Benefits

[Shasha17]

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.).

She will have to be habitually resident even if she holds a UK passport. No-one can advise when that will happen as it is a case of re-establishing herself in the country. If she does come back then she needs to be aware that she might not be eligible straight away.

We have just found out that she is immediatley eligible for everything, without giving away too much details, due to the nature of her being abroad. What a relief!

Well that's an amazing surprise. How did you get the DWP to make that decision in such a short time?

@loislovesstewie

She will have to be habitually resident even if she holds a UK passport. No-one can advise when that will happen as it is a case of re-establishing herself in the country. If she does come back then she needs to be aware that she might not be eligible straight away.

We have checked and it seems she is immediately eligible due to the nature of why she has been living abroad. (Very much connected to the UK.) Thank you for the advice though.

I'm leaving this thread now because we've got the information we need and dealing with AIBU on top of a stressful situation is a bit too much. Thanks to those who were helpful and gave advice!

Is she a military spouse?

Sometimes different rules apply. And I can understand why she won't want to contact military support but she should

@CorrBlimeyGG

We have just found out that she is immediatley eligible for everything, without giving away too much details, due to the nature of her being abroad. What a relief!

Well that's an amazing surprise. How did you get the DWP to make that decision in such a short time?

It could be because the person has returned from Afghanistan, or there are arrangements for EU citizens who have lived in the UK for over 5 years but haven't sorted out their settled status.

We haven't contacted DWP for goodness sake. She was out of the country but the nature of her being so was very much connected to the UK. Hence the fact it's a STRESSFUL FUCKING POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY FOR HER AND HER TWO YOUNG CHILDREN she has family and friends at home trying to find out as much as possible too/making calls/finding information

So disappointed with Mumsnet today. I thought a forum of women, for women, would be more supporting of a young mother trying to escape abuse and return to her family because her actual fucking life is at risk, but it seems like some people are bitter and bored and have nothing better to do than be bitches online.

Okay yeah I'm definitely going now, I am done with this. thanks again to the helpful ones. To the nasty posters, I hope you sort out whatever is going on with you that makes you behave like hugh school bullies.

As a returning British citizen she needs to show intention to settle. Complete nonsense about a six month wait.
Also nonsense about LHA being 1/3 of rent. Of course she will be looking at the very cheapest rentals and it's likely that the LHA will be short of that but nothing like the scaremongering 1/3 quoted.
Contact Citizens Advice.

@oviraptor21

As a returning British citizen she needs to show intention to settle. Complete nonsense about a six month wait. Also nonsense about LHA being 1/3 of rent. Of course she will be looking at the very cheapest rentals and it's likely that the LHA will be short of that but nothing like the scaremongering 1/3 quoted. Contact Citizens Advice.

Thank you for the helpful post 😊

And thsnk you to the two posters also above my previous post who were also helpful - I wasn't having a go at you with my last reply! It was the sarcastic poster who seems to be implying that I'm lying who I was snapping at. As if anyone would make this up? What a hilarious joke it would be, women and children fleeing domestic abuse is so funny and lighthearted 😒

Sorry, just wanted to say that my last post wasn't directed at you as it looks like it was - my MN kept crashing and it didn't post when I wanted it to!

Actually off now! Bye again

£1700 per month. I didn't realise it was that much. I hope your friend and her children escape the situation they're in.

Lovely, a benefits bashing thread.

Do you really think that the government, which a large majority/minority on here think are evil, uncaring bastards, are going to be overly generous with the money they give people? Doesn't quite ring true does it?

You sound a bit stressed OP. Try yoga.

Is she overseas with a serviceman (and that's why she's eligible)? If so the Army should make sure he supports her. They'll deduct from wages if need be.

@BoredZelda

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!

What a crass and idiotic post . Demonstrating absolutely NO understanding of what it is like to live in abject poverty.

Try engaging brain. !

It is not even remotely impossible for £1.1k of that amount to be for rent (that would be cheap in my area)
She could then have £ 600 to pay for 3 children. (Nothing for a third child since 2017) ALL bills, food, clothes, nappies. Transport. - oh and furniture!!

The VAST majority on benefits have zero savings. One disaster and they are fucked. All it takes is a broken washing machine and you are at the prey of high interest lenders.... starting at 49.9% upwards.. whittling your £600 a month down to £500 rapidly.

Actually your post isn't just crass it's offensive.
Educate yourself. Step away from your comfortable life and find out what living with no financial backing is really like.

Your friend will need to apply to her local council for help with council tax. If there’s a shortfall in her rent, she can ask the council fir a discretionary housing payment. She can also check with her council to see what other help is available eg household support fund.

@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.

She's British she will be entitled.

As if anyone would make this up? What a hilarious joke it would be, women and children fleeing domestic abuse is so funny and lighthearted

You must've been on MN long enough to know that people do make this stuff up, daily.

People aren't being sarky because they hate women, but because your post is worded like the posts that are removed for being made up to generate froth.

It sucks that we have to adjust to the atmosphere of an online community when posting, by actively posting in a way that communicates a genuine circumstance without being specific enough so as to be outing, but that's where we are. And you posted this in AIBU!

@BoredZelda

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!

Unless you know how much someone's rent is, you can't possibly know how much of that money is actually available to them to spend.

The basic amount for a couple is £403.93 a month. That's less than £100 a week to pay all their bills, feed and clothe themselves, and probably pay something towards their rent and council tax.

It's doable, but they're not going to be living in the lap of luxury. And at that level of income, they're not going to be able to build up savings so that they can replace essential household items when they break.

Lot of people living abroad who return to the uk do not need to wait for benefits.

Its not only military jobs included in that.

I think it's the opposite of a benefits bashing tbh. I took the original post to be a bit of a snide dig at the amounts available but the vast majority are rightly pointing out how difficult the system is

How wonderful that the OP has found out her friend is immediately entitled to everything.

It depends on what her local housing allowance is and whether she can find anywhere to rent within that limit.
But yes, people can get their rent paid which obviously increases the amount you can claim significantly.

@Willyoujustbequiet

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.

It’s so hard people manage to have big fuck off tv’s, sky television, mobile phones and smoke like troopers.

I’m generalising of course, but this was frequently the situation with the people on benefits that I came across in my law enforcement career.

I’m sure some struggle, particularly post Covid, but many see benefits as their wages and refer to it as their ‘pay’. If people are getting nearly 2 grand a month it’s no wonder some people don’t want to work.

I think your friend should be careful OP.
Such as it goes “if it’s too good to be true”.

The benefits system is no walk in the park.

£1700 might sound like a lot, but if your near minimum monthly expense is £1650, then it’s not a lot os it, especially if something goes wrong or needs repairing.

I'm assuming ops friend is either an army wife or was in the army so will be entitled to benefits immediately.

@Ghoulette

1800, minus rent, minus council tax even at the discounted rate, minus electricity, gas and water, munis food for her and the kids on top of that will leave her with NOTHING.

All you you who are sitting on your middle class thrones saying 1700 is plenty can fuck right off unless you have actually lived it and had to make the choice between paying the water bill or feeding your children. You all disgust me.

£1700 can be plenty for you to live off. This benefit amount is including rent, but; You get reduced or exemption to council tax, cheaper water rates, free school meals, free prescriptions, free dental. Now compare that to some poor bastard that’s worked hard, bought a house and then lost their job through no fault of their own so will have no direct help with mortgage so having to find that money before they even think about the poxy water bill being paid. Which camp are you in?

Water bills? Not in Uk cheap nothing same price anyone often higher if forced use pre paid meter for gas and electric that will cut you if run out credit.