Tax credits and covid

[EvenMoreWorriedAboutMoney]

So I have been on tax credits for a couple of years, single parent with school age children, I work(ed) part time. My tax credits are based on working a mimimum of 16 hours a week...but I havent done that since March. I've kept on hoping a job would come along, have made so many applications and just not got anything, telling myself that given I'm allowed to average out the hours I work so to speak, that it would be fine in the end. And now we are going into lockdown again. What do I do? I assume I will have to go onto universal credit...I will be very very much worse off if I do. But I cant keep ignoring this problem. Can anyone advise? ( Incidentally I have worked all my life, never claimed a thing until my divorce.)

@SpaceRaiders @Tolleshunt
My personal opinion is that if you have £1000s in savings surely you should live off them before claiming benefits?
I’m as far from a Tory voter as possible so no I don’t listen to lord/master crap.
Fairness for ppl and help where needed but if you £6k in the bank then you’re hardly in the bones of your arse are you?
For yearsMN has been awash with sneering towards benefit claimants but now they find themselves struggling the entitlement is apparent.
I’ve had to help ppl who literally have pennies to their name and have resisted benefits and here we have OP with her nice savings perplexed about her benefit requirements, so yes it irritates me.

Well if you think because some people have suffered and been shat on, then that means OP and others like her should volunteer for penury l, then I find your logic perplexing, SBT, but each to their own, I guess

Well done for chasing OP away from a thread that she was getting support from 👏

@Strawberryshortcake40

www.gov.uk/government/news/tax-credits-customers-will-continue-to-receive-payments-even-if-working-fewer-hours-due-to-covid-19

I found this a few months ago when I had the same issue. It seems to say that tax credits won’t be affected?

That ended on the 31st October according to the link.

@SBTLove Who is they? Op isn’t a new claimant of WTC. Just because you or someone you know has resisted benefits doesn’t mean everyone else should. The safety net is there for everyone’s benefit. If you’re eligible, claim it! You don’t get brownie points for scraping by on pennies FFS. I think daily fail rhetoric has done quite a number on you.

@SBTLove

Do you not think it’s morally wrong to be wanting to claim UC but be sitting on savings? I just don’t agree with receiving state support when you have £1000s in savings. There are ppl with nothing waiting 5/8 weeks on UC relying on food banks and you have money available to you, use that! Sorry that’s my opinion.

You can’t judge OP. We don’t know her full circumstances and others similar who may have savings good for them.

Not everyone who is on benefits is living in poverty. My neighbours to the left of me do not work and there’s 2 parents they had 2 kids when I moved next door to them and since time has gone on they have had their 3rd child. They go on holidays and they drive. They are by NO means living in poverty although at the height of lockdown I saw lunches from the school been delivered.... however despite this they are great people though.

@SpaceRaiders
🤣🤣🙄Daily Fail, wouldn’t pick up my dogs 💩 with it.
Maybe work in your reading comprehension, since you’ve took my comments completely wrong. 🤣🤣

@SBTLove

Glad to hear it! Check your spelling before you insult my comprehension. 😏😆

.I do forest school so online doesn't work unfortunately

I've seen people recommend forest school activity packs to buy for their kids. Could that be something you could do - sell them online, along with videos of activities etc to publicise. I see a load of parents looking for ideas to occupy pre-schoolers again.
Also look into Packs for fun outdoor parties once regulations relax etc.

Tax credits chat are good on the gov gateway site

Hope you get on well with help to save, I agree it is good

Don't take any notice of the people who think you should stop doing something that's perfectly legal under TC regs, OP.

I wonder if they'd say the same about a lone parent getting £1.5k a month in child maintenance but still claiming full TCs, ESA and HB, which is a case that came across my desk the other day? Also perfectly legal.

"The problem with UC is that I have some savings from my divorce settelmtn that render me ineligible for UC but not TC. Im fucked I fear."

If you have more than £16k in savings (the amount that would disqualify you from getting UC) you are not fucked, you're in a more fortunate position than many people.

If you have less than £16k in savings, the first £6k is completely disregarded, and rightly so IMO, as I don't think people should have to empty their savings before claiming benefits, and everyone should be allowed a modest buffer if they are able to have one.

OP, as PPs have pointed out, you can continue to claim tax credits thanks to the special rules to protect people who have lost work due to covid. And with any luck, if you can get a job for 16h/w or more you'll be eligible again.