To ask if universal credit should take into account what your living expenses are?

[Cheeseandlobster]

I have a family member who had a baby dd this year. She lives with her mum and dad in a granny annexe and pays no bills, rent or food. She sends me screenshots every time she gets a payment saying she is amazed at how much she is being paid (around £750 every 4 weeks). She also sends me screenshots of what she is buying and it's often urban decay makeup, Michael Kors designer clothing, etc. She has openly said she has no intention of ever leaving home or working as she has never been so well off and had such nice things.

She is a great mum to her dd and her dd has everything she needs but this isn't what benefits are for and she is now making a lifestyle choice of staying on uc for as long as she can. I have explained that once her dd is older she will have to find a job and tried to encourage her to think about what she would like to do when that time comes but she is adamant she won't be working again.

This isn't her fault in a way as the system has allowed her to do this and her mum and dad are choosing not to charge housekeep. I also know people on the other end of the spectrum on uc who have large bills and are really struggling to make ends meet

So should uc take into account what your outgoings are too? I don't know how much it would cost to administer but the differences in living styles between those living at home and those living independently seem huge and it doesn't seem fair to me

Childcare costs and employment not being financially viable after paying those costs are one of the systematic barriers to employment discussed earlier. Instead of accusing posters of taking the piss for legally claiming benefits they qualify for why aren't you directing that irritation at the government for not doing more to address these inequalities within the system and for not doing more to make employment pay?

I agree with not providing hb for those under 25

What about those young people estranged from their families? Those leaving care? They don’t deserve a roof over their heads? Or families where space is at a premium? Where there is illness or disability and parents who struggle with the upkeep of another adult?

Poster has said she could earn what she receives on benefits plus another £100 a month . That’s not cost prohibitive, that’s lazy . I would bill the father for half the child care costs , that should help too . Take it straight from his salary ?
There is a lot the government could do but we do have a personal responsibility to look after ourselves and our families too . It’s not all the governments fault .

No housing benefit for under 25s is an utterly ridiculous idea that would see many young people out on the streets. Not everyone has family willing to support them.

@PurpleTigerLove so you think SAHP are lazy?

No one under 25 needs their own flat /house . They can house share and their job can pay the rent . We have a housing shortage , there is no way supply can keep up with demand if every 18 year old expects to be housed and supported .
I’m sure those leaving care are already exempt as they should be . Why focus on the negative ?

People always start with the "lazy" comments. I don't think being a SAHP is lazy, especially if the father isn't involved and they're doing it on their own. Bet you wouldn't call a SAHP who was being supported by their partner lazy, in that situation they get told they're doing the harder job.

Where did I say that ?

Why does a 26 year old need their own home but a 24 year old doesn't?

An under 25 year old does need their own home if they have a dependent child.

In your above post. You said it's lazy not to work for an extra £100 a month. But being a SAHP isn't lazy.

Being at home IS physically easier than working and doing all the house jobs in the evenings / at the weekends.

The father should be docked half of childcare costs from his wages at source . He shouldn’t be allowed to walk away from a child he created . I’m not sure how I feel if he didn’t want the child in the first place and would have preferred the mother to have an abortion . I don’t think it’s fair that they have to support a child they never wanted. I don’t think there are as many accidents when it comes to contraception fails as we are led to believe .

It’s lazy not to work because you’d only be better off by £100 a month when you include your benefits . How can you not see that ? The benefit system is broken if someone chooses not to work before it’s of little financial benefit to them to work.

There’s little different in a 24 and a 26 year old I agree . I just picked the same age the government did .

@PurpleTigerLove so if a woman who was relying on her partner to support her came on here and said she was a SAHP because she'd only get £100 a month if she worked because childcare was so expensive then you'd say she's lazy? It's the same thing.

It's not lazy not to work when your child is a baby. Being a SAHP is hard.

It's not the benefits system that is broken. It is inflation and the wage system that is broken. It's not that benefits are too generous, it's that wages are too low.

So you think some people should have to go to work to pay for those who chose to stay at home with a child older than 1 ? Can you please explain why ? Why is their time more valuable with their children than those of us who pay tax and have always worked after maternity leave ?

If a father doesn't want to support a child he never wanted then he should use contraception then.

It's not about their time being more valuable. It's about them falling into unfortunate circumstances. If you think it's so great, quit your job and go on benefits. Or just stop being bitter.

Benefits are too generous and wages are too low because we have too many people chasing the same jobs . It’s supply and demand . If you can chose not to work because you just don’t want to , then the system is most definitely broken .

@PurpleTigerLove

Safari - she shouldn’t have the choice not to live with family anymore. It should be assumed that she will stay at home until she can support herself . I agree with not providing hb for those under 25 .

So should working parents of young mothers also not have any choice in the matter?

Under current rules single people under thirty five will, if renting privately, only get a housing costs payment for a room in a shared house. And the low amount usually means renting from dodgy landlords in dodgy areas too.

Parents however can get benefit paid for a 1-bed house or flat. Frankly it would be unsafe to have a baby or toddler in a shared house where the mother has no control over who else is in the building. In an HMO with separate tenancies for each resident, you can be sharing your kitchen and bathroom with a convicted criminal and they are legally entitled to be there.

I never once said it was great , why would I intentionally put myself in a precarious situation ? Is that your only argument when someone disagrees with living solely on benefits when able to work . I’m not bitter , I think benefits have their place and I would support anyone to stay at home with their child and raise them until the end of a normal maternity leave . So the same as working mothers and fathers . I’m all about equality .

Safari - best not to get pregnant then ?!

@PurpleTigerLove

Safari - best not to get pregnant then ?!

And as for the child? "Best not to be born to a poor mum then" ?!

She’ll be getting an income support element in that which is bumping the payments up.
When the child turns 5 she won’t get as much money,

I don’t think you CAN just choose not to work anymore. They pull you in and you have to prove you are applying for work. A friend of mine who is now back in work had to claim it for a while...I think he had regular meetings.

We’ve had to claim UC recently. My husband lost all work due to the lockdown although thankfully he should be back in September.

I am Carer for our son who is autistic.

We got around £1500 this month....it’s higher than many get but we get a severe disability element.

Out of that we paid rent of £600 plus another £180 for council tax. Other expenses are car insurance and tax etc for DH who needs a car for work. Petrol for my car, gas, electricity , water etc. Then food etc and any additional bills such as contents insurance, phone bills etc.

We also have a £160 counselling bill for DS but this comes out of his PIP payment.

We’ve been told that if UC is still needed by us in September the payment will be nearer £950 a month to take into account my husband’s earnings.

I guess it’s generous at the moment due to lockdown removing the minimum income floor for self employed people. They will apply it again soon I would think so if we still need UC at that point then I expect it to go down significantly.