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 ....

@dementedma, would you prefer to have your brother's health issues that are bad enough he is unable to work but he manages to save for a short holiday abroad for one than be in full health and be able to work but no holiday abroad?

@Willow2017, I am so sorry about your friend. PIP assessors seem to be looking for any loophole they can to deny PIP awards and those with illnesses which are less studied by the medical profession so there is less knowledge about them are particular vulnerable to unjust decisions.

I'm not in full health, but thank you for the assumption

@secretnorthener, with the introduction of the benefit cap those who live in more expensive areas of the UK are finding the housing benefit no longer pays for the full amount and in some areas there is a big shortfall. This shortfall is even with the more expensive area getting a bit more housing benefit to supposedly make up for it being a more expensive area. I live in the midlands and my housing benefit (am on benefits due to illness) covers most of my rent. I used to live in London. If I was to privately rent now in the area I used to live in London there would be a huge shortfall each month when previously housing benefit covered most of the rent in the area I lived in London.

Also housing benefit used to be set at the average rent for an area, now it is set at the bottom 30% of all rents in the area.

@dementedma, fair point that I assumed you were in full health so apologies for making that assumption, but presuming that the government still thinks you can work (and I appreciate getting esa is very hard now so u may struggle to work) and your brother has been deemed unable to work at all due to his health I am just surprised at resenting he can save enough to go on a short holiday abroad when his health is so bad he cannot work.

sleepyowl
Thank you, this happened when fecking ATOS were still doing the assessments so he has been stuck with this a long time now. He appealed but got nowhere.

As a lone parent, I didn't go back to work until my youngest was 5 and at school.

I was getting around £36 a week total child benefit, £110 a week total child tax credit, £70 ish a week income support, £2.50 a week via CSA from their absent father, council tax benefit (I think I only had to pay about £50 a month), and housing benefit £450 a month on my £525 rent for private 2 bed skanky terrace.

It was more than enough to live on, and although I had a newish phone it was because I was given it free, and I had nice furniture and Laura Ashley interior because I'd bought all that when I was working before I had kids. No car, sky telly, etc didn't smoke or drink or socialise.

I had no credit cards, subscriptions of any kind, but I got into debt and was eventually evicted because I was atrocious at budgeting. Partly because benefits are paid some weekly, some fortnightly, some monthly ; it makes budgeting difficult, especially when you buy on debit card and it's debited 11 days later rather than instantly.

When I went to work as a lone parent, the benefits were dropped and/or recalculated appropriately and I was around £200 a month better off.

I now living with someone, consequently all my lone parent benefits cease, and because we are both on low wages, I'm actually worse off financially than I was as a lone parent.

My income now is about £140 a week wages and £36 child benefit. Our working tax credit as a couple which is the only other benefit we now receive, is about £470 a month.

If I work full time, I'd shell out £125 a week in After School and a Breakfast Childcare Clubs, but my increased salary would cease our working tax credit entirely. Which is fine, we shouldn't rely on benefit help, but I suspect we'd be even worse off financially.

I don't mind publishing these figures. The TV programmes are for entertainment purposes, they don't reflect real life. In my experience, a lone parent gets around £200 a month more than they need, but they're more likely to get into debt because of poor budgeting, offers of credit, etc

There's a small minority of people who really don't want to work - like my children's absent father for instance who is 50 and hasn't worked since he was 21 - they feel entitled, they think the govern,net owes them, or like my kid's dad, he refuses to be a 'slave' to society and work for a living . Those are the unemployed the programmes concentrate on.

No doubt if this post gets lifted and quotes go to press, they'll chop and edit it to fit the dole dosser stereotype too

@dementedma, just to add I am sorry if you feel I have been a bit harsh towards you. I am projecting from my own experience. I have a chronic illness and have been bedridden for four years and housebound for most of the last ten years. In my first few years of illness I was not well enough to work but not as severely affected as now. I could once a year through my benefits pay for a flight to spend a week in the sun staying at a friend's house near the beach. I couldn't walk far, so could not explore the area, party, or swim much, just bob up and down in the sea. I just hate the thought that some people may feel I should not have a holiday abroad as I was on benefits and not able to work.

@Willow2017, I am so sorry. Atos were bad, though I am not sure maximus is much better! I am really sorry even on appeal he didn't get ESA. I realise how stressful the process is so understand if he can't face applying again but I hope eventually he might and finally get back on ESA as he should be on.

Sleepyowl
Thanks again. The tragic thing is he is resigned to it now. I hope he will try for ESA but stress makes his condition flare up and he would probably end up back in hospital it's a vicious circle.

SleepyOwl going back a few pages but Jill did state on the first page that she's on 'lowest rate dla'.

Not relevant to the thread as it stands though

We are fortunate in that my dh is one of the government's protected species - a pensioner.
He has been on dla for over 20 years and because he was age over 65 in April 2013 he is guaranteed to keep his dla awarded before that date for life with no further reviews. At that time he was receiving low rate care and high rate mobility dla.

In December 2015 he was diagnosed with another terminal illness and our gp immediately offered him a ds1500 guaranteeing him high rate care dla for 3 years. This also meant that I could reduce my hours from part time work to very part time work and claim carers allowance. I also receive 2 occupational pensions which are disregarded for carers allowance (a quirk in the system) so I still have a good personal income.
I realise that at the moment we are very fortunate - our total benefits are over £350 a week and my earnings, pension and my dhs final salary pension totalling over £550 per week. BUT I still have a sick dh and all the difficulties that go with his illness.

I am allowed 4 weeks 'off' in any 6 month period for carers' allowance so was able to have a fortnight abroad last year - dh can still care for himself within the home and grown up dcs and friends are nearby.
When dh finally dies my income will plummet - I am still 9 years off state retirement age and widows pension has just been slashed so I try to save as much as possible to cover the years until I get my state pension. I will also increase my working hours back to the previous level if they are available.

Some people do quite well but I personally have no u sweats ding of how it works for different people and reasons.

I have an elderly relative that lives alone, occupies a 3 bed house and gets more benefits/pension than he really knows what to do with - to the extent he sometimes gives another relative of mine who is young and at uni top ups so that they can afford to do nice things/buy decent food occasionally.

Which is obviously very kind and ofcourse I'm not really privy to his financial affairs so I don't know exactly what is received and why. Nor would I ask. Younger relative has told me this.

But I do find it a bit confusing as to why some are ok and others struggle. It seems so unfair !

Although Enids post may have clarified somewhat as I think some of the situation is similar.

@TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge, apologies, you are right. I missed her saying that in her second post. I just saw her say it in the first post.

Birds - Elderly people who have state pensions, occupational pensions, DLA or Attendence allowance ( both non means tested), mortgage paid off etc are generally in a pretty reasonable financial position.

Both my mil and fil have dies in the past few years, and were both claiming Attendance allowance for many years before they died. Judging by the amount of money in their bank accounts when they died, the money had just been sitting there unused accruing interest.
They both had state pensions and small occupational pensions , and owned their own home and had more than enough to live off without touching the disability benefits which just built up.
They didn't go without, always had the heating on when needed, had good food, paid all their bills, treated themselves when they wanted etc. The benefits were just surplus income that they were entitled to but didn't need.

And a good chunk of that money has gone back to the government in the form of inheritance tax !!

Explains it. Sorry I made some...spectacular typos and auto corrects there ! If anyone can understand my posts I am impressed.

I've only skimmed this thread but it's very striking what disparity exists between people on benefits. I see the same in my own friendship group. One girl (not working, lives in London council flat with 2 kids) definitely has more disposable income than I do (renting privately in London, 2 incomes, 2 kids). But another girl (not working, lives in a council flat with OH and 1 child) is always struggling to make ends meet, despite being - as far as I can tell - very careful with her money. So I can definitely see where the "wide-screen TV, foreign holidays" media stories come from as some people's benefits do seem to stretch to that, but many others are genuinely struggling.

Elinor my DH is a pensioner who is being transferred from DLA to PIP We sent off the form 6 weeks ago and are now waiting to hear. Hes 67

Helena - you had to be age 65 before 8th April 2013 to qualify to keep dla with no further reviews - ie born before 8th April 1948. People reaching 65 after that date will be transferred onto the pip system unfortunately.

@Willow2017 i understand him fearing being refused again and then his health getting much worse due to the stress. When I had to start the appeal process for my PIP my level of functioning worsened for about 10 months due to the stress and having to submit more written forms within a tight deadline. It was too much for my body. So many chronic illnesss are made worse by stress, so it's very cruel that people are being wrongly refused and having to appeal.

Elinor im 23 years younger than DH so will face very similar issues to you when hes not around any more. He has ischemic heart disease, emphysema and arthritis.

This is where it becomes unfair. So someone who is on DLA highest rate can keep that for life yet someone aged 66 making a new claim for Attendance allowance will get a lot less for life as there is no mobility component to AA.