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Original poster

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

361 replies

ChumpWizard · 21/03/2026 19:40

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.

OP posts:
RandomMess · 21/03/2026 20:42

Makeitstoprumbling · 21/03/2026 20:28

Single parent here with two kids who live with me full time. With universal credit and working I have a total income of £32,000 a year £19k of that alone is our rent. It’s a struggle

I’m not surprised but with COL you are left with depressingly little ☹️

Summerhillsquare · 21/03/2026 20:40

Ablondiebutagoody · 21/03/2026 20:18

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

And how will you pay for the consequences?

ilovesooty · 21/03/2026 20:36

Ablondiebutagoody · 21/03/2026 20:18

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

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

ComtesseDeSpair · 21/03/2026 20:36

OrdinaryMagicOfAcorns · 21/03/2026 20:32

The point about rent is fair and well-taken, but how about those who work for a living on less than £30k take home and still have to pay rent out of that too?

Families who have no working adult and receive £30K a year in benefits will be those with several children. A family of the same size with an earned household income of £30K would also usually be eligible for top-up UC rather than relying solely on £30K.

AngelicaArchangel · 21/03/2026 20:35

@ChumpWizard Are you going to give us more information?

ilovesooty · 21/03/2026 20:33

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:09

A single able bodied (and mind) person who owns their home would be on about £400pm in UC. They would never be on £30k in benefits. They would be on half the amount that pensioners get.

Show quote history

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

ginasevern · 21/03/2026 20:32

The question is surely how many people does the £30k cover? It's like how many apples in a barrel. £30k for a single person isn't generally living in poverty. But as a single income for a family then yes it is. People splash these figures around without a single shred of context.

OrdinaryMagicOfAcorns · 21/03/2026 20:32

The point about rent is fair and well-taken, but how about those who work for a living on less than £30k take home and still have to pay rent out of that too?

Makeitstoprumbling · 21/03/2026 20:28

Single parent here with two kids who live with me full time. With universal credit and working I have a total income of £32,000 a year £19k of that alone is our rent. It’s a struggle

Thelongestcovid · 21/03/2026 20:25

ChumpWizard · 21/03/2026 19:40

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.

To recieve that much they would either be a family or severely disabled.

Edited to say sorry, I didn't mean to quote the OP!

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:24

RandomMess · 21/03/2026 20:23

Always depends on rent cost. Great to get £30k, not great if £19k goes straight back out in rent.

Benefit receipt is linked to rent. If you work on a low income in a high rent area you are probably entitled to some housing element of UC.

This.

The higher amounts are rent. The standard allowance is about £400pm. That is for bills/general living costs. It is not much at all.

RandomMess · 21/03/2026 20:23

Always depends on rent cost. Great to get £30k, not great if £19k goes straight back out in rent.

Benefit receipt is linked to rent. If you work on a low income in a high rent area you are probably entitled to some housing element of UC.

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:20

Badbadbunny · 21/03/2026 20:15

Trouble is the "extras" that those on benefits get such as rent allowance, free prescriptions, reduced council tax, etc which is on top of the base amounts. Things that workers have to pay for out of their "take home" pay after all the deductions.

Show quote history

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.

JLou08 · 21/03/2026 20:20

For a single person it would be okay. A family of 4+ would be in poverty on that amount unless they lived in a really cheap area with little to no transport costs or debts.

Ablondiebutagoody · 21/03/2026 20:18

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

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.

Badbadbunny · 21/03/2026 20:15

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:09

A single able bodied (and mind) person who owns their home would be on about £400pm in UC. They would never be on £30k in benefits. They would be on half the amount that pensioners get.

Show quote history

Trouble is the "extras" that those on benefits get such as rent allowance, free prescriptions, reduced council tax, etc which is on top of the base amounts. Things that workers have to pay for out of their "take home" pay after all the deductions.

Itsmetheflamingo · 21/03/2026 20:11

YerMotherWasAHamster · 21/03/2026 19:57

Living in poverty isn't a number.

Its whether or not you can keep a roof over your head, pay your bills, eat...

If you are unable to afford to put the heating on in winter then that's poverty. If you go to bed hungry, that's poverty. If you're skipping the electric bill to pay the gas bill and next month you'll skip the gas to pay the electric, that's poverty.

It may well be that someone getting 30k a year cant make ends meet, depending on their circumstances, yes.

Edited

It can indeed be a number. That’s what’s used for policy making etc

“In the UK, poverty is primarily defined as living in a household with an income below 60% of the median average. This is measured on an after housing costs (AHC) basis, acknowledging that high housing expenses reduce disposable income for necessities. Key measures include relative poverty (current low income) and absolute poverty (low income compared to 2010/11 standards).”

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 20:09

Catcatcatcatcat · 21/03/2026 20:05

This is just benefit bashing rage bait as usual.

Where is the context? Single able bodied non parent living in East Midlands, owns their own home outright, yes, it’s a lot.

Single parent of three disabled children living in London and paying rent, it would be incredibly difficult.

A single able bodied (and mind) person who owns their home would be on about £400pm in UC. They would never be on £30k in benefits. They would be on half the amount that pensioners get.

Itsmetheflamingo · 21/03/2026 20:08

newornotnew · 21/03/2026 20:03

Oh this again.

How many households are in receipt of £30k benefits?

Poverty is determined by how much you have left after paying your unavoidable bills - housing, utilities, childcare.

Show quote history

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

Catcatcatcatcat · 21/03/2026 20:05

This is just benefit bashing rage bait as usual.

Where is the context? Single able bodied non parent living in East Midlands, owns their own home outright, yes, it’s a lot.

Single parent of three disabled children living in London and paying rent, it would be incredibly difficult.

LethargeMarg · 21/03/2026 20:03

My mortgage and bills come to about £1800, food about another £600. Having £50 a week left is very little if you have a family. Things like new school
shoes could wipe out all your ‘extra’ money for the month.

newornotnew · 21/03/2026 20:03

ChumpWizard · 21/03/2026 19:40

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.

Oh this again.

How many households are in receipt of £30k benefits?

Poverty is determined by how much you have left after paying your unavoidable bills - housing, utilities, childcare.

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.

Yesnomaybeyes · 21/03/2026 19:59

Depends on circumstances in particular how many children, and also the person's housing situation. If renting, the majority of the benefit money will be for rent rather than for the person/family on benefits.