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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Tothink it's utterly ridiculous that a 6k raise would only work out to be £100 per month

376 replies

theduchessstill · 11/02/2018 22:10

I'm just feeling really hopeless at the moment. I earn a decent enough wage and know that I am very fortunate compared to many. However, as a single parent who receives no maintenance I am solely responsible for myself and two children and a mortgage, as well as having to save for a further pay out for ex when youngest comes of age. We do ok, but I have little to no savings and think about money constantly.

I have seen a job that pays 6k more than my current one and is a natural next step for me. 6k seems like quite a step up, but have just put the figures into a calculator and it seems that, taking into account the fact it would take me above the CB threshold, I would be a measly £100 per month better off.

Pisses me off tbh. As I'm in a public sector role I very rarely get other pay rises and when I do they're minuscule. I also think the fact that I would lose CB when a couple with a combined income well above my single one would keep it is an absolute disgrace. It just seems things are never going to get any better for me so just having a little rant, a pointless one as there's obviously no guarantee I'd get the job even if I went for it.

OP posts:
RunningOutOfCharge · 11/02/2018 22:12

Yep. Similiar just happened to me. Offered new tile which is 4K more. Have ended up £50 a week better off

Tax and NI are a fair bit higher

RunningOutOfCharge · 11/02/2018 22:12

*role not tile!!

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 11/02/2018 22:13

I’ll save my pity party for those on a fraction of your c£60k salary thanks. 🙄

CaptainMarvelDanvers · 11/02/2018 22:13

But you’re going to be £100 better off.

JuliannaBixby · 11/02/2018 22:14

I cried last year when I got a pay rise, only for it to increase my tax, NI and student loan payments, leaving me £12 per month worse off. Sad

CaptainMarvelDanvers · 11/02/2018 22:15

Actually it’s more than a £100 pound because you will be covering the loss of child tax credits so that £6k isn’t working out at £100 per a month.

TheThickenPlots · 11/02/2018 22:15

How much above the threshold for CB would you be? It’s on a sliding scale from £50 to £60k and that is taxable pay - so you need to deduct pension contributions and any childcare vouchers etc from your yearly pay before working out how much you would get.

Glumglowworm · 11/02/2018 22:16

Go for it anyway, £100 a month better off is still better off

And you won’t be at the mercy of the government cutting benefits and potentially leaving you worse off

flippityfloppity · 11/02/2018 22:17

Don't forget the £50k threshold for cb is after pension contributions, so if it only just takes you over you might be ok.

grumpy4squash · 11/02/2018 22:17

I feel your pain for sure, but are the sums definitely right?

CB for 2 DC is ~£1800 per year and you wouldn't lose all of that for a £6k pay rise that takes you over the boundary (e.g. £50k-£56k)

JeansAndANiceTop · 11/02/2018 22:19

Sorry but you’re complaining about getting an additional £1200 a year? I’m a single parent, with a mortgage, maintenance is a stick used to beat me with and sometimes gets paid, usually not, take the pay rise.

LizzieSiddal · 11/02/2018 22:20

It would be disappointing, but that’s life I’m afraid.

The thing is, you will be £100 a month better off, you won’t be claiming CB (which is good for the country) and when you go for the next step up, you will get a much better rise.

It’s your choice, stay where you are or keep climbing the ladder and earn much more in the future.

Original poster
theduchessstill · 11/02/2018 22:20

Oh, I didn't realise it was after pension contributions, that's good.

It's just the realisation that this really is as god as it gets now. There is no promotion or job I will ever get that is going to make a substantial difference to our quality of life Sad.

OP posts:
AbundantFenestration · 11/02/2018 22:21

Speaking as a higher earner, this is the shit. I guess you will also have higher contributions made to your pension and 100 quid isn't nothing.

LizardMonitor · 11/02/2018 22:21

That’s exasperating.

BUT are there other long term benefits? For example presumably the amount your employer will pay into your pension will rise, which, with the tax benefits and compound interest, will stand you in much better stead when you retire.

Also, I am guessing that most or all of your extra money is paid at higher rate tax. Would it benefit you to have tne amount of your salary that is in the 40% bracket paid into your pension, instead, as a salary sacrifice? (And then you don’t lose it all in tax).

If you will be 55 when your youngest reaches 18 you could take the amount you have to pay your ex out of your pension. Which means less money needing to be saved now.

londonrach · 11/02/2018 22:22

Dh just got a better job with a raise (nothing like yours) and we worked out £for £ we lose child benefit after tax etc so be about £50 better off per month...

user1471439240 · 11/02/2018 22:29

Promotions and more hours used to mean more money to take home.
The link between wages and working was broken by Tony and Gordon. The end.

inkydinky · 11/02/2018 22:29

I hear you OP. I'm in the same boat when it comes to feeling like this is "it". I have a smaller salary and will probably never face your problem which is depressing in a whole other way! Post divorce I had to cancel my AVCs into my pension; stop saving for the kids' future and cut back on pretty much everything. It's hard to adjust to and galling to think that the only 'fix' would be to couple up again Sad

Anyway, the solution for you is pretty simple, if you are just over the CB threshold pay extra into your pension to keep you below it - you keep the CB and are saving extra for when you are retired!

coffeeforone · 11/02/2018 22:32

Are you sure your sums are correct? I think it will be more like £200 better off (you’ll probably get £290 in your pay), less maximum loss 60% of child benefit on the increase (£90 per month based on two kids)

BackToThe90s · 11/02/2018 22:32

I just can't feel pity for this even though I want to. I also have 2 dc to support on my own and a mortgage to cover and earn just over 8k in salary and even with top up tax credits don't even earn a 3rd of what you earn. At 60k I would be laughing! Sorry but different worries for different folk and all that!

But the thought of 60k on a single salary...

LRDtheFeministDragon · 11/02/2018 22:34

Shock Blimey.

What exactly do you want people to say? You earn far more than most people. Most couples don't earn anything like as much as you. And you have a mortgage, so clearly you have been able to afford to buy your own house.

What exactly did you expect to 'improve your quality of life'?! Confused

RB68 · 11/02/2018 22:36

If you are living in the south I can understand - feels like a much better job but when it boils down to it its not alot more for probably alot more work.

If its good for career progression and opens up for pay rises in the upper bracket (ie gives you more head room for payrises) it is worth it - plus the increased pension etc.

I would take a look at what you are paying for and outgoings and look at how you can bring those down, get tough over extra channels, Friday takeaways etc or even coffees etc and just tighten up the budget so you can start saving to pay off Ex when youngest is of age.

Life is tough though.

Original poster
theduchessstill · 11/02/2018 22:37

I'm nowhere near 60k - this job would take me just over 50k, which thanks to people here being a lot more knowledgeable than me I now realise wouldn't mean the loss of all my CB. I also didn't know you could pay more into a pension to remain below the threshold, so that's another option for me to investigate if it comes to it.

I'm sorry for anyone worse off, but it is all relative. Flowers to anyone struggling - whatever income you're on it's scary feeling alone and totally responsible for children.

And I really don't think this is Tony and Gordon's fault...

OP posts:
LRDtheFeministDragon · 11/02/2018 22:38

Many people living in the south, including London, are not in vague sight of earning what the OP is fortunate enough to earn.

LRDtheFeministDragon · 11/02/2018 22:39

Cross post.

No, it isn't all relative. No, the way you feel on 'just' 50k isn't the same as how the majority of earners feel.