Who really gets £500+ weekly state benefits?

[vivizone]

I find this shit so hard to believe. Reading the media, you would think this was a common figure on life on benefits.

Yesterday and today's Metro newspaper - people writing in saying they agree with the cap of £500 and why should people be sat on their arse and be rewarded by £500 per week. . Why should they earn £200 per week working and people are getting £500 a week doing nothing.

Seriously, who gets this £500 per week that is being peddled out of the media? I spent 7 months out of work after redundancy and I could not live on the pittance I received for me and my children. I do not know how people do it. I really don't. I had a decent redundancy package and that was the only way I could make it.

How many people do you know (forget the newspaper stories) that are RECEIVING £500 or more every week? I thought so.

How come if life is/was that cushy on benefits, not enough people are/were packing in their jobs to join a life of riley?

We have been had. Life on benefits is HARD and DEMORALISING. I have tried it and I can tell you you get PEANUTS.

The reason why stories run on people living in million dollar homes/getting thousands a week in benefits is because it is RARE. It is SO rare, that it gets reported on.

If you factor in Housing Benefit, it is very easily reached.

I saw the Metro letters and thought exactly the same - very few people get that it is a CAP it is not giving every single person on benefits £500

Who gets the £500, why that'll be the landlords

Two women I know do. One is a lone parent and has four DCs. The eldest has been diagnosed with ADHD and she gets DLA for him. Then she gets income support, child benefit and CTC, and they alone come to over £400 p/w. Then she has housing benefit, council tax benefit and plus the two eldest get FSM.

The other lady is seriously depressed - I really feel for her but yes she does get a lot in benefits. DLA, IS, CB and CTC (two DCs.) Plus her husband gets a carers' allowance which pays for holidays and an iPad - so it does happen.

Yay for private sector landlords and the selling off of council houses. Because that makes so much more sense, doesn't it, to pay landlords in London large amounts of money the taxpayer never sees again. It's mostly the rents, op, and only for those in high-rent areas like London

By the time you factor in housing benefit, council tax, and savings made on things like free school meals and prescriptions, I don't think it's that rare for people to be receiving that much, or close to it.

But no, I don't know how much the people I know who are on benefits get. I just know that if they are going on holiday and can afford to have pets and a car, when they don't have a disability, then they are getting too much.

My boyfriends ex gets £400 per week maintenance from him plus around £500 per week from the government (5 kids) - she would get more but has a mortgage, if she rented she would have that all paid for her too - she doesn't work although all kids are at school.

I've also had to claim JSA a few times, and like you say it is a pittance and nowhere near compensates for the loss of wages, also no other help if you have a mortgage, or a bit of savings, despite having paid into the pot.

I think the people who are being paid larger amounts are career claimants, have never worked, live in rented accommodation, so qualify for Housing Benefit, have children with various ailments/conditions such as ADHD or asthma, so they get carers allowance etc. I know I'll be really unpopular for saying this and I don't think everyone on benefits is undeserving. Also in the big scheme of things these families cost far less than rich tax dodgers, but we don't all know one of those.

Here we go...again!!!

I understand factors like HB/CT etc but a LOT of the public seem to believe it is hard £500 cash that benefit claimants receive. That simply is not true. I keep hearing about this £500 they're getting in hand.

dunkin I think you are mistaken.

Someone getting £1600 per month in maintenance does not get that much benefit.

Well if it pays their rent it is the equivalent of cold hard cash really.

My DP recently lost his job and we have looked up housing benefit as we may need it.

It is.... £381 a week for a 1 bed in our area.

I am pro the welfare state but FFS. That's how much I earn after tax in my professional graduate job with three years experience.

I try so hard to not become a massive Tory about that, but that is a HUGE amount of money. The kind I coughed up over £20k to be able to earn.

Plus its lining landlords profits, hoiking up rents and makeing normal salaries unlivable on.

I think a lot of people tuned a blind eye to high benefits propping up low wages for far too long. I don't know what the answer is but work does have to pay.

if i was single and on benefits, with my 4 children, i would get £100 a week in rent, 100 a month council tax ( i think?) and irc its £50 per person for income support/ tax credits? thats £250 plus £60 a week for child benefit... is that right?

so 250+60+100+25=£435? all you would need is higher rent/ another person and you could do that easily?

ive also just realised, if thats right that we would be better off on benefits!

In fact I just did the sums, that is way more than my take home in fact.

Its the housing & council tax benefits that bump that up so I can see how its reached. When I was made redundant I was averaging £600 every 4 weeks (JSA & tax credits & CA). That works out at £150 a week. Couldn't have claimed mortgage interest payments for a while - 3 mths is it? can't remember, and found a new job before i needed to claim council tax benefits (should have but looked at the form and thought I would do it later). Luckily I had redundancy and savings to see me through. Would have struggled after the 2 mths I had before getting a role though.

I can only think of 3 families from my entire client group that do and all 3 have a severely disabled member.

And that's even including hb and ctb.

I have three children, all in receipt of DLA. I have a disabled husband. When we were on benefits (until July this year) we didn't get £500 per week. It's a flaming myth.

MP's?

^aaaand i could probably get dla for my asd ds but ive never wanted it

Actually - as others have said its not particularly the "cash in your hand" that you get its all the other bits and bobs that mount up

people that rent in expensive areas

personally im more concerned about the working poor

oh in my scenario plus JSA is £455 a week.

Mamamibbo surely the DLA would be for your DS, not for you?