To think being on benefits might be better than working

They get nasty.... like you have already in your previous comment.

Having seen your comments on other threads, you seem to be out to cause offence.

Be better.

This! And a single person over 25 would only receive £393.45 per MONTH. Yes you might get a little more if you have children, and if you rent you might get some of your rent paid but not all if you are deemed to have too many bedrooms (same sex kids are expected to share same bedroom by way of what rooms they will pay you for), if you privately rent they will only pay a certain amount of Local Housing Allowance and that's not usually enough so you have to find the rest yourself. Good luck paying your all bills on that...

Living on benefits is not a happy life; it undermines your confidence and self worth....and reduces your pension for later life.

I have a very happy life, but thanks for the concern.

You did ask the question though.

If everyone you talk to about the reason you can't work criticises you then I have news for you...

The thought of being anything other than a victim.

What expense is a UC claimant going to be responsible for that's over 16k? That's generous IMO.

I am not even going to entertain you with an answer because it is none of your business. Whenever anyone asks me that, it gets very personal and nasty, and I am not going to go there with you.

Probably? If you're able to get to a shop, able to write coherently and able to go out alone then what is stopping you from being able to do any form of job?

I am working and on universal credit. And if I could be in a position to completely come off benefits I really would.
I'm a single mom, my oldest child has ADHD and autism with that (she has called me 38 times in 5 mins while I have been at work), and childcare i am limited to the amount I can work as my children particularly my oldest needs alot from me.
And universal credit are still on my ass about increasing my hours or getting a second job. We have no disposable income, can't afford holidays ect. We're lucky enough my cousin has a lodge in Wales which she takes us to once a year for no charge, we just split the food bill. I dread every school trip away email as I have to save really hard and skip meals to be able to pay for those things. My kids do not miss out as I will go without but sometimes it's bloody hard.
So I would not recommend going solely on benefits, as I work and get benefits top up and I'm still stressed with finances and the fact the universal credit are always on my ass.
We are awaiting DLA for my oldest daughter, when she gets that some of that pressure will be off, as I can still work but claim carers allowance which means universal credit would stop hassling me so much

I am on benefits, and I worked out I am on about £5.40ph (based on 37.5hrs per week). That is way less than the amount you are suggesting.

Your idea wont work as everyone on benefits is on different amounts depending on their circumstances.

I thought they already did that or not far off. Benefits cap is 20k or something, min wage will be getting on for 24k ish come April.

It probably is, but PIP isn’t easy to get and targeting disabled people isn’t going to fix anything. They will end up killing people. Taking away my pip will not get me into work but actually make my conditions worse

You can't do that. national minimum wage is exactly that - the minimum amount of money that it is deemed a person can live on. So paying less isn't an amount that someone can live on.

Benefits should be set as a maximum of 75% of NMW.

I think you’ve missed the boat. 😂

I had a baby at 19, still waiting for my "inevitable" council house 20 years later. I assume it's lost in the post with my free goat, flat screen TV and all the other things I apparently get. Goody. I can't wait for it all to arrive

That's interesting. I work with a lot of clients claiming PIP and haven't heard of this happening ( early review). I wonder if this is part of the government's planning on getting stricter on disability benefits.

Absolutely YABU

As someone long term disabled that has had to rely on benefits I can resoundingly say it is not better. And not just for money reasons.
You gain judgement by others, you gain stressful assessments, you gain times when the money stops completely while they change something which happens every few years.
You lose a job, the people you meet, the self worth, the autonomy, the money, the security of knowing you can look after yourself and your children. It's awful and stressful and I'm so glad that the system is there but my goodness it's a tough system to be in.

Does the 2 child cap not deal with this issue? Post 2017 you cannot just pop a baby out every 2 years as you suggest because you’d be deliberately putting yourself into poverty

The ones on benefits who have plenty of disposable income are usually either a. Earning cash in hand on the side; b. Earning cash through criminal activity; c. dating a drug dealer; d. Not declaring a partner who is contributing to the household, in my experience. Benefits alone without some kind of fraudulent top up are not enough to live a nice life on.

I think it is naive to think there aren't people choosing a lifestyle which leads to a reliance on the benefit system. The truth is if a young woman has a baby at 18 they will inevitably be given a council house and the means to stay home. Have another child every 2 years and the cycle continues. If the alternative is working 40 hours a week in retail just to live in a bedsit I can see why the former looks appealing.

I know of a couple with 7 children. The man in the couple works in a low paid job so a decent percent of their income comes from benefits. The lady in the couple has never worked. It might not be a life of riley on benefits but having 7 children you can't financially support IS a choice and if everyone did the same we would be in huge trouble.

I'll be honest here. My partner works full time, earns around 30k, I work 2 days per week which is 12 hours and earn around 10k, we have 4 kids. We claim universal credit and recieve £600 per month, I'm guessing this is due to me working part time? If I was full time we would lose the universal credit, so what would be the point? I think we have the best of both tbh.

So when I do a 40 hour week with 10 hours commuting , solving problems, making a difference, earning my pay, managing my family around it, I think of people like you who are supported by my taxes, and feel it’s so worthwhile.