To think I will be better off on £27,500 salary than income support

[user1495366815]

ive just got a new job where the starting salary is £27,500 a year. Going up to £36,000 after 5 years.

My mum seems to think I might as well be on benefits as I will hardly be any better off and won't have any spare money.

She has never worked and my dad has earned close to minimum wage his whole life so I think she comparing my salary to their situation.

My tent and council tax are low.

I have worked out that I will be £1000 a month better off on this salary than I was on income support.

AIBU to be annoyed with this comment?

I think it's partly coloured by her views that women shouldn't be out working. I need to work for my mental health anyway, even if there's no financial gain.

AIBU to think financially I will be considerably better off working?

I felt sad to hear about your living in a tent. Glad it was a typo

I have no idea what if any tax credits you'll get but of course you'll be better off! And even if you aren't much better off, you're playing a long game. Good for you :)

Well done getting a job. From what you say it seems clear cut that you are financially better off even with any child care and then there are social/health benefits as well.
Sometimes there is a fine balance but that is less true now.

I advise at CAB - for anyone else doing these calculations check whether you are in an area with universal credit as the calculation can be completely different. For example you don't get additional money for working 16/24 hours (WTC).

What the government say is that once you are in the universal credit system you will be better off working than not working. However you may be financially better off leaving things as they are (if you are on tax credit or income support) compared to a change that takes you into universal credit. Of course that is only financial and doesn't cover the confidence etc from working and chance to progress in your career.

it depends really as a staff nurse i was taking home £18,00/19,00/month i gave up work to be ds2 carer [he has disabillities] tbh i was only marginally better off working but all benefits we get tend to be enhanced due to ds DLA.

She is probably feeling quite defensive and thats why she is being so negative.

She has never worked, your dad has only worked NMW jobs, so life probably wasnt easy. But you have got a job that will be bringing home almost twice, before tax, what your dad could earn so proving that a) yes women can work and do well and b) if she had worked, how much easier their lives would have been.

She is probably feeling a bit crap that you are doing something she didnt do, perhaps claiming she didnt have time with kids etc, and earning bloody well into the bargain.

My mum says stuff like that. It's to justify her never going to work (and scrimping constantly). To say well done reflects on her choice to not go out to earn money. Well done you.

On 27k you won't get tax credits unless your childcare costs are massive.
How on earth do we know how much better off you will be? Do the sums. Take into account travel, dressing smartly, childcare, school and your lunches, convenience shopping, and the incidental costs of going to work, as well as rent and bills, and keeping a car on the road if you need to.
But actually, you don't have a choice, the option of staying on income support until your kids grow up no longer exists. You have to take the job, even though you will probably find you don't have that much extra to spare.

Statistically, working lone parent families in private rented housing are almost always in poverty, sorry, and 27k is about the point where that starts to no longer be true. Enlist your mum for emergencies and holidays.

I am in a council house with low rent.

It could be argued on 27k I won't be well off but in 5 years time when I'm in 36k I don't think that could be argued.

Maybe I should keep reiterating that to my mother!

I'm only on £15k and with tax credits top up I'm better off by £250pm than I was on income support. I don't have any childcare costs but if your DC is in school then yours shouldn't be extortionate. It's all relative but usually most people with school age DC are better off in work than on benefits. Congratulations on your new job.

Wholeheartedly agree that you'll be better off financially and emotionally in your new job. Your pension is also a huge plus because, let's face it, there might be no such thing as a state pension by the time we all get there! Congratulations and just ignore your daft mother!!! 😉

I am currently signed off work for a week due to ill health and I can feel my mental health deteriorating. Similar happened when I was on mat leave. Being in work has far more benefits than financial, and that salary is decent so you will not suffer in that regard anyway.

I've never been on IS but I'm on £21k with benefit top ups as I'm single parent to a disabled child. I can just about make ends meet but my rent will be much higher than yours as I'm in private rented (no council housing here) and in an expensive part of the SE.

What I want to know is what field this job is in? I could get by on £27.5K but would love a career with a chance of progression (in a bit if a dead end in the NHS right now and looking at all options including retraining!).

You DM is BVU to say that to you. Mine would be over the moon for me in the same scenario.

I'm a social worker

That sounds like a good wage to me! Well done on the job btw and I totally second what you're saying about needing to work for your mental health, I always disagree with people who say they're 'better off on benefits' for that exact reason!

Sorry, but people like your Mum are part of the reason why the country has gone downhill. So what if you only made £100 more a month by working? Working should be a source of pride, and a lesson to teach your kids. Only selfish people make the choice of taking benefits when they are offered jobs that will only give them a little more. Who are they to have right to sit around and make the workers pay for them?
Good on you for taking the job. Once your DC no longer need childcare you will have more disposable income. I hope you spend it on the life and treats that you deserve. And what a great example to show your own kids.