Low salaries not actually low?

[highchairhell]

I'm probably being unreasonable here but it really frustrates me when people say 'we manage on a salary of £24k' etc but conveniently forget to mention the tax credits, child benefit, subsidised school lunches etc that bumps the salary up considerably.
On threads where someone says they struggle earning £50k there are always posters who are incredulous and outraged that people aren't living like kings on that but fail to realise that there would be little to no help for families on that wage whereas the lower wages are propped up with tax free benefits and housing pay that means they have more disposable income than the on paper huger earners!

Cantsleep I don’t think Die is asking for additional help, but rather that her and her DH can be treated as a single tax entity.

Nanna50, I was receiving child tax credits before I started getting DLA though. It is only with startung to get DLA my tax credits went up as you receive the full entitlement.

Happypuppy, my child is disabled and we are entitled to help, so why should we not take what we are entitled to and we need? Unless you have walked a mile in my shoes, who the fuck are you to judge me?

I am a bit confused as to how some people are able to claim when on what seems a fairly good income? What is the cut off?

For example, we cannot claim anything - I earn £29k FT and my fiancé earns £12k part time and we have one child. My fiancé went part time to provide child care as it made more sense for him to reduce hours than it did for me. However, because I earn £29k, we can't claim anything yet some people are able to get top ups that exceed this?

Thanks to the new NHS pay deal, I will be on 24K in 2 years (unless I can get promoted).

I'm a single parent to a disabled child and live in the SE. I pay £900 pcm rent on a 2 bed flat, which is the standard rare in my area. I'm actually lucky as my flat is a bit nicer than the norm and very spacious but my landlord hasn't upped the rent since I moved in 6 years ago.

Because my son has ASD i get DLA for him, so I get a bit more CTC and housing benefit. I do not get WTC. We aren't able to afford lots of luxuries or holidays.

I've never qualified for free school meals for him. XH left the country to avoid paying maintenance.

We have a reasonable standard of living, but only because I budget for everything, seek out every good deal and work full time, even though my child has always been better to manage when I am part time.

He is going to secondary school next week so the childcare has ended but because TC only pays for 70% of costs I will actually be a bit better off each month.

As DS gets older my plan is to try and go back to commuting to London for higher pay, but as I'm disabled myself (And not eligible for any benefits) and getting older, I don't know how feasible that will be.

Chocolate, sympathies on one of your children being disabled but really? 4 children on such a low salary?

RedBlu I believe the cut off is £36K for a couple and a bit higher for single parents.

Exactly Kaniel and there's also the fact that the person on the £50k salary is generally more likely to be able to get a similar paying job should they lose their current one. They'll likely have qualifications, transferable skills and contacts in their industry. Compare that to someone on NMW in eg Poundworld being made redundant and seeking another job with lots of competition from other "unskilled/low skilled" people.

It's not just about what people can buy right now from their take home pay, it's the long term security of having the ability to earn a higher income and knowing that as your expenses reduce (childcare, dc moving out) your disposable income increases and you have more options re saving for the future, paying down a mortgage etc.

Oh ignore me, talking out if my arse apparently. Here's a link RedBlu which gas more up to date info than I was last told. It also depends on number of children.
www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/child-tax-credit#child-tax-credit-income-limits

Happypuppy, what do you mean? My first three children's father is dead, not that I need to explain that to you really do I? Only that meant that I needed to apply for help and had to leave work. So please think before you judge and sneer at people that you probably see beneath you, because you don't know the full story.

And even if you get tax credits with children, you won't once they grow up. The poorest people are often those without children.

I don’t see you beneath me Chocolate, I just don’t see the “living within your means”

I lived within my means when I was single, childless and a lot younger, often forgoing food so I could feed my cats instead. I was also working 60 hours a week with zero help.

I am single mum of one and I feel we do ok. Not in the past when i was not in work, we really struggled so it does pay to work.

I am at university now and I get help with my childcare etc. When I qualify next year, my starting wage will be 28k, I hope I still get some benefits to help with childcare then. But if not we still should be ok, but it will be tight.

Thanks to the new NHS pay deal, I will be on 24K in 2 years

The new NHS pay deal is a blinder isn’t it? The unions have done brilliantly. My salary is going up by 30% over three years (I’m on £33k now new to role and will be on £40k by 2021)!

One thing that annoyed me when I was struggling on £12k per year was the way that working tax credits are mysteriously unavailable until you reach 25. What the fuck is that all about? I needed help desperately and there wasn’t a penny available. Ended up in debt due to serious ill health and being denied DLA too despite a provable disability. The benefits system always confuses me, some people seem to reap plenty but whenever I’ve needed it there’s been not a penny of help there.

YANBU!

Anyone know when top up tax credits stop? Is it if your over 26k regardless of childcare costs?

Ah thanks for the link, that makes more sense!

My DP changed jobs before our DD was born and went to something more flexible and part time so we didn't have to use childcare - so in my example the cut off is actually £25k because we don't pay for childcare - but we did have to take a financial hit from the reduced income - but I am sure it still works out cheaper than paying childcare.

Although if we did use childcare, the limit then becomes £40k, which we have already passed anyway.

Depends where you live. In London area £50K pa means you struggle!

Happypuppy, then explain to me why I should not claim the benefits that other people are entitled to claim? For what reason should I allow my children to go without? I have worked since I was 16, it was only in the last few years I have had to leave work. And believe me, caring for 4 children, one with difficulties, becoming apparent that's it's probably two of them that need extra care is a full time job. I'm up half the night, that's why I get carers allowance. I barely sleep.

I mean, I could go and get and job and put them in full time care/ school wrap around. But then that would mean the government would be paying towards that wouldn't it?

f you live in the north east for example where property is very reasonable, your definition of a low/high salary would be different to someone in the south east who was most likely paying a higher mortgage/rent.

This is true only if you have South-east wages in the north-east. Most people don't, A lot of them don't have ANY fucking wages because there are no fucking jobs! (Unless you count zero-hours contracts as "jobs")

The reason that houses are cheaper up here is because people who are struggling to pay even "cheap" mortgages wouldn't be looking to buy at all at south-east prices - they just couldn't.

We also have a lot of empty properties up here that southern landlords have bought as buy-to-let, but they stand empty because they try to get southern rents for them, the stupid greedy twats.

But I'm not bitter , , ,

Got it in one chocolate, the government would be paying either way.
For the four children you chose to have, “living within your means”.

Nobody wants children to go without but something needs to drastically change, it’s not just you, don’t take it personally.

Anyway, lunch break over.

Doesn’t everyone get free school meals from reception to year 2 now?

No, there are no free school meals where I live unless you have a really low family income, something like 15k per annum.

I'm a single mum earning less than £10k a year. I don't get help with housing costs as I don't rent, I pay a mortgage. I also don't get free school meals for my DCs as you need to be on JSA or IS to be eligible for those.

I do get tax credits, but the more I earn, the less Tax Credits I get, and its all worked out based on last years earnings, so if I earn less money this year than last, I also get less in TCs because its based on my higher earnings last year. Its very hard to budget when half your income can just be stopped on a whim too.

I do wish people would just leave benefit claimants alone. In the grand scheme of things its a fraction of the money spent on other things and it does so much good for so many families. Without tax credits I would have had to stay in a shitty relationship with my emotionally abusive ex. It was only because I was able to see a way out that I could split up with him and start to rebuild my life and my family.

I totally agree, op. I earn around £55,000 And I'm single living in the south east. I am buying a 1 bed flat as I couldn't afford a 2 bed. I'm friends with the teaching assistant at work, and she is married to a postman. They live in a 3 bedroom house with their child. Their combined income must be less than mine. I don't resent it, as I think postmen and TAs do deserve a good life and are woefully underpaid, but people should be honest about their salaries and not say they're on min wage if they get a lot of top ups too. When people are choosing a career, it's important that people have the full facts and realise that lower earning jobs xmcan actually be more lucrative than higher earning ones due to benefits.

And btw, I'm frugal, have an old car, no debt and haven't been abroad for 7 years. Only having a 1 bed flat on my salary is due to being in the south east, as my one bed flat cost £270,000!