change in circumstances, which is unlucky. People who are "migrated" to UC will get the same as they did under TCs, under transitional protection rules.

It used to be a lot easier to find out, too, because there was some funding for welfare rights work via the Legal Services Commission.

When the Cameron govt introduced the Welfare Reform Act, they stopped all that funding, so not only was the benefit system a lot more complex, it was harder to get advice on your entitlement.

Before that change, our local CABs would run a benefit check for everyone that came in looking for advice, and they picked up an awful lot of unclaimed benefits. That went when they had to cut staff because the funding was cut.

Define 'normal'. It sounds like a lot of money, but it depends where you live.

No, but i'm an unpaid carer so finding another job to fit in with my responsibilities and my job is really hard, my partner already works 2 jobs, plus ferries us all about, hospital appts, work and everywhere else. It's not as sinple as "improving my financial prospects and security" . One saving grace is we no longer have a mortgage, it's just hard supporting a family, working and being a carer, but thanks for the judgement!

"Do gooders" 🙄

Have you completely forgotten about David Cameron going head to head with the EU precisely because of his determination to cut access to Welfare in the UK for migrants, compared to those available in EU countries?

People who come here with no right of residence are entitled to a very limited level of support, so this idea that people come here because DWP hands them thousands is complete and utter nonsense.

Child maintenance doesn't affect UC, it's disregarded. If you're paying rent, you could well be entitled to some UC, especially if you have childcare costs.

And how much will be included in UC for rent depends on where you live. If you're in London or the SE, the amount will be higher than if you're in the NE or another area where rents are lower.

That means that the threshold at which UC entitlement stops is higher in some areas than others. Where I live, you would definitely be entitled to some help from UC on that income if you were renting.

I’d be angry at the government for allowing people who don’t need benefits to claim them. You say yourself you don’t need the money. Benefits should be there for those in-need.

Immigration has rocketed because people are coming here on visas to fill service jobs that employers can't fill with UK residents, not because of generous Welfare. People with no right of residence aren't entitled to benefit in any case.