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.

I can't rely on it as he has found a loophole to avoid paying for his other child

Gosh did you know this when you got with him and stayed with him?

I don’t know why people are being so snippy today, it’s clear what’s being said, that it’s dismaying thag someone earning nearly fifty grand a year is being given over six hundred pounds a month of tax payers money,

Yes op you’ve very high outgoings, and can’t afford to live as you do without the government subsidising your lifestyle with tax payers money.

They base calculations on your income

They disregard pension contribution.

So if you monthly take home was, let’s say, £2500, but you contributed £500 in to a pension. They would base your benefit calculation on the income AFTER your pension contribution ie £2000

@Lulu2021 What another poster stated is correct - your student loan deduction will be treated as earnings by UC. So if the student loan deduction is £200 and your net pay after deductions is £2516, UC will use earnings of £2716 to calculate your entitlement.

What loophole OP?

@Bluntness100

No, I didn't know this. I have no clue what comes in and out of his account each month, we have always had separate accounts.

@Funnylittlefloozie

Holy fuck - I've been a single parent for 6 years, earn just over half what the OP earns, and always assumed i wouldn't get any help because my income was too high! I am amazed at this.

Brace yourself Because if you are a single parent with an o come of half the OP, you are entitled to a LOT of financial support (assuming you don’t have savings more than £6k)

@Reallyimeanreally2022

What loophole OP?

He has a self employed business as well as working full time in a salaried job. The CMS are basing his contributions on the self employed business which is earning nothing, so they are returning "nil rate" on his award letter. He has updated them on his other job - but they keep sending letters stating he owes nothing. So he made up his own figure to pay his exW, which is nowhere near what the calculation should be as I recently discovered.

@Reallyimeanreally2022

And he will clearly do the same to me.

@yesterdayisinthepast

Also, people on this thread stating that the OP earns enough and shouldn't be claiming are actually horrible. You don't know what people are going through, if they have no financial support and what their many outgoings may be.

It's difficult enough being a single parent without having people add their unwanted opinions. Keep the judgment to yourself

Thank you

just a note of caution basing any decisions on calculations from entitled to . My friend has found herself in a similar position and with one small child and a salary of £20,000 a year was quoted by entitled to as being eligible for £650 a month . When her first statement came through it stated that she was awarded £650 ( or thereabouts)but then it took off money for her wages ( they disregard the first £500 a month and then take of 67p for every pound over that amount) which left her with the grand total of £0.00. We assumed it must have been some kind of mistake but her 2nd statement has said the same thing- £0.00 . Good luck with everything and just be careful to not rely on what the calculations say until you get your first statement and it shows you will actually get that amount.

@Lulu2021 do you know his NI number? You can give that to the CMS when you make a claim for your youngest and then they’ll see his salaried job.
I know they’re pretty inept but I doubt he’s been contacting them saying he has a salary and they’ve said he doesn’t need to pay.

What area of the country are you in? I can get a rough idea of your lha rate if I know roughly where you are and can do your UC calculation from that.
Also are both children female?

@Lulu2021 ignore the mean comments. I actually think the benefit system should work to support people who work hard but find themselves with a sudden change of circumstances beyond their own control. This will hopefully help you get back on your feet after a separation.

Much rather tax goes to support you than people who can work but choose not to for the long term just because they can. Benefits should be a safety net and not a lifestyle choice.

[quote QuestionableDanceMoves]@Lulu2021 do you know his NI number? You can give that to the CMS when you make a claim for your youngest and then they’ll see his salaried job.
I know they’re pretty inept but I doubt he’s been contacting them saying he has a salary and they’ve said he doesn’t need to pay.

What area of the country are you in? I can get a rough idea of your lha rate if I know roughly where you are and can do your UC calculation from that.
Also are both children female?[/quote]

Can I inbox you please with the answers to these questions? I feel exposed enough on this thread and it's not the most pleasant of experiences when I'm already struggling emotionally. Thank you for your help so far x

@Mumski45

Thank you - I agree with your comments and I thank you for your support

@Lulu2021 of course

On your salary, I also hope you're not entitled to anything.

Yes op you’ve very high outgoings, and can’t afford to live as you do without the government subsidising your lifestyle with tax payers money.

This. And the "i can't afford £700/m childcare" that has wound people up, when looking at the basic figures people manage on your food and fuel surplus for everything.

Kindly OP, you should try and cut back as others have to. We have a tendency to live up to our income, so when our outgoings change we feel we can't afford it.

Please remember benefits are a safety net, not to subsidise an existing lifestyle that could be trimmed themselves.

Please remember benefits are a safety net, not to subsidise an existing lifestyle that could be trimmed themselves.

Yes thank you I'm aware of this!!!

I'll be ignoring any unhelpful "you don't deserve help" comments henceforth. My mental health simply cannot cope, I'm hanging by a thread with severe PND as it is. And a nasty relationship break up hanging over my head and no family support to lean on.

Once again thank you to all of those who have helped. I will only be responding to anything constructive or helpful going forwards.

Do you mean 47k a year and 2.5k a month? I only ask because my OH earns around 37k a year, and monthly takes home around 2.5k after tax, NI, pension. That'd mean you have around 1k extra deductions than he does? Sorry if I'm being dense, aside from student loan or paying lots in to a pension I'm not sure what other deductions you might have.

For what it's worth, between us we earn about 41k. Rent is £600, 2 children, one gets the disability element, we have a very small amount of childcare costs (just breakfast club for one child) and we receive a small amount of UC most months- varies from £0 to £200 (but that was with the £80 uplift that has now ended.)

For those asking about my gross salary versus my take home. This explains it....

@Thadhiya

How does someone on 47k qualify for UC!? That's financial assistance for those in need, not bonus payments for people earning far, far above the national average.

And before you get all righteous, I'm not far off that salary myself and would never dream of taking from the public purse when I didn't need to.

I think you will struggle to claim it OP

Been In your shoes and went part time on similar salary

Wasn't eligible in the end

I have £1408 in total deductions each month

@drpaddington

My screenshot explains it, hopefully

@littlenickyy61

just a note of caution basing any decisions on calculations from entitled to . My friend has found herself in a similar position and with one small child and a salary of £20,000 a year was quoted by entitled to as being eligible for £650 a month . When her first statement came through it stated that she was awarded £650 ( or thereabouts)but then it took off money for her wages ( they disregard the first £500 a month and then take of 67p for every pound over that amount) which left her with the grand total of £0.00. We assumed it must have been some kind of mistake but her 2nd statement has said the same thing- £0.00 . Good luck with everything and just be careful to not rely on what the calculations say until you get your first statement and it shows you will actually get that amount.

Incorrect. But surely you can see that.

It’s not zero at all. Read through what you have written.

For the first £515 - full benefit entitled
After that she will be deducted 0.63p per pound of every benefit should would have been entitled to.

So say she’s entitled to £650 benefit.
And her take home £1200
First £515 - full benefit
£685 - the full benefit deducted by 0.63