To ask you to help me work this out?

[Lulu2021]

My head is a mess as I'm going through some relationship difficulties with a young baby and I'm trying to make sense of my entitlement to financial help.

I've done a UC calculation a few times but it comes out with an amount that i think is an overestimate.

My details are;

• FT salary of £47,126, net monthly income £2,516 after deductions.
• 2 DC (ages 15 years and 6 months) - no childcare costs for eldest, costs of £700 pm for youngest when I go back to work from mat leave.
• child maintenance of £120 pm for the eldest child only.
• private rented property
• no other benefits claimed
• no significant savings

It's telling me I'd be entitled to in the region of £650 pm as a single parent. Does this sound right? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

OP
When does your old child turn 16 ?
As you are looking at moving and possibly making a claim when your maternity leave ends if she has turned 16 by then your LHA rate would change from 2 bedroom for 2 children of the same sex under 16 to the 3 bedroom rate as 16 year old children would qualify for their own room re the rate
Worth considering when looking at possible rental properties

@Angiedx

OP When does your old child turn 16 ? As you are looking at moving and possibly making a claim when your maternity leave ends if she has turned 16 by then your LHA rate would change from 2 bedroom for 2 children of the same sex under 16 to the 3 bedroom rate as 16 year old children would qualify for their own room re the rate Worth considering when looking at possible rental properties

Good point. So UC entitlement could be higher than posters have calculated.

Oh also I found the UC journal communications difficult but if you ring them the advisers are really good. They explain things well and do what they say they will. Which is massive!

Babyroobs and I think the only help after 9 months is a loan these days. I suppose the government expectation is that people take out mortgage protection policies but most people just can’t afford that. Good point on the no of bedrooms angiedx

OP : is your teen at school in same education authority as where you live? She won't get free transport out of catchment or across county lines probably

Whoever said that people are jealous, you're right, I am!! 😉😂

This is what I got this month (and every month since I put in a claim), I love how they say that I've been getting the uplift and it will now stop 🤣

Honestly OP, give the CAB a call, they were really helpful when I wanted them to explain as I've never claimed anything before and didn't have a clue! Good luck on getting it sorted and I hope life gets a bit brighter soon x

Surely this is a joke.

Agree with PP who suggested contacting Citizens Advice Help to Claim. They are the UC experts. Very good luck to you OP

OP have you actually applied for it yet or are you just asking people to work it out for you?

I did online calculations and got people to work it out for me but you don’t know for definite until you actually apply and they will work it out properly so I’d do that ASAP if I was you.

@YeOldeTrout

OP : is your teen at school in same education authority as where you live? She won't get free transport out of catchment or across county lines probably

Yes, she is.

@toocold54

OP have you actually applied for it yet or are you just asking people to work it out for you?

I did online calculations and got people to work it out for me but you don’t know for definite until you actually apply and they will work it out properly so I’d do that ASAP if I was you.

Haven't applied yet. Biding my time whilst on mat leave.

@Journeynotdestination

Surely this is a joke.

I wish it was but unfortunately it's my reality right now.

@Angiedx

OP When does your old child turn 16 ? As you are looking at moving and possibly making a claim when your maternity leave ends if she has turned 16 by then your LHA rate would change from 2 bedroom for 2 children of the same sex under 16 to the 3 bedroom rate as 16 year old children would qualify for their own room re the rate Worth considering when looking at possible rental properties

She turns 16 this time next year

@Ginflinger

Agree with PP who suggested contacting Citizens Advice Help to Claim. They are the UC experts. Very good luck to you OP

Thank you. I plan to contact CAB on Monday

@Boobahs

Whoever said that people are jealous, you're right, I am!! 😉😂

This is what I got this month (and every month since I put in a claim), I love how they say that I've been getting the uplift and it will now stop 🤣

Honestly OP, give the CAB a call, they were really helpful when I wanted them to explain as I've never claimed anything before and didn't have a clue! Good luck on getting it sorted and I hope life gets a bit brighter soon x

Thank you x

Haven't applied yet. Biding my time whilst on mat leave.

I know people are trying to be helpful but I have read some things that may not be accurate plus everyone’s situations are different so it’s good to get a rough idea but you don’t know for 100% until you’ve actually applied and then you can work it out properly from there.

Is your teen at her closest school? You won’t get transport if she isn’t.

@Boobahs, your wage is higher, and you don't have rent and childcare, we've worked out that op only has help because of the childcare, which is what she is primarily worried about, if this isn't claimed than she will not get anything

@DeepaBeesKit

School transport is usually only paid when your child is attending the nearest school they can be offered a place at. If you have chosen a school and it's not the nearest to your home I dont think they'll pay transport for that.

Ahh thank you.

The situation is that we used to live right next to her school when she started there (we were about half a mile away!). We moved to our current property which is 10 miles away when I got my current job 18 months ago, to make my commute more manageable. Hence why she now gets a school coach.

I hope you are okay OP, I'm sorry that someone you loved and trusted has let you down so badly. It is not your fault.

I hope you get enough on UC to cope.

As you can see from this appalling thread, a lot of people really look down on people who claim benefits, but have no problem with multinationals avoiding billions in tax. The double standards and stupidity are amazing. Please ignore these ignoramuses.

Hope you get on okay with claiming, if you can avoid it, don't take an advance as it greatly reduces the amount you have until it is paid back.

Best wishes for you and your family.

[quote Musereader]@Boobahs, your wage is higher, and you don't have rent and childcare, we've worked out that op only has help because of the childcare, which is what she is primarily worried about, if this isn't claimed than she will not get anything[/quote]
We do have childcare costs but as we use tax free childcare, we would have been worse off having them as part of UC.

To explain the proximity to my work / DD's school situation better - if you imagine an A, B & C in a vertical line one above the other like this:

A
B
C

And imagine they represent the geographic location of her school (A), our home (B), and my work / the childminder (C). There are 10 miles between A & B, and 15 miles between B & C.
Our home used to be located at A, but then my work changed to location C. So we moved to lessen my commute (which from location A was over an hour to 1hr 30 some days), meaning my DD unfortunately had to get a school coach. Hopefully this also shows the feasibility (or not as the case may be!) of me dropping the coach expense and driving her to school then going to work, via a childminder (located very near my work), and make it to work by 8.30am. 😬

Assuming you pay £800 in rent and you get that paid in full because it's within the your LHA then you'll get £838 per month.
If your rent is £600 (again assuming within LHA) you'll get £638 per month.

You can find your LHA here. lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/
If DC both same sex you'll be entitled to 2 bedrooms. If different sex then 3 bedrooms.

@Boobahs

I've worked out that I'm in the opposite scenario - I'd be worse off with tax free childcare. UC is a better option for me according to these calculations on this thread.

@Whatamesssss

I hope you are okay OP, I'm sorry that someone you loved and trusted has let you down so badly. It is not your fault.

I hope you get enough on UC to cope.

As you can see from this appalling thread, a lot of people really look down on people who claim benefits, but have no problem with multinationals avoiding billions in tax. The double standards and stupidity are amazing. Please ignore these ignoramuses.

Hope you get on okay with claiming, if you can avoid it, don't take an advance as it greatly reduces the amount you have until it is paid back.

Best wishes for you and your family.

Thank you