To ask the truth about life on benefits nowadays

[ginorwine]

Too many benefit programmes on implying different things- blaming media .
Also on some fb pages reports of increased food bank use and people with disability killing self due to new laws .
My cousin who is a wheelchair user has a sister bedroom and no issues over the bedroom tax and also says she as enough money for what she needs including a fantastic car that picks up the wheelchair and packs it into her boot , sufficient money for nice things , Petrol and meals out and said to me she genuinely feels she has a decent lifestyle .
Amongst the media hype am wondering what the reality actually is these days ....

Ah, didn't know about the possible premiums, but it's the max i can get in my circumstances. No my dad cannot claim income support, he's been told he can't get anything other than carers allowance, no idea why as no savings etc, he doesn't have any kind of pension, its just his carers and my ESA/DLA.
I'd get a lot more benefit money if i moved out from my dads house and lived independently in HB paid for acomodation and with extra disability premiums than i do now like my sibling does, but i'm incapable of caring for myself to live independently. I should be on income related ESA which would pay £60 more am onth than i'm on with a disibility premium, but im on contribution based as i was on incapacity before the switch over which paid national insurance credits. Despite the claim only supposed to be valid for 365 days, because im in the support group its a rolling claim and they just leave me on contribution based instead of a new claim for income related, means i pay for all prescriptions, so i've gone months without vital medications trying to gt an HC2.

My elderly mother was showered with practical and financial help, having hardly ever worked. My Dsis and I requested reassessment of her financial situation as we were worried that she would get bitten in the arse and they gave her MORE money! She was getting more than my Dsis was for working 4 days a week.
My severely autistic DS (21) gets higher rate DLA for care and mobility and his residential placement is fully funded. I am in the process of claiming ESA for him. Getting what he needs has been a struggle at times and I dare say we will be going through all sorts of hoops for PIP soon. Mostly we've had phases of great difficulty and hard work to get what he needs but not hardship.

Almost, I think you and your dad need a full benefits check. Can you or him make an appointment at the citizens advice or similar? I really don't think you're getting everything you're entitled to.

Also, could you live independently if he, or someone else, still provided daily care? If his house is in poor condition I don't imagine it will do either of you much good living there. Would you be eligible for council housing?

JillSandwich your dad can claim IS unless he has savings over £16k.

I'm a single parent on ESA and PIP. My DD gets DLA as well and we get premiums on tax credits and ESA which increases the amount we get, so I would say we're pretty comfortable. We can always pay our bills and we can afford simple holidays in the UK. We're in a council flat, in an urban area, and that means a lot of our costs are cheaper - rent is paid in full (no spare room so no bedroom tax), lots of amenities nearby, disability support groups, we don't need to run a car and public transport is available (and I have a free bus pass so I can use it for free). My Jobcentre is within walking distance although I don't need to go very often as I'm in the support grou.

I am in the support group of ESA for another three years, so my money hasn't decreased (I know it has for the people in the work group) and PIP is at the enhanced rate for both for at least 10 years. We don't get any maintenance for DD though - if we did we'd be very comfortable indeed. Our income is above the benefit cap level (the original cap) if you include DLA and PIP, but it isn't capped for families on PIP or DLA so we've not been affected. I'm lucky that I've never had to appeal my benefit decisions as I'm quite obsessive about getting the application and evidence right, and that has always worked for me.

We live in London but I don't actually find it more expensive to live down here, since our rent doesn't have to be topped up and many things are cheaper/easier to access compared to rural areas.

Obviously I'd much rather be healthy and have a normal, healthy child and have a chance of being able to work than have these higher benefit rates though. If I was on the basic rate of JSA at least I'd know that one day I could be on a higher wage. The fact that ESA, PIP and DLA have been awarded fairly easily is even a bit depressing as it means I have to face up to the fact how disabled we really are.

DS recently turned 5, I had the privilege of applying for universal credit and waiting 6 weeks for any payment.

As a single parent in London, I now have £513 to live on after rent is paid.

This cut came at the same time as a demand for £150 from universal credit and tax credit due to 'overpayment as per benefit cap.

Ive had to take two trips this month, and need to go again next weekend, and buy uniform.

I'm studying part time (to teach), DS has allergies, gastro and behaviour problems - doesn't cope well with other people and I have never managed to settle him with a childminder. Only managed to find one who would get him from school but DS was unhappy and she was overwhelmed.

Butlins holiday looks to be getting cancelled.

I do have gin in the cupboard though so I wont starve!

It is not easy to say 'oh anyone on benefits is having a totally shit time' OR 'everyone on benefits has it easy'.

There are different types of benefit for a start.

DLA/PIP are not means tested, out of work benefits - so someone who IS out of work living in council accomodation and is on the highest rates of DLA or PIP could very well be struggling to make ends meet.

Someone who is as I am, self employed, on DLA and has neither rent nor mortgage to pay, could be doing much better (I am just about making ends meet but the end of the month does come along a little later than the end of the money!).

Someone who is employed, has no rent nor mortgage, earns a bucket load and gets DLA could be rolling in it.

The real difficulties come with the out of work benefits - or when benefits stop or change over.

So when you start out on ESA you will go without for a week or two before you get your first payment. If you get a sanction or its stopped and you appeal you'll go without for potentially weeks to months.

Theres often a big gap between applying for benefits and recieving them, so if you move into rented accomodation it could be six weeks before your rent is paid - miss a trip to the job centre because you had a hospital appointment and you could do without a fortnights or even a months money and immediately you are into borrowing or starving territory.

Then theres the even less obvious stuff..

For example my house does not meet my needs as a wheelchair user - I am on the list for a bathroom conversion into a wet room and a stair lift.

These things are well out of my price range as although self employed my earning capacity is seriously reduced due to my disabilities (however I am NOT willing to claim out of work benefits as thats a merry go round my mental health cannot handle!).

If I were a council tenant, the chances are I would have either been offered a property that suited my needs better or the adaptations would have been done for me - because I am a homeowner and cannot move (selling would not release enough equity to buy a more suitable property without moving sufficiently far out of the area that id lose my support network!) I am bottom of the list for help there.

At some point I will not be able to get upstairs in my own home - so I won't be able to shower, or use my office and I'll need to sleep downstairs.

So, there are a lot of hidden things going on that may not be immediately obvious on hearing 'so and so is on benefits and gets x amount'.

@Becca19962014, your MP sounds awful. Nor do they grasp not all disabilities are structural. Some are too sick to work meaning the equality act is of no use to them.

I only had my appeal stopped and given the correct award as they finally had to accept due to me being bedridden there was no way I could get to appeal/tribunal centre and there were probably no tribunal members available to come to my home. I had my initial Face to face assessment at home from my bed and the assessor still only gave me standard care and said things such as I could cook despite medical evidence and carers letters confirming my level of functioning.

I know a fair few people on benefits. The ones who are wise, pay there bills foods etc are the ones who live comfortably. But then i know those who spend all the money on nails hair extensions stupid expensive make up dont drive out every weekend drinking then come wednesday mid week moaning benefits arnt enough the havnt got money for electric and have to "lend" it.... some people do genuinely struggle, but i believe those people arnt recieving what they are fully entitled too. Its a warped world

Some people are really struggling but it's alot to do with their housing situation. If they don't have a a house needing repairs I or not local authority. If they understand the horribly complicated benefits system enough to make the most of it. Luck. Original financial position etc.

It's true that many are actually poor. It's true that many think their poor but in reality what they deem as essentials are questionable. It's also true that living on benefits for many is miserable where as for others it's a way of life.

I'm a single parent, I was on income support for 3 years and now I'm a student. I don't receive any maintenance and I have debt from setting my home up (carpets, flooring, all second hand furniture and appliances) which I have struggled to reduce. I manage. I'm in a rural area so need to run a car to be able to get to uni. I buy second hand clothes and shoes for all of us, from eBay or Facebook, second hand birthday and Xmas presents and we food shop in Aldi.
We get by but it is difficult as a long term thing. I have always held on to the fact that there is an end to this for me and one day i will be earning more. I feel for people on disability benefits who have no way out of the poverty cycle.

To add, I don't drink or smoke, or go out, we go on cheap days out like the park or children's farm and we have had one holiday ever which was 5 days in a caravan.

Someone in a council or housing association flat with no kids and with disabilities may have enough money for a decent lifestyle. This is because their rent will be entirely covered and they will have more income than most people on benefits (quite rightly because disabilities impact earning capacity)
Someone in private rental or with several children will not have much spare cash at all.

Finally, yes housing also makes a big difference if privately renting and live in a more expensive area of the UK. I used to privately rent in London before my illness got more severe and I moved nearer family outside London. I looked at the current housing benefit rates for the area I lived in London and current average rental costs. The housing benefit now would be a few hundred short each month of the rent. When I lived in London ten years ago housing benefit covered all my rent.

There was a period of about 5 years when I was a child/late 90s where we lived solely on benefits (dad was ill and mum was his carer, then mum got cancer...they're both better now thank goodness)

Anyway, we were never rich but we had a 'normal'/good enough quality of life. There used to be lots of funding available so dbro and I could do a couple of after school clubs each and I remember going to the pantomime and a few other local attractions with other not well off kids as organised by the community centre/local charity. My parents never worried about feeding and clothing us as benefits were enough and we seemed to have enough for the occasional treat/extra too.

I think benefits nowadays seem barely enough to scrape by on which is very sad.

Rent top ups make a huge difference. I top up £320 a month for a bog standard 3 bed. Actual rent is £900 a month

sleepyowl12 my rent for a 2 bed council flat is £116pw (HB covers it all) but it would cost £400pw to rent an ex RTB flat on my estate privately. LHA is £302pw so people would have a huge shortfall if renting privately. I got priority for my flat through disability criteria though so I wouldn't exactly say I'm lucky to have it.

@goldfishJane I might be wrong but I think that awful MP is trying to say that due to the equality act those on disabilities have no barriers to work. The MP is completely ignoring some are disabled due to sickness and can't work however many adjustments are put in place. Also those with disabilities that could work with some adjustments still are at a big disadvantage when it comes to applying for jobs.

AlmostAJillSandwich You need to speak to your GP about this, as a very detailed letter about your MH state should help with your claim. The more evidence the better in the case of PIP. Have you been in contact with local disability groups that advise on how to manage PIP interviews?

We live on ESA and IS and just about manage but we have no spare money for treats.DS 1 is single and unemployed and regularly runs out of money

@highfruit, thanks for confirming that privately renting where you live in London would also be a huge shortfall. I am glad you get a council flat due to your disability. As you say, not lucky, as I know we would both rather be well enough to work. I am sorry your daughter is disabled too.

AlmostaJill sorry to pull it out, but if your dad is receiving carera allowance for you (which is actually £62.10) then you must be on either middle rate or high rate DLA, you can't be on the low rate as you say you are.

Also, I feel the need to point this out often : questions such as those about your ability to dress, eat and cook etc are not biased towards physical disabilities. They cover people with learning disabilities and mental illness too, it's not just about having the physical ability to do so! PIP isn't as bad as some believe

Having gone from a full time, well paid job to being disabled and unable to work at all I've seen how horrific it is. I claimed ESA and thankfully got it but my claim for PIP has taken over a year to come to assessment and while I've yet to get the results I already know I failed it based on the assessors attitude to me. I was forced to move from my home in London back to near my parents in a cheaper area, the cost of the move I'm still struggling to pay back.

Thankfully I've been able to claim HB here, which covers about half of my rent. Why am I in such an expensive flat? After searching for months this was literally the only place that would allow someone on benefits. I was in constant contact with all the EAs here to try and find a place and flat after flat went past without even letting me see it. Even bedsits which are around £450-500 per month here, nope, benefit scum not allowed. I found this place through a family member and I'm so beyond lucky having a place to live. It's £600 and 2 bed but only as I had no choice! So I lose HB simply because I had no other option. The spare room is barely big enough for a single bed and I'm unable to rent it out due to my mental and physical health and my lease. I doubt anyone is queuing up for a tiny room in a flat with someone who takes hours to move to and from the bathroom, can go weeks without showering as its so painful!

My reality is living penny to penny. My benefits amount to far less than my outgoings. I try not to go above £10 week for food, only have hot water for a shower when I know I'm going in so day to day no hot water. No heat, haven't used heat in a couple years just wrap up if I can. I can go weeks without seeing a soul and it's incredibly lonely. I'm petrified the owner will not renew the lease when this year is up, I have no where to go. I'm scared to go into debt so I'm just so cautious. My life is ruled by money, by counting and being careful. I'm so lucky right now as my parents received an inheritance and have used some for a washing machine for me! After a couple of months without I'm so looking forward to it. Last Christmas I asked for underwear from my parents as I hadn't bought any in years it was falling apart. I haven't bought clothing since before being ill.

My reality is living with pain, fear, and loneliness day in and out. That's my life on benefits.

JFT
after losing my mother and home i had to leave my job and London and have really struggled, at the moment i don't even have a pair of shoes

That is hideous!!

I have had to seek Universal Credit for the past few months, due to illness, but just about to return to work. Living on £238 a month was a shock to say the least. If it were not for my parents and a close friend helping me, I would have been totally fucked. The choice between food-light-heating is very real, indeed.

I've namechanged for this as some of the things I will say can be quite outing.

Ok I've been on benefits now for 5 years, my exh cheated on many times. We split and I became a single mum to 2 very young boys. Went on benefits to get myself back on my feet as I had to quite my job and move back to where I grew up. The benefits I received then was not much, yes it paid to keep a roof over our heads but after normal bills etc there wasn't much left. Having a baby in nappies and milk also. There was many of times I didn't eat or had my kids leftovers. I felt stuck in a horrible way, I couldn't go back to work as I could not afford the child care. I didn't have any family or friends who could help. My youngest son in all this was behind for his age, we went through varies test. He got diagnosed with lf autism just after his second birthday.

Since then he has been awarded dla, and we also get the enhanced rate of tax credits. I'm also his carer. We also have got a mobility car for him which improved our life's on so many levels.

I was private renting, but late last year my landlord decided to sell his property. There is not many landlords around here who take housing benefit and the bond needed was impossible for me to save for. So I applied for a council house. I honestly thought we would end up in temporary accommodation, with any children especially a autistic child well is terrifying. At the 9th hour they offered me a house. It's wonderful and my kids are happier now and I feel like we have a lot more stability.

I'm saying all this to give some insight into benefits. That there are people who need them and thank god for them every day. I'd love to go back to work, miss it all the time. But at this time my son needs me more and that's what benefits help so greatly with. It's not huge amounts of money and when I see comments about benefits buying sky, flat screens etc and all we do is milk the system and sit on out arses all day. Is so far from the truth. The media just seem to joke in on those who do take the piss.