What benefits will I get if any?

[Ambedp]

Single mum, house worth 450 but repayments 900 a month. 1k savings and 450 maintenance.

Pretty sure I will lose my job soon. Will I get any help?

Will my mortgage and energy be covered basically …

I’d put your details into the entitled to website and see what I’d says.

What's the situation with your job and how much do you currently earn?

You need to do a calculation (or possibly a few to work out each possibility scenario). A few are available here:

www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

Unlikely. Iirc CM isn’t calculated as part of income but when I applied forUC I was on spousal maintenance of only £1000 pm and I wasn’t entitled to anything. Without the SM the entitlement would have been about £340 so you wouldn’t be able to pay your mortgage etc with what they’re likely to give you.

You won’t e.g. be entitled to housing benefit as you’re a home owner.

UC won't pay anything towards your mortgage. Call citizen advice bureau for advice they can assist you with an estimate for UC.

Would I just need to sell the house then basically? Or rent it out and go smaller?

Some of these responses are completely incorrect. Yes you can get help with your mortgage, but it will be a loan. And child maintenance is not classed as income so will be ignored. Your savings are under the threshold so will also be ignored.

Although you won’t officially get help with your mortgage under the housing element you get a higher rate of one of the other elements because you have a mortgage!
entitled to and Uce plus are good for calculating what you’d be entitled to
if you’re a single mum and earning under a certain threshold you’d probably qualify for some benefits now before you lose your job.
id get the ball rolling if you are entitled to anything (even if it’s only £50)
if you do lose your job they’ll know and will pay you a higher uc amount the following month

If you rent out your house I think that would be classed as receiving income

Nobody has said that CM is counted towards the calculation. But spousal maintenance is.

Also, you can get help with mortgage interest only but you need to have been claiming for 9 months before you’re entitled to do so.

I was on £1000 a month spousal maintenance, and that was offset against my entitlement which was just over £300, so in monetary terms I wasn’t entitled to anything.

OP will be entitled to some element on top of that for having children under the age of 18 and I don’t know what that is as my dC had just turned 18 and I was outside of the time when CB was being paid. Child element is based on how many children you are receiving child benefit for and I don’t know what that is.

You'd potentially get a support for a mortgage interest loan, then child benefit, and council tax reduction (both of which I assume you already have?) then job seekers allowance and possibly some universal credit depending on your childcare costs.

You'd be best calling citizens advice bureau OP, and therefore getting an accurate answer based on your exact financial situation.

The entitled to website will outline it if you input the required information accurately but still may leave you with answers akin to 'you may be entitled to x' if the situation is not straightforward or if there are any elements of illness or disability as a factor.

Better just to make an appointment ahead of time with CAB and know exactly where you stand.

You won't be put on job seekers. If you lost your job you will be put on UC.

If I had a mortgage I would be trying hard to hold onto it! Have you researched rents where you live OP? (Probably high).

How many kids do you have? Your mortgage is high but you get good maintainance. I would be job searching day and night!

Child maintenance isn't means tested because its often not reliable. Totally irrelevant to UC.

You can still get contributions based JSA if you meet the contributions criteria.

Oh dear, lots of misinformation on this thread.

If you lose your job you will be able to claim new-style Jobseekers Allowance (nsJSA), this is assuming you worked enough to have a full NI record for April 2019 to April 2021. nsJSA is only £77/week though.

You haven't said how many children you have and how old they are. But you will be entitled to Universal Credit (in addition to nsJSA) as it includes the child element.

You won't be entitled to help with your mortgage costs although if you are still unemployed and on UC after 9 months you could get an SMI loan - note it's a loan.

You will also be able to claim Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support, depends on the council).

You may be entitled to the cost of living payment, warm home discount, and other support available to people on UC.

Your child maintenance income and your savings (anything under £6k) will be ignored. If you have space to take in a lodger, income from the lodger will also be ignored.

Do you intend to look for another job or is there a reason you might not be able to get one? If you're likely to be unemployed in the longer term and unable to pay your mortgage you will need to seek more advice.

You can contact Citizens Advice as PPs have said.

If you're getting maintenance presumably you've children ? If so then you'd get the child elements as well