Families on UC

Sounds like Eugenics.

Not to mention that many disabilities aren’t diagnosed in the first few years. My daughter had a birth injury. We were told it would be a year AT MINIMUM before we found out if she had cerebral palsy. In the end she didn’t but is only just being assessed for ASD at 11 after me banging that drum for 4 years.

Hmm..just after yesterday's elections too.

Is that directed to parents of disabled children?

This was my first thought.

Someone has to pay for it though. If no one works who funds this lifestyle for those thar want to live off UC?

The government are getting an amazing deal paying families with disabled dc what they do on UC to stay home and be carers - imagine the cost if it was professional care. These families are saving the economy. They are doing more for the countries finances than all the taxpayers who resent them.

Please check that you have the carers element on your claim as this is added although carers allowance is deducted as an overlapping benefit you should still be up overall.

Surely the problem is wages not keeping up with living costs. Look at that, not the individuals claiming, many of whom are in work. Rental prices are extortionate and the government should legislate to get them down - that would help in reducing the UC 'bill'.

Off the back off another thread and doing a few searches of the benefits calculator, it seems the sweet spot for a lot of families will be to be renting, have a low/medium earning (typically) husband and an unemployed mother who stays at home. This seems to yield the highest return for UC, no childcare expenses and a happy mum who gets to stay at home and be there for her children

I think this is roughly true. Although the SAHM will begin to get some hassle from the jobcentre when the youngest child reaches 3.

Tbf A lot of people (on benefits or not) do seek to minimise childcare costs in the early years.

When both parents work full time they often find that childcare is equal to one whole wage, effectively meaning that one parent is working for nothing.

You get a lot of threads from people in that situation and they generally comfort themselves with the idea that things will get easier when the kids are at school and that avoiding a career break will benefit their trajectory overall.

Back when mine were little I played about with benefit calculator ls in a similar way and found that my disposable income would be the same whether I worked full or part time. While my benefits entitlement would be higher if I worked full time. This was because tax credits would pay 85% of the considerable childcare costs I would incur. I negotiated a job share, got to spend time with my kids and saved the exchequer some money.
Although who knows- perhaps the effect of my childminders potentially higher income circulating around the economy would have done the nation more good overall. (I'm being facetious of course, In real life people do not make personal decisions based on their effect on the economy.)

You need to provide evidence of what course you are studying to UC, they need to see the funding details etc. It's not like they just take your word for it.

As I see it the issue is low wages people cant
live on and lack of social housing so the state ends up paying massive rents. Total mismanagement over the years. Lack of foresight by various governments

My youngest is 6 and I haven't been asked to find work. But I do study part time whilst they are all in school.

Are there UC BOTS going overtime atm?

Working families are on UC so that the big employers are able to continue with the low wages and pulling in huge profits, lining their pockets in the process.

The mortgaged, struggling middle are there to fund this system. If they complain, they are told its the lazy bustards on UC are at fault.

I'd rather stay home than work. Not because I'm sexist but because my job's boring and my children aren't! DH would probably say the same (that's why I don't stay home full time, because it wouldn't be fair on him.)

If you think someone is better off than you renting and not working then feel free to give your house away and quit your job. If that doesn't feel like it will be a better life then stop complaining.

Are there people who happily live on the system? Yes.
Would it make you happy? No.

Should they not be allowed to be happy because they're happy with a "lesser" life that you wouldn't settle for? No.

UC will loan you money to pay the interest on your mortgage.

But the choice of mortgage and job or no job and renting I'd pick the mortgage 100 percent cent. Most people private rent, have no security, often landlords that don't do repairs/maintenance - it's not a nice way to live.

We get universal credit. My husband works, I don't. We have 3 disabled children, 1 who is severely disabled. We rent. Our landlord hasn't been paying the mortgage so we're being evicted, to a homeless shelter. Yeah real sweet spot.

Why start a TAAT instead of replying to the original thread? You don't even have anything new to say.

I don’t understand this thought process at all. It’s the sexist happy mum who stays home. It’s like something out the 1950s. Fuck me.

I thought you had to look for work once your youngest child was three? And obviously they'll bring that age down once the free childcare age comes down - anyone who didn't see that coming isn't thinking it through.

There probably are some people getting some benefits who don't need/ deserve them but a system that was strict enough to stop that would probably automatically stop some people who do need them getting them. That's the root problem.

My DH works hard as a school site manager, taking responsibility of running a school for 600 primary children, managing 2 caretakers and several cleaning staff. He walks at least 18000 steps per day in his job.

We have 3 children with SEN. The most severely disabled child wasn't diagnosed until I had already given birth to DD3. DH works, I stay at home to care for the DDs. I get carer's allowance and it is deducted in full from our UC, but it gives me National Insurance credits.

We live in council housing under a secure tenancy, for which I'm grateful. We get a significant amount of support from UC.

I provide care well in excess of the norm for 3 children for £81.90 per week. When DD3 turns 19 in 4 years time, our work allowance will go. I will still be caring for DD1 full time. I will not be able to work (she can't be left at home unattended). I lost my career and my nursing registration because my children have SEN.

Do I feel guilty that we receive UC? Not one bit.

I do think that UC should take mortgages into account in the same way they do for rent, it feels like the government is saying you can’t own your house is you’re poor”

I think the government is saying the tax payer won’t buy your house for you, which is ironic given they’ll pay private landlords for rent on a mortgaged property. There is support for mortgages in UC, if you have a mortgage you get a slightly higher allowance instead of rent payment and they will pay interest on your mortgage after a period of time, I think it’s fair enough not covering the capital.

Benefits were intended to be a safety net, for people who lost their job to tide them over til they found something else or for people with disabilities. To have people working out how little they can work, or how they can game the system to get as much as possible for as long as possible is distasteful. I was on benefits (while working) after my marriage broke down, as soon as I could I found another job and stopped claiming - they’re intended as a safety net not a long term financial strategy.