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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:
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.

UnbeatenMum · 21/03/2026 19:57

It very well could be depending on rent costs, other bills and the size of the family.

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.

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.

DoAWheelie · 21/03/2026 19:53

It depends on where they live and what that has to cover.

I'm a single person in the north west and get less than that in benefits (higher rate PIP and ESA) but I'm living alone. It covers rent and bills and a tiny amount leftover but I only go hungry when something goes wrong like benefits being stopped or a sudden huge expense.

A family of 4 in the south may be going hungry on a regular basis on that income as bills will be higher and it needs to cover 4x more mouths.

Badbadbunny · 21/03/2026 19:51

Snorlaxo · 21/03/2026 19:50

Full time minimum wage salary is £25k pa

Before tax, national insurance, student loan repayments, workplace pension deductions, etc. and costs of working, such as commuting.

Snorlaxo · 21/03/2026 19:50

Full time minimum wage salary is £25k pa

XenoBitch · 21/03/2026 19:49

I am on benefits, and most of the people in my social circle are on benefits too.
No one is taking in £30k at all. We are mostly single disabled people.

People on that sort of amount and above tend to have disabled children. Would you begrudge them that money? Take the money away, but please take away their kid's disability too.

There are also people that have posted on here that earn a lot and still get UC top ups due to living somewhere with high rents.

KTheGrey · 21/03/2026 19:45

How many people are living on it is the question. If it’s ten of you, probably yes. If it’s one definitely not.

TheStepboardisfullofbitteroddos · 21/03/2026 19:44

No, of course not.

MidnightPatrol · 21/03/2026 19:43

~£2.5k a month after tax is the average wage.

Was this described as ‘living in poverty’?

I suppose a household trying to cover rent, bills and so on with multiple kids probably has a fairly basic standard of living on this level of income. That’s why the majority of families have two incomes nowadays.