Surely there's benefits for people like me

[Bpdqueen]

I'm a single adult, kids moved out I work 30 hrs a week my take home pay after tax and NI is around £1000 4 weekly. My mortgage payments are £450 a month. Leaving £550 a month for all bills food petrol the only benefit I get is 25% of council tax which brings ct down to £100ish a month. I used to get working tax credit but I apparently earn to much I have lots of medical conditions but I don't think anything enough to claim pip as I'm Mobile and capable of looking after myself and working. Am I missing something or am I expected to be able to live on this.
Aibu - yes that's more than enough to live on.
Yanbu - no you should be entitled to help on such a low income

If your work is too much to do more than 30 hours are there other roles which would be more suitable for you to enable you to increase your hours?

Also agree with the lodger idea.

Could you remortgage to make use of the money you have tied up in the house? Maybe interest only repayment?

@Pinkdelight3 the difference between a 1 and 2 bedroom place is so small it would be wiped out by moving costs.

Following so I can read later.

Thanks @babyroobs for the extra info. UC really doesn’t do much for people able to only work a bit does it. You Aldo illustrate the need for people to get good advice benefits can be a minefield

@SpringsSprung

Yes I know I put as not and by mistake

So in my case I get PIP
AND
I can’t work

But I know some people get PIP and DO work
I was just saying what it is in my case but types they wrong word as instead of and

@OhItsSpicyyy

You need to talk about it in terms of the worst your conditions can cause you.

Don’t do this. This is pushed a lot by everyone but it is actually benefit fraud if every day isn’t your bad day. You need to tell them about your bad days on percentages eg I struggle 50% of the time. Or I can do this but it takes me approximately twice as long as the average person and you will still score points.

If you go in explaining everything as if you are on a bad day and you don’t have medical evidence to back it up, or your assessor doesn’t see that, or your social media gets checked then this is what causes problems. Always tell the truth, but make sure you do so in detail.

Agree re using percentages.

Instead of TheChronicalTales can wash her hair most of the time, it becomes TheChronicalTales needs help washing her hair 70% of the time. PIP assessors are absolute shites, everything needs spelling out to them so they don’t twist your words.

I dont think there is any support: I looked into it a few years ago when I was recovering from an illness and did not have the energy to work full time and I certainly never found any benefits (sorry).
And as you say, as a single adult it is not easy to manage financially and due to cost of living rises, getting harder all the time. Back in the day I had a full time job and two part time jobs to make the end meet but increased age and declining energy levels mean this is no longer feasible.
Sorry things are like this OP

@SpringsSprung I think what @OhItsSpicyyy is trying to say is that PIP is based on your average day is so if you’re having more bad days than good thats what they should assess you on. It’s fraud to not tell them if somedays are better than others.

From working out
council tax -100
Water -around 20?
Food -maybe 150?
Electric and gas- 60?
Car insurance- 20?
Petrol-40?
Tv licence-13
Phone bill-20?

£433

I may be over estimating or underestimating your outgoings but that leaves you with £26 a week disposable income to live off. I mean the council will probably do nothing/ little to help but as others have said there may be something you could do. Get a lodger. Go into a HMO. Look for another job or try increasing your hours.

Whatever you do I do feel for you OP that’s no standard of living and I hope your circumstances change soon 🤞🏻

Apply for PIP, I don’t think there’s much else you can claim due to owning property. Sadly there are many people in a similar position 😞

@Dumdeedahdumdeedo

If you have medical conditions you should be entitled to PIP regardless of if you work or not

My support worker claims PIP, she has a job, helps support other people, is mobile. But still has health conditions that affect her lifestyle.

PIP is not about having a medical condition. It is about how your medical condition affects you in relation to the PIP descriptors. One person could have exactly the same medical condition as another person but them both be affected in completely different ways.

Thanks everyone I really appreciate your comments im gonna speak to my cpn (community psychiatric nurse) about it and see if she can help me apply for pip

Like someone else up thread, I’m also a disabled CAB volunteer who does a lot of benefits.

One thing that keeps coming up lately is thinking about how you word things.
Client says to me “some evenings I can’t be bothered to make food so I don’t eat” which the DWP could take to mean its by choice.
I ask why can’t you be bothered and they talk about how their pain is too bad and their exhausted.
We write on the form “approx X nights a week I don’t eat due to high pain levels and/or exhaustion meaning it’s too difficult.”

Or client says “I don’t do this task.” which again we discuss and it turns out it’s because they aren’t safe to do it due to their condition so we write “I am not safe to do X because of Y symptom/reason so I don’t do it.”

I would try for PIP using the Pots diagnosis as a main medical condition.Pots UK have a help line and I am sure would help with the form.It is a difficult condition to live with.Get help with the form is my advice they fill them in all the time.Good luck

[quote PupInAPram]@Pinkdelight3 the difference between a 1 and 2 bedroom place is so small it would be wiped out by moving costs.[/quote]
In some places it's a small difference, in others it's a significant amount that wouldn't remotely be wiped out. Plus the extra costs for heating etc. If the OP is as strapped as she says and can't rent the spare room, it's not a pointless suggestion to free up some funds from her property.

There's never been much support for single adults, who are expected to cope with whatever health challenges etc they have. I can see the logic , sort of… it’s a kind of hierarchy of need but I think there’s also a moral judgement that is often made, particularly of single women.

Could you go into sheltered housing?
Owning your home seems very tight to manage.

@Bpdqueen

It's 2 bedroom but with mental health issues wouldn't be possible

Can you down size?

There is very little difference in price between a 1 and 2 bedroom where I live so downsizing wouldn't really help matters

@Tootsey11

No advice, only to say I'm in a similar situation.

9 chronic conditions, in pain every day but apparently according to doctors not in enough pain.

Work 25 hours a week but can't claim anything. I am physically struggling to stay upright by the end of the week, literally.

It's shit Op, and there should be some assistance to those who can work but part time only. I love working but my health has failed me.

Have you tried applying for PIP ?

I was so broke when I was single and on a low income. It's very expensive being a single childless adult. I am still on a low income but can obviously split bills and rent 50/50 with my partner now which helps massively.

You need to work full time, take a lodger or downsize your home. Not sure why the state should pick up the tab if you're not willing to do any of these things.

@HulaTallulah

You need to work full time, take a lodger or downsize your home. Not sure why the state should pick up the tab if you're not willing to do any of these things.

Fuck me. How awfully clever of you.

Who knew someone with borderline personality disorder, would be ideally suited to inviting stranger to live with them

How about you think before you post.

@HulaTallulah

You need to work full time, take a lodger or downsize your home. Not sure why the state should pick up the tab if you're not willing to do any of these things.

OP has explained that: —her mental health problems preclude taking in a lodger —she feels that she can't work more hours given her multiplicity of health conditions.

It's not necessarily true that downsizing and the costs of moving and legal fees would make it cost-effective to move to a smaller home.