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

[quote JessStu]**@KittyFantastico

These are only your opinions. The way that the electorate has voted recently should tell you that most people disagree with you.[/quote]
I disagree with you and @KittyFantastico has put across great facts.

Most people don't choose to raise their child/ren alone. I would actually find it hard to find anyone who thinks single parents and their children should live in poverty because they are single!

YABU. Good for her that she has a good support system. I was in her position when I separated from my ex husband.

I suspect that very few people with a child on UC are living in an annex, all living expenses paid. Your friend is hardly the norm.
If she didn't have a child and she had a mortgage, she would be getting around £400 per month towards everything (new claim first 9 months I believe).
How about a single person without a child paying rent. UC doesn't always cover the rent, so they'll pay all bills, food, transport and excess rent out of around £100 per week. They may have debt repayments to cover too, from when they had a job and a life before Covid.

There shouldn't be a seperate element for those who have no family support OP because no two circumstances are the same. For a short while i was living with my mum and in reciept of benefits. I did pay for food and bills but alot of the money i revieved went on transport to and from home for food shopping, many hospital appointments, job interviews and other necessitys. I am also disabled but not entitled any disability related payments. The goverment or anyone else for that matter has no idea what that person may need the money for and its a difficult line to tread deciding what is and isn't worthy if spending benefits on. In this case it is disappointing that your relative has chosen this path. However in 18 years time when her DD has left home and your relative decides she wants a job she will have a hard time doing so with such a large gap on her CV

not gloating or rubbing it in here
but you want to see how much we get on
carers allowance x2
tax credits with severe disabiliy element x2
income support x2
dla x2(both on high care)
and child benefit

take it all and times by 4 its £752 per week

we also get our full rent and ct paid

my kids are 24/7 care though as they have many complex disabilities each,neither sleep and we home educate so are with us 24/7 and we care 24/7

we get zero break

Yes we get a fair amount too ,@TAKENOSHITSHIRLEY,two children ,one is severely disabled so get ,s HRC and HRM DLA ,I get carers allowance Tax credits for two children plus severe disability element Child benefit , Dh works so we pay our own rent but we live in the North West and it's Housing association so not a huge amount ,I'm no worse off than when I was working full time as a nurse ,but as you say zero break.

@TAKESNOSHITSHIRLEY

not gloating or rubbing it in here but you want to see how much we get on carers allowance x2 tax credits with severe disabiliy element x2 income support x2 dla x2(both on high care) and child benefit

take it all and times by 4 its £752 per week

we also get our full rent and ct paid

my kids are 24/7 care though as they have many complex disabilities each,neither sleep and we home educate so are with us 24/7 and we care 24/7

we get zero break

Yes it's a lot of money but a lot of that will be DLA which is extra money to help with the additional costs of two disabled children.

@Babyroobs

Read the first page and who I tagged

Plonker.

it didn't be the case that they have more money to make better choices than those of us working

If you think a life on benefits means more money and a better lifestyle than working, then quit your job and go on benefits.

[quote Hubstar]@Babyroobs

Read the first page and who I tagged

Plonker.[/quote]
Are you calling me a plonker?

[quote Hubstar]@Babyroobs

Read the first page and who I tagged

Plonker.[/quote]
Oh I see you tagged someone else. Apologies for being a plonker.

@DioneTheDiabolist

YABU and utterly ridiculous OP.

Do elaborate on that insight.

@Tyersal people on benefits don't have more money than those working. The person in question has more money because she has family that are letting her live with them rent free. If she were working she would have more than £750 a month.

UC does take into account your circumstances.

Because your friend is not paying rent, she wont be receiving a housing benefit element or council tax relief.

She has only 1 child so her payment will reflect that.

In time she will be stuffed as her baby reaches an older age & the system requires her to work.

And, long term, it better to be in work. Benefits reduced or even stop once children no longer qualify, finding employment after so many years out of the workplace can be difficult to impossible and any jobs found tend to be low paid and/or low skilled, no pension other than state pension, and an income from benefits is tenuous and unreliable as it can be removed/reduced both via sanctions and changes in benefit spending as government budgets change.

This relates to out of work benefits however a fair proportion of benefit claimants are in work which brings me back to my earlier point - instead of asking why should people on benefits get given x-amount it would be better to ask why minimum wage isn't enough to meet living costs.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

UC does take into account your circumstances.

Because your friend is not paying rent, she wont be receiving a housing benefit element or council tax relief.

She has only 1 child so her payment will reflect that.

In time she will be stuffed as her baby reaches an older age & the system requires her to work.

She won't be stuffed though because if she continues living with her parents she can earn £512 a month and still get full UC on top ?? That's a pretty good deal really I think ?

£512 isn't even 16hrs a week, the DWP would be pushing her to take on more hours than that and her UC would reduce accordingly.

As far as I know when you apply for UC, they ask how much your rent is, childcare costs etc and decide how much you get on that. Of all the people I know who claimed UC none have been asked to provide a rental contract even. The system is ridiculous. One of these people is buying a new car while working cash in hand jobs, the other is claiming they're divorced. Not a single check....

@Babyroobs that would be under 16 hours a week though so she would still have to look for work and attend jobcentre appointments. You are required to work 16 hours minimum once your child starts school and then UC gets adjusted accordingly.

Except they do check and you do have to provide proof.

This is from CAB showing what evidence is needed in order to make a claim:

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/going-to-your-interview/

I looked into UC when I was going through a redundancy consultation, and I would have been getting more than I currently am being furloughed

[quote Waxonwaxoff0]@Babyroobs that would be under 16 hours a week though so she would still have to look for work and attend jobcentre appointments. You are required to work 16 hours minimum once your child starts school and then UC gets adjusted accordingly.[/quote]
It's 16 x nmw you are expected to earn when your child is 3 but I'm not sure how much they enforce it. depending how old she is minimum wage could be pretty low anyway. If she earns above £512 a month then yes there is a taper after this amount but she would basically still keep most of the UC amount and have wages on top. It's designed like that to encourage people to work, she'd probably be coming out with more than most young people who are in low paid jobs and don't have a baby. It's the having a baby which gives her the generous work allowance, young people without babies do not get that first £512 disregarded. It's all wrong.

They take rental costs into account. If you took into account other outgoings it would be carnage.

[quote Waxonwaxoff0]@Babyroobs that would be under 16 hours a week though so she would still have to look for work and attend jobcentre appointments. You are required to work 16 hours minimum once your child starts school and then UC gets adjusted accordingly.[/quote]
You are expected to be earning or looking for work earning 25x nmw once your child is at school.

[quote KittyFantastico]Except they do check and you do have to provide proof.

This is from CAB showing what evidence is needed in order to make a claim:

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/going-to-your-interview/[/quote]
Nope, they didn't. They discussed over the phone.