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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Benefits

116 replies

Shasha17 · 19/11/2021 10:53

Posting for traffic!

I am an expat and just really don't understand benefits at all and have no idea of how much people get (I moved pretty much right after uni and my kids were born abroad so never really was entitled to them).

One of my good friends here is planning to move back to the UK with her two children. She has been living abroad for a few years but is British. She wants to claim benefits until she gets herself sorted with a job and we have just used a gov.uk benefits calculator and it tells her she can get almost £1700 a month 😳 This can't be right, can it? It seems like a awful lot more than we were expecting! She filled in her details accurately (twice!) and this is what it came up with. Is this an average sort of amount? I always assumed benefits like like, a third of this maximum!

(Please be kind, she's leaving due to a very sensitive situation and needs to leave urgently so doesn't have time to find work etc first. But will get started with the job search when she's safely back.).

OP posts:

LanaDelBoy · 19/11/2021 10:56

Gosh, there have been a lot of people recently posting on here who are surprised about the amount of benefits their friends and neighbours can get. Maybe have a look for one of those threads for some information?

CorrBlimeyGG · 19/11/2021 10:59

As she has been living abroad it's highly likely she'll be entitled to nothing until she passes the habitual residence test. Look into this, it's not as simple as turning up and expecting to claim.

How much rent does she expect to pay? A good chunk of that amount will be housing costs. £1700 a month is not a vast amount at all.

gobbynorthernbird · 19/11/2021 11:01

How can your friend do this when she doesn't know what her rent will be?

Original poster

Shasha17 · 19/11/2021 11:05

It's a crisis situation, like a really urgent and very upsetting situation, so she's looked at rent prices, basically the cheapest place she can find and selected that as the rent because she just really needs to get back urgently. I can't go into too much detail as it's quite an outing situation

OP posts:

BoredZelda · 19/11/2021 11:06

Gosh, there have been a lot of people recently posting on here who are surprised about the amount of benefits their friends and neighbours can get.

It's surprising, isn't it. And with the amounts that are apparently claimable I'm amazed the food banks are reporting record numbers of referrals. If this is Tory austerity, let's have more of it!

Original poster

Shasha17 · 19/11/2021 11:09

Can the snarky people please go away? My friend is in a horrible situation and I'm just trying to help her plan her return. I hope when you have an upsetting emergency you don't have to put up with bitchiness on top of it.

OP posts:

CorrBlimeyGG · 19/11/2021 11:09

How much rent did she enter? Does she know how difficult it is to get a rental property at the moment, especially with no income?

MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry · 19/11/2021 11:13

OP is she going to be eligible for anything as she isn’t a UK resident?

x2boys · 19/11/2021 11:13

It depends where she,lives rents can vary hugely across the UK
But yes I don't think you can just turn up and immediately start to claim benefits she will need some money in the meantime

Original poster

Shasha17 · 19/11/2021 11:14

She entered £800 which seems to be the cheapest rent for an apartment in her area.

I don't think she has any idea about availability of rentals etc. That might be a problem to conquer another day with help from her local friends and family as I don't know her area

OP posts:

Danikm151 · 19/11/2021 11:14

Enter the amount for her LHA rate for rent as this will tell you the max housing costs.
If children were born pre 2017 she will get full child allowance for more than 3. It adds up but everything has to be paid out of that.

Willyoujustbequiet · 19/11/2021 11:15

Don't be so bloody ridiculous. A life on benefits is incredibly hard. People literally starve and others take their own lives as they can't face their living conditions.

I have a disabled friend who is losing her home that she's worked all her life for as she's entitled to the princely sum of approx £500 on Universal Credit. No help with her mortgage when she lost her job due to Covid and she's been waiting a year for a disability assessment.

This is the reality of Tory Britain fgs.

CorrBlimeyGG · 19/11/2021 11:16

So after rent, she'd have £900 to live off a month. Most unemployed people have to pay some council tax, and top up their rent as the full amount is rarely covered. She's not going to be living a life of luxury, is she?

HarrietsChariot · 19/11/2021 11:18

@CorrBlimeyGG

As she has been living abroad it's highly likely she'll be entitled to nothing until she passes the habitual residence test. Look into this, it's not as simple as turning up and expecting to claim.

How much rent does she expect to pay? A good chunk of that amount will be housing costs. £1700 a month is not a vast amount at all.

You must be joking, £1700 a month is what someone on 25K takes home. Plenty of people in fulltime employment take home less than this. It's not a "vast" amount but a lot of people who get zero benefits would love to get that amount.

LIZS · 19/11/2021 11:28

She might find she is not immediately eligible if she has been overseas for a while, unless due to military or Crown service.

CorrBlimeyGG · 19/11/2021 11:34

You must be joking, £1700 a month is what someone on 25K takes home.

In the same family situation as the OP, then that person would be entitled to benefits. Have you ever suggested to these people that they claim? 40% of UC claimants are in work.

TheMaddingCrowd · 19/11/2021 11:36

Yes she won't get anything as she's not a UK resident.

Poor your friend. She'll have to claim benefits in your country. Presumably you have better knowledge about them than she does or than we do. Do keep us updated on how it goes for her.

TheMaddingCrowd · 19/11/2021 11:36

Yes she won't get anything as she's not a UK resident.

Poor your friend. She'll have to claim benefits in your country. Presumably you have better knowledge about them than she does or than we do. Do keep us updated on how it goes for her.

TheMaddingCrowd · 19/11/2021 11:36

Yes she won't get anything as she's not a UK resident.

Poor your friend. She'll have to claim benefits in your country. Presumably you have better knowledge about them than she does or than we do. Do keep us updated on how it goes for her.

Hankunamatata · 19/11/2021 11:36

www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Right-to-Reside/Returning-British-Citizen
Better getting in touch with some charities OP who can.help

Waahingwashingwashing · 19/11/2021 11:36

She might not be eligible if she’s been abroad.

She should contact cab for advice.

Hankunamatata · 19/11/2021 11:37

www.turn2us.org.uk/Your-Situation/A-Migrant/Habitual-Residence-Test/What-is-the-Habitual-Residence-Test

idontlikealdi · 19/11/2021 11:37

I'm sure I've read this before.

Anyway she'll need funds when she gets here she won't simply be handed cash the first day.

ThanksIGotItInMorrisons · 19/11/2021 11:43

Must be resident for 6 months to pass habitual residency test. Good chance she won’t get anything.

LanaDelBoy · 19/11/2021 11:43

@MadameGazellee

Genuine apologies as it seems you are a regular poster, but really you could have realised that your post and thread title is worded almost exactly like the benefits outrage troll posts we see very often.

Specifics help ppl try to work out what's what, not just "she'll get £1700 of random benefits". You would've been given the breakdown of what type of benefits they'd be, for a start, so including that detail in your op would've helped.

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