Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask the truth about life on benefits nowadays

243 replies

ginorwine · 16/04/2017 19:19

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 ....

OP posts:
WateryTart · 17/04/2017 08:23

Some people on benefits manage really well and have a comfortable life style. A family member manages a holiday abroad every year and I don't resent that. He lives very frugally most of the time and saves what he can for treats. Yes, he has a huge TV (but no goat) but he saved up for it going without other things to afford it. He lives in sheltered housing, so costs are low.

I see others struggling mainly because they have to top up rent. If social housing isn't available people shouldn't be penalised for having to use the private sector, imo.

I see a few who abuse the system but just because they do doesn't mean we should punish those in genuine need.

LouKout · 17/04/2017 08:25

We must also wonder with people want those on disability benefits to have a meagre lifestyle worse than the rest of ua

SecretNortherner · 17/04/2017 08:28

I think the inconsistency comes down to the area you live in and the lifestyle you want. You will get some people on benefits who live relatively comfortably, but they are most likely the people who manage their money correctly and budget sensibly. You then get the other side of it, those you can't/don't budget correctly and don't understand that you have to be careful with money.
I think some of it can include the cost of living, although as far as I understand housing benefit pay for the majority of your rent, so I'm not really sure how that works.
Sanctions can also cause issues, if your short for cash most months and then get sanctioned, this causes even more issues.
It's a difficult situation, and I don't think there is a one size fits all response. I think the people who can't survive on benefits, would probably struggle not to blow their wages as well. Especially since they can work out to be the same amounts!

dementedma · 17/04/2017 08:35

my current experiences are of two family members and one family friend.
dd1 has OCD and crippling anxiety. she didn't get PiP as mental health issues are hard to prove. she lives with us so dh and I provide as best we can but another dependant adult in the house stretches the limited finances. what she would do if we weren't here I don't know!
Bro is on benefits. No kids, so limited expenses.Just back from a week's holiday in Greece - bully for him!
Friend's daughter gets benefits as has toddler and husband on very low pay. Lives in gorgeous flat, paid for by HB. Now talking of having second baby because doesn't want first to be an only child. Worried because you "only" get a two bed and the children would have to share!! When my dd2 comes home from uni she shares with dd1. they are both in their 20s. Our flat is falling down round our ears and we cant afford the repairs, never mind having it all paid for. Things like this piss me off.

user1490465531 · 17/04/2017 08:37

I've been on benefits and it's tough. I feel sorry for anyone who has to exist on the basic job seekers it's not enough to survive and even if you get your rent paid you don't get water rates gas electric etc.
Job centre treats you like crap always wanting to sanction you etc.
Thank god I found a job and even though I get tax credits I don't ever have to step through a job centre again which is the main thing.
How anyone can be envious of people on benefit and begrurge them the paltry amount they receive is beyond me.

BadKnee · 17/04/2017 08:44

Benefits + housing will always be better off than a low earner.

Benefits will always be worse off than a high earner. So no being on benefits is not a life of luxury but you will better off than someone trying to struggle on minimum wage.

Gwenhwyfar · 17/04/2017 09:16

"Benefits + housing will always be better off than a low earner."

What do you mean by benefits + housing? Do you man living in a council house/housing association?
If you mean housing benefits - the amount you get is a percentage of your rent. It doesn't cover it all (unless you've presented a forged rental contract showing a falsesly higher amount).

As a single person, there's now way my JSA and housing benefit can come to higher than a minimum wage job worked full time. The only way I could be better off on benefits is compared with part time work or if the job centre made me travel far from work. Of course if I'm paying 200 a month for the train, I could be left with less than on benefits.
It's different for families of course.

Gwenhwyfar · 17/04/2017 09:17

"Bro is on benefits. No kids, so limited expenses.Just back from a week's holiday in Greece - bully for him!"

What benefits is he on? If it includes JSA he's committed fraud as you're not allowed to go on a foreign holiday. It's a silly rule as you can look for a job from anywhere these days and they allow you to go on holiday within the UK.
Did he pay for this holiday from his benefit money or from savings he's allowed to have?

user1490465531 · 17/04/2017 09:33

I'd love to know how your brother affords a foriegn holiday on jsa?
I've been on it and it doesn't even cover the essentials unless he's doing cash in hand jobs on the side?

dementedma · 17/04/2017 09:34

no idea. He lives pretty frugally so is probably able to save,which is more than i can. I think he's on ESA.

LouKout · 17/04/2017 09:37

Why do you grudge him a holiday if he lives frugally and has health issues requiring ESA?

FannyWisdom · 17/04/2017 09:39

www.thestar.co.uk/news/sheffield-disability-claimant-was-asked-why-she-had-not-killed-herself-during-assessment-1-8495175

Sounds fine eh?
Imagine the savings to be made!

Gwenhwyfar · 17/04/2017 09:40

user - I've done it (signed off for the week of course) by using my savings from years of working. I hadn't been on JSA very long of course. I stay with friends when I'm away and as a single person a foreign holiday is often cheaper than one in this country.

SillySongsWithLarry · 17/04/2017 09:43

DD (age 6) is on DLA HRC LRM. With that comes tax credit premiums. DH is on carers allowance and I earn about £20k/year full time. We own a flat in SE and we live a comfortable life. Not huge luxury, nor poverty. I worry for DD as an adult because navigating the adult world of disability benefits is scarier and seems to be harder than for children. Without my wage if we were to live solely on benefits we would struggle. I hear people say they would be better off on benefits - if that was really the case they would go on them. It's not true.

dementedma · 17/04/2017 09:45

I don't grudge him per se - and I have supported his health issues in a way which has kept him alive, trust me! I suppose it grates that both dh and i work and can't afford a holiday, yet he doesn't and gets one paid for him. To us, a holiday abroad is a luxury - but if the state wants to pay for one for me that would be grand.

Cantwait2017 · 17/04/2017 09:45

Everyone's situation is different. You can't compare.

When I became a single parent I was amazed at what I was entitled to in tax credits. My dc both qualify for dla too. Add to that child benefit and we could live quite comfortably.

I think it's entirely different if you are a single person with no savings looking for a job or with health issues.

It's not a popular opinion to say benefits are generous but in my circumstances they are.

Gwenhwyfar · 17/04/2017 09:45

"I hear people say they would be better off on benefits - if that was really the case they would go on them. "

That's the point. If it was that great, you'd do it.
On the other hand, I have seen examples here and in real life of parents working part time because that works well with tax credits.

Gwenhwyfar · 17/04/2017 09:47

"To us, a holiday abroad is a luxury "

Do you have a family and a car? Remember that for a family travelling by car it's cheaper to go camping in this country, but for a single person a flight abroad is cheaper than a train trip in this country so the foreign holiday is actually the cheaper option.

UppityHumpty · 17/04/2017 09:52

The people I know are more than generously provided for even those with a lot of kids. The truth is that if you have kids, can stick to budget, and aren't single, you will have a totally different lifestyle to someone who is single without kids and in a bedsit.

Peanutbuttercheese · 17/04/2017 10:11

Too many variables.

Had two friends who were single parents, they did both work minimum hours and claimed credits. One had a very well off Mother who gave her £50 a week and would buy large items like a new dishwasher for her. She also received regular child maintenance, I think he missed 8 weeks when they first broke up but he did have some sort of breakdown. He never missed another payment nor contact. She had also paid off her mortgage with help from her Mother.

Other had benefits and pay only, no well off relative and the absent Father was appalling with maintenance and contact. She struggled with her mortgage and everything.

Their lifestyles were so vastly different.

Cantwait2017 · 17/04/2017 10:13

Good point re child maintenance which is not taken into account for benefits.

Dawndonnaagain · 17/04/2017 10:20

We're on benefits, it's hard. DD has various disabilities and is extremely fragile. I have ulcerative colitis and other disabilities and I am a full time carer for dd. I get middle rate care for PiP. I should get higher rate and I should get lower rate mobility, but when I got the letter I was sat beside her hospital bed and was not up to appealing. DWP rely on this sort of thing. I will appeal next time around. It would make a big difference to our lives.We manage, but the heating is not on much, lots of jumpers and an electric blanket help there and fortunately it's not been a particularly hard winter, but had it been I'm not sure we would have coped. On top of all this, they stop her ESA about once every six weeks because they haven't received her certificate, which they magically find when you ring them and she still hasn't had her assessment. She has been sent three appointments, we have sent three GP/CPN letters saying she can't come to you, come to us. They are supposed to process these within six weeks. The received the first of these letters in January. If she didn't have me to look after her she wouldn't be here. Bastards!

Willow2017 · 17/04/2017 10:36

I have a friend who has a lifelong debilitating illness. He used to get disability allowance. Now he doesnt because some retired gp who asessed him said she had never had experience with his illness and therefor didnt think it could be as bad as he made out. (This was said in front of a cab witness!) Nurse who also assessed him made several suggestions about how he could work around it and get a job all totally ridiculous, she was totally clueless as to what his illness was.

He now has £70 jsa to live on, has to get himself to regular hospital appointments and treatments in hospital, feed himself (he has a restricted diet due to condition) pay his bills etc on that money. He can only afford to heat one room at a time in winter and goes without food sometimes as he cannot afford the right food. His parents are retired and on pensions but are buying him food and paying petrol for his car to get him to hospital appointments.

Both he and the staff at the job centre know he is never going to get a job he can hold down due to the unpredictability and severity of his illness and they told him he isnt the only one wasting his own and their time every week. They are disgusted with the system that preys on the vulnerable.

If he misses 'compulsory' tutorials or meetings due to his illness incapacitating him his jsa is 'sanctioned' until they decide he has proved he couldnt go.

Some people will be ok on benefits depending on thier ciurcumstances but others are dumped by the wayside and left to struggle. My friend has had one trip to the food bank but they are only allowed one trip! (and they have to be referred by someone!)

The whole system is a tragedy. People have died after the assessments have cut them off, people cant afford food, heating or electicity to keep their meds cool, people are housebound as their cars were taken from them, mobility allowance stopped.

Your relative might be in for a shock some day.

user1490465531 · 17/04/2017 10:37

it must be so hard for carers having to fight for help and for the disabled with constant assessments.

incompetentmayorgoodway · 17/04/2017 10:52

I was married and worked 60 hour hour weeks and he worked full time too- we where comfortable ( own home etc)
Out of the blue he went bankrupt and asked for a divorce so I was left homeless with two kids ( house repossessed)

For two years I've been on benefits and it's been a nightmare I've lost weight so nothing fits and my boots are scruffy etc BUT all my living expenses are covered I just can't justify treats on my tight budget , I got a council house luckily as there's no shortage in my area and I live week to week. I gave up work and went to college as it fit in around school times and I have my uni place for September so hopefully that's the start of an improved life.

Swipe left for the next trending thread