AIBU to claim UC with a 'high' income

The difference is we have pay into state pension

@TheTwitcher11 yes, still in the family home so pay 1200 a month for mortgage.

I didn't know ToL do this, I usually get free admission as a carer but have paid full price for everyone else. Is it free all the time, or only at certain times? The separate queue is mortifying!

I took my kids to the Tower of London this year. It was great. But we had to queue up separately for the UC tickets and I felt a bit embarrassed. I’m not sure I’ll rush to take advantage of the offer again, even though obviously I was very grateful for it

Good. Hope they had a great time.

We wouldn't have been able to go otherwise. Two years running we have been to the zoo.

This is really sad, isn't it? It's not free admission, it's a reduction and often only on fixed days. The difference in childhood experiences for those at the wealthier and poorer ends is vast. Imagine some DC have never been to a NT property in their lives!

I think all children should get a chance to go to those things. I think the problem is they are priced so high to start with.

Do you mind me asking if you have a mortgage?

I haven't been as depressed in years as reading some of these threads.

I personally think we should have higher taxes all round and more universal benefits so I can see there's a legit grievance from some paying high taxes and getting nothing in return.

But people are pretty much saying they'd prefer to pay all the higher costs associated with poverty than see an "undeserving" parent get more money. Even though the children themselves have done nothing wrong.

It's depressing isn't it.
It isn't the children's fault.

People are really getting angry that kids in poverty might get a trip to the zoo?

There's a lot of schemes available for people via their jobs too.
Or for just being over 60 (usually still working age)

This really fucks me off tbh. The system is mad.

The terrible thing about the near destruction of social housing is that almost all the malign effects were easily predicted at the time and so were presumably deliberate.

Thatcher probably didn't foresee that house prices would go so far beyond wages but that's the only thing you can excuse her for.

I felt the same way as a student in a summer job (in those long ago days when you could claim unemployment in these circumstances) - it was just less hassle.

It's unbelievable these people who look at some calculator and think "this is what I could get if I wasn't working" - like you can just rock up to the job center and collect a cheque.

Not to mention they seem to assume when the kids grow up and the benefits stop they'll be able to walk into another job.

50k before tax between us isn’t great at all in my opinion. I can’t work full time as my daughter has a disability. Other posters on here earn way more than us and for some reason are entitled to UC.

We have one income 45k after tax, no savings no pension. I can't work (although i do try to work self employed but its peanuts) I had to give up even a part time job due to one of my children having additional needs they can't reliably access mainstream school but needs aren't seen as enough for a send school. Wraparound or holiday care that my child could access doesn't exist where I am/couldn't afford private nanny. Even those I've looked and couldn't find anyone suitable.

We have to partially pay back child benefit as we are just over the threshold. We are awaiting to see if we could get any dla.
We aren't entitled to any benefits. It's a struggle and things are tight/no treats but we manage.

What I would love rather than benefits is support to improve the situation. To get into a job that would actually work around my family would be amazing. I would need to overnight springboard myself into a career that paid very well to be able to pay for the necessary childcare. If indeed I could find Sen friendly childcare that existed!

I'd need a unicorn wfh flexible job without the 20 years putting in the hours. I already have a degree but that career has been decimated by AI. To retrain I would have to fund myself which I can't afford and again the necessary childcare.

I don't want anyone to pay for me or my family I want a manageable path that I can follow to improve my own situation. But it feels like barrier after barrier. I have no idea how much ongoing support my child will need as the get older. I'm not likely to ever be in a position to "put in the years" so I likely won't be able to have a career in the traditional sense, i would so love. I have tried minimum wage and its so unfamily friendly (to my family) it just did not work. I won't give up I will keep exploring self employed work but even that takes resources I don't have.

I can't be the only one who would like support offered in a different way to just benefits. Particularly for carers who are the left in the shit when benefits reduce or end despite still very much needing them/ having no other options.

Very rarely now does universal credits come directly to landlords. It goes to tenants who then pay you.

Finally, somebody asks something sensible instead of attacking disabled people and carers

I'm assuming the idea of what has been done is not just about supporting low income households, but boosting disposable income to drive spending and economic growth in mid earners too.

And it's important to note that 40% of people "on benefits" ie UC are working full time. It's tragic in itself that a couple working full time are still considered to be in poverty.

The main problem is mostly housing element and childcare. Rent is extortionate is large cities (and it's increasing everywhere), it is better for the government to pay a NMW worker's full housing cost and 80% of their childcare bill than to pay them to stay at home. They are instilling a work ethic into their own DC, they are contributing to the workforce and ergo the economy. Private rentals need to be capped and more social housing built.
When you look at the Nordic and Scandi models, out of work benefits are one of the most generous. The uptake is a lot less than UK however - there is a very strong societal consensus that you must work - but childcare is universally good and more importantly heavily subsidized by the government. The downside however is the removal of choice - it's apparently not really socially acceptable to chose to be a SAHP for example.
I see on UC groups here that they think it's against human rights to have work commitments when your DC is 3, and "where will I put them when I'm in work?" or "I didn't have children to give them to someone else to raise!". There are very strong cultures of entitlement within certain wc communities, who have been in families on generational unemployment with "bad nerves" and social housing. These DC are not equipped for the realities of the real world and this is where it is much better for these DC to be in childcare from a young age. The government needs to put more money into these children (eg Sure Start, children's centres etc) to try to break the cycle. That isn't happening though, and things will get worse rather than better.

I'm pretty surprised that you don't have any savings on that salary. Or are you not aware that would affect your entitlement? You would have deductions for savings over 6k. 16k and over, you wouldn't be entitled to anything.

You have a mortgage. If you paid rent, you’d get more. Nil points for doing your best.