Why do you benefit bash?

[greyblanket76]

My family and I are working class and always have been. My friends are too and so are the people that I tend to socialise with/meet in everyday life. I've only been on MN since last year but have seen so many comments bashing people who are on/depend on benefits and I'd really like to know why?

Is this because some people on here think everyone that's on benefits is lazy and doesn't want to work therefore claim benefits? Or is it something else?

I'll talk about my situation and will keep it as brief as possible as I already know people will come in the comments to try and shame me. I'm early 20s and a single mum (didn't start out that way but your whole life can literally change overnight and that's what happened to me). I have one DC and I'm expecting another so I've been on maternity leave back to back as I'll have 2 under 2.

I've worked full time since I was 17 right up until I went on my first maternity leave. Due to the rate of SMP, I'm entitled to benefits as SMP doesn't even cover my rent which is £1200. I'm entitled to £1670 of UC which covers my rent and all my bills. During the first 9 months of my maternity leave I was receiving around £1507 UC (due to deductions) + £638 SMP = £2145 a month.
Once I give birth to my second DC, my UC entitlement should go from £1670 to £1907. This isn't 100% accurate but due to receiving SMP, let's say the deductions would be due £1700 UC + £638 SMP = £2388 a month. That would be excluding child benefit for both children btw.

When I was working full time, I was earning £1383 a month. I do plan to go back to work after my maternity leave ends as I genuinely love my work and have my whole career in front of me. However can people see the huge jump in difference between the two amounts? Nearly a grand in total! When returning back to work, I would be entitled to some benefits however because I'd be working full time, it wouldn't be a lot. That's why it's advised that you drop hours to work part time in order to get the most help available.

I've read my post back and hope it isn't too confusing but I just wanted some people who benefit bash to understand that sometimes life on benefits seems better especially as you have kids because you get so much more help. My mum keeps telling me to consider not working for a year or two just because I need to consider the quality of life my DC and I will have. I wouldn't be able to pay for rent AND childcare so what would I do? There's a lot that comes into play when deciding if you should go back to work or just be on benefits and I hope some people got that from this post. Seeing as this is an anonymous forum, if you judge/bash people on benefits, I'd really be interested to hear why. Posting in AIBU because I'm prepared to be flamed and have learnt not to take nasty comments to heart

It's also not OP that gets most of the money. It's her landlord.

Thank you, people seem to be conveniently leaving that out. It's as if £1200 goes straight into my pocket. It doesn't. It goes into my account and straight back out to the LL's account

@greyblanket76

I’d have a lot more patience if the OP was on the ‘baby was an accident and then my partner buggered off’ side of this coin, but to sit there and pretend (to herself and us) that it was an active and well thought out decision to have children is laughable

@Cheeseonpost you've literally made that up because where did I say that? I said, '(didn't start out that way but your whole life can literally change overnight and that's what happened to me)' I don't need to go into depth about my personal situation because that isn't what the thread was about.
Don't put words in my mouth

Your personal situation is key to the mortality of your situation, so yes people will ask about it.

I have, for example, no issue at all with a person too disabled to work claiming benefits that enable them to live a comfortable life.

However I do take issue with women who repeatedly have babies by feckless absent men and then expect the state to pick up the financial slack. Note I said repeatedly, because I think as a one off, I can just about understand it. But contraception is free and if you didn’t learn the first time around, it’s harder to have sympathy the second.

Basically some people claim benefits through zero fault of their own. Others see benefits as an insurance policy for their poor life decisions.

*morality not mortality. Argh!

@wanttomarryamillionaire

I became a single mother of four when the ex decided he preferred his best mates wife. I was on benefits for 3 months before I decided I couldn't live like that. Shit money, no motivation etc. Anyway i got a part time job and worked my way up as the kids got older. Due to my work i come into contact with many many people on benefits. Its very true that sometimes life throws you a load of shit and you end up on benefits, these people are easy to spot and want to do anything they can to better their situation. However it is also very true that there are many many people who never want to work and just have kids assuming that the state will fund them, the entitlement is astounding. There are literally whole generations of families who have never worked. Its these people who seem to have it all on benefits because they know how to work the system. They know for instance that disability benefits are excluded from the benefits cap, so you will have parent one claiming for mental health very very hard to disprove that someone is lying about their mental health. Parent two will either be claiming for the same thing or something equally as hard to disprove. Then the kids "will have" adhd or asd. They are claiming for all of these via disability benefits plus getting cheaper rent and council tax because of this, plus all the normal universal credit or legacy benefits on top. I dealt with one family that were on £36000 a year in benefits, now that is bound to piss of people who work hard and earn nowhere near that. Not everyone on benefits is like this of course but there are lots of them that do behave like this.

Wow. You do know there are alot of people with mental health disorders.?

How do you think my and others children get diagnosed with asd or adhd etc? It takes years. What do you think I done gave the specialist a wink and said please give him diagnosis so I can claim dla and care allowance?

[quote wanttomarryamillionaire]@MaryAndHerNet How many of the 67 million are of working age? Not children or elderly? [/quote]
According to here:

data.oecd.org/pop/working-age-population.htm

63.5% of population is working age. But that doesn't take into account disabled etc.

42210000 working age.

So 360k os
0.8528784648187633% of working age people

Yes but is your rent £1200 a month?????
That's the reason op gets so much - because her rent is so high. You could probably earn £1800 a month and still qualify for uc with rent like that!

@greyblanket76

It's also not OP that gets most of the money. It's her landlord.

Thank you, people seem to be conveniently leaving that out. It's as if £1200 goes straight into my pocket. It doesn't. It goes into my account and straight back out to the LL's account

That is the same for anyone who rents. They walk all month, their wage goes into their account and straight back out into the Landlord's account. But they have worked for that money.

[quote 000YourMum000]@greyblanket76 Yes I did read your post(s), and I am sorry my post has upset you. FWIW I would claim what you claim if I woke up in your current circumstances. But I am confused as to why you can’t see that the fundamental unfairness of the system is going to lead some people to feel resentful

I understand that you are on maternity leave. Therefore, at the moment, you are not working. If I were to be on maternity leave with a child at home, all the money for rent, bills, etc. would have to come out of my savings. That’s the difference. Furthermore, you have the choice to continue not working which, as you have explained, is more lucrative. This is not your fault. However, I still think it would be morally questionable if you were to choose not to return to work.[/quote]
@000YourMum000 maybe it was ignorance, who knows. Now it's been explained by many people, I can see why. I believe that people should be directing that anger to the government for creating this system. I guess it's easier to be angrier with the little guys instead

@greyblanket76

It's also not OP that gets most of the money. It's her landlord.

Thank you, people seem to be conveniently leaving that out. It's as if £1200 goes straight into my pocket. It doesn't. It goes into my account and straight back out to the LL's account

Doesn’t matter. If the state was paying my rent and bills, I would be fucking delighted.

I guess it's easier to be angrier with the little guys instead

The government didn’t start this thread, you did, including the minutiae of your personal circumstances.

@TreesoftheField

Yes but is your rent £1200 a month????? That's the reason op gets so much - because her rent is so high. You could probably earn £1800 a month and still qualify for uc with rent like that!

Yes the consequences of the public health housing and homelessness emergency, and the dreadful theft that is Right to Buy, are very costly to the taxpayer (as well as causing so much individual suffering).

There is a big difference between someone with a disability claiming benefits because they have no choice, and someone knowing from their mid-teens that the game plan is to get pregnant, get full benefits, and if lucky get the working father to unofficially move in while being registered at his parents’ address so that there is even more money coming in. I didn’t believe this happened, then I came across it. The system needs changing, there are definitely people taking advantage of it. None of this applies to the OP btw, just a general point about benefits.

Fwiw.
I'm unemployed and on Universal Credit.
I get a total of £970 a month.
£430 of that goes on rent.
The rest is used.on food, electric,.council tax etc.
Anyone that wants to live as I do is welcome to try.
Say good bye to:
On tap hot water..
Heating..
Takeouts..
Alcohol..
Days out..
New clothes..
Hair cuts..
Nutritionally complete diets..
Fresh Fruit..
Fresh veg..
Birthday parties..
Christmas..

Etc.

If someone chooses to live this way instead of having no choice, more power to them, it's fucking miserable.

@greyblanket76

My family and I are working class and always have been. My friends are too and so are the people that I tend to socialise with/meet in everyday life. I've only been on MN since last year but have seen so many comments bashing people who are on/depend on benefits and I'd really like to know why?

Is this because some people on here think everyone that's on benefits is lazy and doesn't want to work therefore claim benefits? Or is it something else?

I'll talk about my situation and will keep it as brief as possible as I already know people will come in the comments to try and shame me. I'm early 20s and a single mum (didn't start out that way but your whole life can literally change overnight and that's what happened to me). I have one DC and I'm expecting another so I've been on maternity leave back to back as I'll have 2 under 2.

I've worked full time since I was 17 right up until I went on my first maternity leave. Due to the rate of SMP, I'm entitled to benefits as SMP doesn't even cover my rent which is £1200. I'm entitled to £1670 of UC which covers my rent and all my bills. During the first 9 months of my maternity leave I was receiving around £1507 UC (due to deductions) + £638 SMP = £2145 a month.
Once I give birth to my second DC, my UC entitlement should go from £1670 to £1907. This isn't 100% accurate but due to receiving SMP, let's say the deductions would be due £1700 UC + £638 SMP = £2388 a month. That would be excluding child benefit for both children btw.

When I was working full time, I was earning £1383 a month. I do plan to go back to work after my maternity leave ends as I genuinely love my work and have my whole career in front of me. However can people see the huge jump in difference between the two amounts? Nearly a grand in total! When returning back to work, I would be entitled to some benefits however because I'd be working full time, it wouldn't be a lot. That's why it's advised that you drop hours to work part time in order to get the most help available.

I've read my post back and hope it isn't too confusing but I just wanted some people who benefit bash to understand that sometimes life on benefits seems better especially as you have kids because you get so much more help. My mum keeps telling me to consider not working for a year or two just because I need to consider the quality of life my DC and I will have. I wouldn't be able to pay for rent AND childcare so what would I do? There's a lot that comes into play when deciding if you should go back to work or just be on benefits and I hope some people got that from this post. Seeing as this is an anonymous forum, if you judge/bash people on benefits, I'd really be interested to hear why. Posting in AIBU because I'm prepared to be flamed and have learnt not to take nasty comments to heart

I grew up in a working class family and have claimed JSA for a few months when I was 18. I know a lot of my friends and family are on benefits and whilst some of them have no choice and would rather not receive benefits others are completely abusing the system. One particular family member has had 5 children without working a day in her life and has been given handout after handout meaning her children now talk about how they are entitled to this and entitled to that. This family member has many friends in the same position some with partners who do work but yet claim they are single parents meaning they have nice cars, go on nice holidays spending money on things many hard working people cannot afford. so whilst I can completely understand situations change and some people have no choice many are making the choice to contribute absolutely nothing to society all the while taking everything they can get and living a better lifestyle than many people who would want more than anything to spend 24/7 with their children. Unfortunately whilst the majority will not be abusing the system and therefore it creates resentment. I do think if you can work you should work and it most cases you get help with childcare if that's the issue.

@Tomanynames yes I know how hard it is to get a diagnosis of adhd or asd as i have a child with both. I also know that you don't have to have a diagnosis of either to be able to claim DLA. You can claim while awaiting diagnosis as it is based of behaviour/ symptoms not diagnosis. The same with PIP, its based on how it affects your life not what diagnosis you have and trust me some people know exactly what they need to say to claim it. Mental health is an often used excuse because it literally cannot be disproved, in fact it makes things harder for people with real mental health issues because people don't believe them. I know from experience that as soon as someone says they have " bad mental health" my colleagues will start eye rolling and thinking " here we go".

Now let's see if OP is treated differently from a 'local' in Cornwall or the Lakes or somewhere else other than London. The other places, she'd have huge sympathy. Locals being priced out of their communities, away from their families and where they grew up, so terrible. But Londoners....? Heaven forbid that London locals get to have what is expected for locals everywhere else.

I don’t think you get it OP. People that are being crippled by their rent and bills are also being crippled by yours, while you get them for free. Do you expect us to be happy about that?! It doesn’t matter what you get left with at the end of the month, the fact is the public are coughing up for your main expenditures because you’ve made choices which render you incapable of paying your own way.

I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but you asked, and I’m not going to soft soap it when me and DH are slaving away every day and incredibly stressed/tired.

@Tealightsandd

Now let's see if OP is treated differently from a 'local' in Cornwall or the Lakes or somewhere else other than London. The other places, she'd have huge sympathy. Locals being priced out of their communities, away from their families and where they grew up, so terrible. But Londoners....? Heaven forbid that London locals get to have what is expected for locals everywhere else.

People in Cornwall or the Lake District are priced out of the area because of a lack of well-paid jobs. That hardly applies to Londoners.

Have I missed something here? As a responsible adult who is raising 2 children, please remember that your children are watching you while they’re growing up, they will notice how their parents are living their lives. If you have a choice to work, then show your children a good example. In my view that’s the most import thing.

I know from experience that as soon as someone says they have " bad mental health" my colleagues will start eye rolling and thinking " here we go".

Then you and your colleagues need sacking. That's abhorrent attitudes.

Psychiatric disorders - 1,013,207 claimants
This includes mixed anxiety, stress, depressive and mood disorders, OCD and cognitive disorders

And:
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-april-2021/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-april-2021

@Cheekypeach

I don’t think you get it OP. People that are being crippled by their rent and bills are also being crippled by yours, while you get them for free. Do you expect us to be happy about that?! It doesn’t matter what you get left with at the end of the month, the fact is the public are coughing up for your main expenditures because you’ve made choices which render you incapable of paying your own way.

I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but you asked, and I’m not going to soft soap it when me and DH are slaving away every day and incredibly stressed/tired.

@Cheekypeach I'm on maternity leave, I work. How many times do I have to say this. I literally get UC to pay my rent whilst I'm on maternity leave. 'Incapable of paying my own way' even though I work. Ok👍