Page 13 | 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.

S0daBreadstarterz · 21/03/2026 20:56

State pension is less than half of 30k

It is less than 13k per year

AlcoholicAntibiotic · 21/03/2026 20:55

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 20:51

People that have mortgages and are on UC are shafted

You think home owners should have help paying their mortgages off?

Why is that worse than the public purse paying for landlords’ mortgages?

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:55

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 20:51

She gets a job? From the statement some of the children she had were born during her unemployment. If she's healthy enough to go through pregnancies and the hard work of caring for babies, then she's healthy enough to get a job.

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

Rattlingbiscuittin · 21/03/2026 20:55

It’s based on outgoings I think. If it’s for a couple that’s £15k Pa take home pay each.

it depends how much they have leftover after utility bills and food.

I remember an article saying the Queen was technically in fuel poverty because of the high cost of heating Buckingham palace which took most of her allowance

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 20:54

Why is the Government so insistent on private homebuyers and ignoring the need for rental?

short term fixes rather than long term planning

OonaStubbs · 21/03/2026 20:53

Ipollita · 21/03/2026 20:49

I agree and this is where I struggle. Children shouldn’t suffer because of their parents’ poor decisions but how do you then deter irresponsible and feckless people from making benefits a lifestyle choice?

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Make sterilisation a condition of receiving benefits.

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 20:53

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:44

They get child benefit.

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No we don’t all get child benefit, many have to pay it back

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:53

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 20:51

People that have mortgages and are on UC are shafted

You think home owners should have help paying their mortgages off?

That was not the point I was making.
Home owners get time limited help with the interest, and it is a loan.
All good if you are able to work and get a new job soon. Not so much if you have found yourself disabled and unable to work. People can and do lose their homes.

But it is ok for benefits to pay the mortgages of private landlords via housing benefit?

AngelicaArchangel · 21/03/2026 20:52

Without more information from OP this thread is just rage bait.

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 20:52

ilovesooty · 21/03/2026 20:36

Considering the largest part of DWP expenditure is on pensions and related benefits, where would you like to start?

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Imo triple lock

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 20:51

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:44

OK, so take her money way. What happens then?

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She gets a job? From the statement some of the children she had were born during her unemployment. If she's healthy enough to go through pregnancies and the hard work of caring for babies, then she's healthy enough to get a job.

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 20:51

People that have mortgages and are on UC are shafted

You think home owners should have help paying their mortgages off?

Itsmetheflamingo · 21/03/2026 20:50

YerMotherWasAHamster · 21/03/2026 20:17

Policy can go fuck itself, frankly. If someone is going to bed hungry because they have no money for food, that's poverty.

Yes but the point is people who are no where near hungry also live in poverty

Ipollita · 21/03/2026 20:49

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 20:43

Absolutely mad that someone not having worked for 10 years with a disabled husband had 6 kids. Just saying.....

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I agree and this is where I struggle. Children shouldn’t suffer because of their parents’ poor decisions but how do you then deter irresponsible and feckless people from making benefits a lifestyle choice?

newornotnew · 21/03/2026 20:49

Itsmetheflamingo · 21/03/2026 20:08

And how are they getting past the benefit cap? You can only do this if there are disabilities in the household I think?

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Please don't bring facts into this thread

StrippeyFrog · 21/03/2026 20:49

Anyone getting that much would need to have multiple kids/disabilities and high rent costs so yes they probably are still living in poverty.

TheABC · 21/03/2026 20:48

Rental prices are definitely out of control and I don't understand why we are not building more social housing. Modern up-to-spec modular housing can be installed in 6-9 months on permitted land (installing mains, water and foundations is the bit that takes time). Why is the Government so insistent on private homebuyers and ignoring the need for rental?

crayonmess · 21/03/2026 20:47

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.

Aren’t benefits based on housing & childcare costs as opposed to a flat rate?

Wynter25 · 21/03/2026 20:45

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:20

PP said about someone who owns their home. They would not get a rent allowance. People that have mortgages and are on UC are shafted. They can and do lose their homes.

Not everyone on UC gets free prescriptions, and not everyone is on regular medication anyway. Anyone can get a pre-payment certificate for about £10pm. It is hardly a worthy "benefit".

Council tax reductions depend on the area. If you are on UC and do a bit of work, you can suddenly find yourself hit with a big CT bill. I have known that to happen to a few people.

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Yes i was hit with a big ct bill

ComtesseDeSpair · 21/03/2026 20:45

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 20:43

Absolutely mad that someone not having worked for 10 years with a disabled husband had 6 kids. Just saying.....

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I’m politically centrist with probably some views which lean towards the right. But I worked a significant part of my career in social research and social housing, and when it comes to welfare I’m a pragmatist: cutting welfare doesn’t stop people making bad choices like having more children than they can afford, it just means that children grow up in poverty. And when children grow up in poverty, we see the repercussions of that in our education, health, criminal justice and social services: the money that isn’t being spent on welfare just has to be spent somewhere else along the line.

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:44

OonaStubbs · 21/03/2026 20:44

£30k a year is loads. If people have children thats their own choice. It's not like people working for a living get a pay rise everytime they pop out a new kid.

They get child benefit.

OonaStubbs · 21/03/2026 20:44

£30k a year is loads. If people have children thats their own choice. It's not like people working for a living get a pay rise everytime they pop out a new kid.

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:44

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 20:43

Absolutely mad that someone not having worked for 10 years with a disabled husband had 6 kids. Just saying.....

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OK, so take her money way. What happens then?

Livelovebehappy · 21/03/2026 20:43

Dearover · 21/03/2026 20:00

That would be the woman who hadn't worked for 10 years, had a husband with COPD and 6 children aged 3 - 20 all with SN. It didn't dound as though the family was going on expensive holidays or partying each night.

Absolutely mad that someone not having worked for 10 years with a disabled husband had 6 kids. Just saying.....

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:43

ilovesooty · 21/03/2026 20:33

Exactly, but many people don't want to acknowledge that.

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Yep. A family on benefits with various disabilities and high rent costs gets compared to a single person on NMW, and they lose their shit over it.

Apples and oranges.

No single non-disabled person is on more in benefits than someone on NMW. Never.