To not understand Universal Credit or believe that we qualify?

[UCConfused]

So I read on another thread about applying for UC if you have less than £16k in savings.

We have basically no savings. So thought I'd read more and have done a few of the calculators.

Between us we earn a little over £40k - no childcare costs as I can WFH outside school hours.

We rent privately at £1100/month.

Use credit cards etc but no big debts. Bascially each month we're at zero. But we do manage a couple of holidays a year. France/Spain/Wales etc, nothing too glam, but we can pay for DDs extra curricular things and don't go without.

Apparently though we can claim around £400/month UC.

Which is music to my ears, especially the Help to Save scheme thing, as having savings is the dream.

But do I have this all wrong? I feel like a fraud filling the application!

It could be right....someone said on another thread a few months ago their husband earns £70k a year but simply because they rent and live in London they were entitled to UC which takes the piss a bit

@Hayeahnobut

Have you checked that your full rent is allowed? Check the two bedroom LHA rate for your area, that's the figure you need to enter for housing costs.

There's no harm in applying, it's not fraudulent to give the DWP your financial information and they then work it out.

Thanks for that - I've just checked and 2 bed allowance is £260/week (we rent 2 bed, so pay pretty spot on the allowance)

I did wonder if the fact it's rent and that living costs are so high here affected it.

I was about to mention rent. Do those who aren’t eligible have rent to pay?
Your housing outgoings are high.

Why don't you just apply anyway and see what happens?

The best calculator to use is from a charity called Universal Credit Essentials and, using the figures you’ve put up here you would be entitled to around £400pcm.

1. You would be entitled to the following UC elements:

Standard allowance: £594.04
(couple over 25)
Housing costs £1,100
(subject to LHA)
Child allowance £281.25

Which gives a maximum entitlement of £1,975.29.

2. Take your combined monthly earnings, after tax, NI and pensions, and deduct from that total figure the work allowance of £292. Then multiply what's left by 0.63.

3. Subtract that figure from the £1,975.29 in the first para. Whatever is left will be the amount of UC you're entitled to.

However, please bear in mind that:

• you will only be allowed the housing costs element up the LHA rate for a 2-bed property in your area, which may well be lower than £1,100, in which case you need to reduce the housing costs element to that figure
• I've assumed no-one in the household has a disability

Hope that helps.

Another caveat: I have been off work for 5 weeks (benefits adviser) so a bit rusty, but I'm sure someone like Babyroobs or Anotheremma will be along in a minute to put me straight if I'm wrong.

You can claim it but if your income puts your award down to zero (which I imagine it will with that income and one child) then they'll stop your claim

I take home £14,400 a year, 1 DC no childcare, and I get £80 a week T.Credits. I hàve a shared ownership property.

@movingonup20

I thought the cap was £23k in London and £20k elsewhere not including child benefit (separate) and pip/dla (exempt)

The cap is not applicable when earnings exceed 16 hours @ NMW pw, so not relevant here.

Also don't pay too much attention to the online calculators, they rarely get it right and it's wast to miss off crucial info. A manual calculation needs done

Wow @LakieLady - thanks I really appreciate your reply.

It seems as though I've been doing the calculator correctly.

Living where we do really does make it hard to save etc with the cost of living so high. So if we can qualify for this and use the help to save scheme it would really feel like a bit of a weight off to build up a safety fund.

We had one of a few thousand a couple of years ago, but then our car broke, rent went up, bills went up, wages didn't etc etc.

I don't think you would be entitled on that wage.

Our household income is just over £30,000 a year, we have 2 children and live in a very expensive area but aren't entitled to anything. I'd try and get advice from someone over the phone just to double check what the calculators are telling you because i've been caught out before thinking I was entitled to tax credits, but then they said we had to pay alot of money back.

I'm sure this must be wrong. I'm a single month to one, work PT so my pay check is around £1500 per month. I am entitled to the 85% childcare, but as far as actual 'additional' payments go - it's around £50 per month.

My home is mortgaged though, so maybe that's the difference.

Hope you get sorted OP, sorry I didn't realise how different UC was and I've not dealt with the housing side of things, sounds like it's worth putting in an application! Good luck!

I do know also if you get the housing element then the amount you are allowed to earn before deductions is lower than if you don't claim housing. So it can make it seem like you're eligible when you aren't if you use the no housing amount. Not sure what it is for a joint claim though (or if it works differently)

It’s definitely correct and it’s because of your rent. Those saying they earn less and get less... it depends on your rent. Plus your overall take home I.e universal credit AND income will ALWAYS be more, the more you earn. UC is made for those who work! So your always better off to work... earn more etc than to not work or only work part time like a lot of people on tax credits used to only work 16 hours as that worked out best financially!

I’m amazed that you can claim on £40k, would really love you to check back and let us know how it works out.

@TrialOfStyle I work 30 hours a week and take home £1200 a month & get £80 a week T.Credits.

You should get the 30 hour element if you work 30 hours or more.

My shared ownership is classed as a mortgage, although its actually half rent & half mortgage that I pay every month.

That's got to be wrong? You don't get UC to enable you to save. Not a dig at you op.

@helloxhristmas why shouldn’t someone who works full time be able to save?

It's all very much dependent on your personal circumstances my friend gets quite a bit of UC even tho she gets a decent wage (£1300 odd a month) but she has high rent one DC but also gets the disabled child element as her child is on HRC DLA which also entitled to carers element on UC which both of them combined is an extra £600 a month on UC where as if I was to apply with the same wage I would get nothing as I own my home(mortgage) child is NT
So yours is proberly correct, x

@FightingWithTheWind

Our household income is just over £30,000 a year, we have 2 children and live in a very expensive area but aren't entitled to anything. I'd try and get advice from someone over the phone just to double check what the calculators are telling you because i've been caught out before thinking I was entitled to tax credits, but then they said we had to pay alot of money back.

This doesn't tend to happen with UC because it is based on actual income. The DWP use payroll data from HMRC for UC, which is why it goes down when you earn more, or get a tax refund.

Tax credits are based on your estimate of earnings, so if you get a pay rise or do overtime, you end up with an overpayment.

Wow surely not. It seems crazy that someone on a 40k income can get UC just because they rent. (Has what was housing benefit been merged into UC so its basically the housing benefit element? Even so. On 40k!?!?)

[quote Gothere]@TrialOfStyle I work 30 hours a week and take home £1200 a month & get £80 a week T.Credits.

You should get the 30 hour element if you work 30 hours or more.

My shared ownership is classed as a mortgage, although its actually half rent & half mortgage that I pay every month.[/quote]
Do you have children?