Page 10 | Is receiving £30k pa on benefits “living in poverty”?!

ChumpWizard · 2026-03-21T19:40:36+00:00

Amol Rajan BBC R4 Today was in Colchester this week. Great interviews but one thing had me wondering. Is receiving c£30,000 pa on benefits “living in poverty”? That’s the equivalent of a FT job earning c£40-£42k Pa.

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 21:44

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 21:28

Maybe after having kids one, two and three with SEN, you don’t go on to have kids four, five and six. Just why?? Kids with SEN don’t suddenly develop special needs - there are signs pretty early on in their development.

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If all 6 kids are SN then chances are the parents are too.
You can't stop anyone having children. That is a massive slippery slope sliding down into eugenics territory.

Rhubarb24 · 21/03/2026 21:44

LakieLady · 21/03/2026 19:56

If you've got 3 kids and your rent is £2k a month, things are going to be bloody tight.

If you're getting £30k benefits, I doubt you'll be forking out £2k rent. Surely some of that figure would include rent?

Viviennemary · 21/03/2026 21:44

If its come to the point when folk are better off on benefits than workers. Its a mad situation if this is the case. The system is screwed.

PoppinjayPolly · 21/03/2026 21:43

ComtesseDeSpair · 21/03/2026 19:57

It probably feels like it if they live in a HCOL area and have several children, which is the case for most families receiving the highest level of benefits. The vast majority of it will be their housing allowance for rent, once that’s paid the remainder is likely to involve a lot of penny counting.

So are you saying people who don’t work, who’s only income is benefits, but choose to live in expensive areas, are being hard done to for having to spend the extra benefits they receive on the expensive rent they choose?

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 21:41

Pickledonion1999 · 21/03/2026 21:35

Maybe it should be made compulsory to have income protection insurance when you take out a mortgage so that if you lose your job or become ill then your mortgage still gets paid. Possibly expensive but necessary. My ds is about to buy his first home and this is what he will be doing.

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That seems like a sensible thing to do.

Pickledonion1999 · 21/03/2026 21:41

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 21:40

Wasn't Labour floating the idea that LCWRA/LCW be denied to anyone under 25?

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I don't think that lasted long thankfully. I don't see how they could with so many SEND young people.

Aeroyum · 21/03/2026 21:41

Theunamedcat · 21/03/2026 21:37

It's got nothing to do with diagnosis and everything to do with dla but it needs to be middle and high rate DLA low isnt enough to qualify for anything extra

I would rather a child who didnt need DLA than the money quite frankly he is 13 and still holds my arm to cross the road I certainly cant cross it alone holds my hand constantly yet he is the same size as me you think I want this "benefit?"

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Im sorry for your situation and I’m not criticising you but I do think it is irresponsible to have six SN kids.

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 21:40

Pickledonion1999 · 21/03/2026 21:14

How will they have less money? If the young person is disabled and unable to work they will get UC + LCWRA ( although LCWRA for new claimants is reducing from April ) + PIP themselves which will likely work out to way more than the parent got for them on UC. It's just a matter of working out what that young person pays their parents towards their keep and care. As a household they are not going to be worse off. The parents would only be significantly worse off if the young person moved into residential care for example.

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Wasn't Labour floating the idea that LCWRA/LCW be denied to anyone under 25?

Pickledonion1999 · 21/03/2026 21:39

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 21:37

You don't get a work allowance if you are a single person with no kids or health conditions.

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Yes I'm aware of that and understand that for a single able bodied person who has the misfortune to lose their job UC really is ridiculously low but so many do get the work allowance and personally I think they are pretty generous.

Theunamedcat · 21/03/2026 21:37

Aeroyum · 21/03/2026 21:32

I agree with this. It’s bonkers apart from the fact that they get extra benefit for each SN kid. Some folk know how to play the system which is why SN diagnosis are so sought after.

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It's got nothing to do with diagnosis and everything to do with dla but it needs to be middle and high rate DLA low isnt enough to qualify for anything extra

I would rather a child who didnt need DLA than the money quite frankly he is 13 and still holds my arm to cross the road I certainly cant cross it alone holds my hand constantly yet he is the same size as me you think I want this "benefit?"

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 21:37

Pickledonion1999 · 21/03/2026 21:16

The work allowances and taper rates seem very generous to me but then people have to be incentivized to work apparently.

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You don't get a work allowance if you are a single person with no kids or health conditions.

XDownwiththissortofthingX · 21/03/2026 21:35

Ablondiebutagoody · 21/03/2026 20:18

It's fucking scandalous. Welfare spending is totally out of control. Needs to be slashed.

No it isn't.

Pickledonion1999 · 21/03/2026 21:35

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 21:33

They sell, then rent privately (again, paying off someone else's mortgage), then whittle the money down to the point they claim benefits again. What is the point of that?

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Maybe it should be made compulsory to have income protection insurance when you take out a mortgage so that if you lose your job or become ill then your mortgage still gets paid. Possibly expensive but necessary. My ds is about to buy his first home and this is what he will be doing.

Tipsowner · 21/03/2026 21:35

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 21:25

You don’t think public sector workers also pay tax and fund theirs and others lives?!

The public sector allocates and spends money earned by business and paid in tax. It doesn't make money to be spent, which is really rather crucial.

twentyeightfishinthepond · 21/03/2026 21:34

Classic spiteful thread.

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 21:33

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 21:10

And what if there was a ton of equity in the property which they could release by selling?

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They sell, then rent privately (again, paying off someone else's mortgage), then whittle the money down to the point they claim benefits again. What is the point of that?

Fundays12 · 21/03/2026 21:32

I wouldnt describe it as being in poverty. Its a good salary but does depend on thing's like how many kids you have and how much rent you pay.

For total disclosure I have 2 children in DLA ( I have 3 kids in total). One of my kids is disabled (think in specialist provision school placement etc so high needs) and my other child has significant health issues. In the last 3 weeks alone he has been in hospital, had multiple medical appointments, is on multiple medications and one of his medical conditions has him screaming in agony for hours at a time. I am incredibly thankful for the financial help.

However I would love to go back to my well paid old career but cant ( had i been able to stay in it I would be on about £80k a year by now minimum). My dh is in a decent paid managerial role so we manage fine. However life is exhausting and I feel like a prisoner at times in my home because when dc2 is seriously unwell I cant go anywhere let alone pick up bank work.

Aeroyum · 21/03/2026 21:32

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 21:28

Maybe after having kids one, two and three with SEN, you don’t go on to have kids four, five and six. Just why?? Kids with SEN don’t suddenly develop special needs - there are signs pretty early on in their development.

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I agree with this. It’s bonkers apart from the fact that they get extra benefit for each SN kid. Some folk know how to play the system which is why SN diagnosis are so sought after.

Tipsowner · 21/03/2026 21:32

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 21:21

It isn’t only families who receive benefits?

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Well you are not getting benefits if you are working 40 hours at NMW in the SE as a single man sharing accommodation. Your rent is still £1000 per month.

PiMCA · 21/03/2026 21:31

OonaStubbs · 21/03/2026 20:53

Make sterilisation a condition of receiving benefits.

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There are currently about 24 million people in the UK in receipt of benefits. Add them to all the people who claimed previously and we'd have a very tiny pool of procreators very fast! I assume you are VERY pro-immigration.

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 21:28

They used to back in the early 80s

Lots of things have changed.

Child benefit/family allowance was universal
state pension age wasn’t 68
more social housing

OonaStubbs · 21/03/2026 21:28

AngelicaArchangel · 21/03/2026 21:03

For men and women?

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Of course.

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 21:28

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:55

With a disabled DH and 6 kids with SN, where would she find the time or energy to work?

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Maybe after having kids one, two and three with SEN, you don’t go on to have kids four, five and six. Just why?? Kids with SEN don’t suddenly develop special needs - there are signs pretty early on in their development.

Theunamedcat · 21/03/2026 21:28

Marble10 · 21/03/2026 21:21

There is an old stigma that people on benefits are ‘poor’. It was the case many years ago. But now the reality is they are more better off than most working people. I know people on benefits who have cleaners, drive & maintain cars, enjoy meals out and other non essential things which is considered a luxury.

Of course you do but I bet they are on disability benefits not basic benefits because basic benefits are shit as a single person you get a room share not rent for a flat unless you have children then its basic rate very basic unless you have a disabled child

Switcher · 21/03/2026 21:27

It's all bollocks. We can't afford any of this.