To see benefits as a safety net, not handouts?

I agree with this. There should never be a time when not working is more profitable than working. The benefit system is to help subsistence, not pay for holidays, the latest phone etc. This does not apply to disability benefits.

It may be an unpopular view. There are many parts of today's society that were set up with a purpose originally that has been abused and bent out of shape, adapted, and abused again, and is now so far removed from its original intention that it is almost unrecognisable. Many things need total overhaul, but no government is likely to do anything but tinker as total overhaul is a multi term thing.

Both dh and I have worked full time since, me aged 16, dh aged 15. However, in my late 50s and dhs early 60s he became very unwell and had to give up work. I had no choice but to give up my job to care for him full time. He receives PIP and ESA Contributions based Support Group and I receive Carer's Allowance. We have paid into the system nearly all of our working lives, as have our parents, grandparents, siblings etc. I feel not one bit of guilt about claiming these sickness benefits, I paid NI knowing a portion of it was being used to help those in need, never thinking that one day it would be us. No one knows what the future holds and people should remember that before they criticise people claiming benefits.

Some need to be 'for life' (at least until retirement state pension), unless you can make my recently acquired (literally overnight) disability & health condition fuck off, then I'll gladly go back to work as I have for the previous 40 years.

@inmyhair thats actually not the basic principle of the introduction of welfare state and should not be what benefits are for

they should be below minimum wage and short term. So working should always pay more. None of this choosing 16 hours and expecting state to top you up. None of the keep having children you can’t afford and expect more child benefits, housing eyc

total overhaul needed and back to basic principle of if you want something go work for it

Well some will need them.forever
My son is severly autistic , he 16 and in a special school for children with severe and profound learning disabillities
He cant talk at all he wont ever be able to work.

It’s all got out of hand, and needs reform.

I had to go on universal credit when my marriage ended as I was self employed and my daughter has really bad school anxiety and had to keep being collected from school and eventually was home schooled which wrecked my income.

Because she was registered disabled they removed my work requirements and I could have not worked at all, but I could see that that was a terrible path to take as eventually she’d age of out the UC allowance and I would be left with nothing.

So instead I pivoted my career, did a training course at weekends to help me change direction and then got a work from home job that I love that pays all our bills.

It took me 2.5 years but I’m finally off UC and standing on my own two feet (and my ex has withdrawn my maintenance as well so thank god for that)

So I would say they were an incredible safety net for me and that initial layout has given my and my DD a much brighter future.

I cannot imagine how disempowering and life limiting it must feel like to live off them forever.

YABU universal credit is there to give people on minimum wage a handout and to encourage them to do the minimum wage jobs. It's not just a safety net for people who have fallen on hard times.

I think you're right but. And there's always a but. There are some people who go on benefits and expect to stay on them as a lifestyle choice which wasn't the original intention.

You aren’t unreasonable. Benefits are there for people that need it for a time but not for ever. They are there to help until you can find something else.

Depends on context doesn't it, through my work I see families of 3rd/4th generation benefit claimants all of whom have never worked despite various interventions and support. I don't think that can be called a safety net. I also think it's really sad for children growing up not to want more from life because they've never seen anything different.
I do think we need a welfare system for those in need.