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 OP claimed Cont based ESA and worked 16 hrs could do it under permitted work? Would then possibly get the ESA, PIP (and UC?)

• you should be entitled, it all depends on how you fill the form in, how you present yourself at the assessment etc. I know an epileptic who was very prideful and filled in the form Yes I can do everything… in reality they are housebound a lot, avoid certain situations, need family to ensure they eat properly, can’t handle bills etc etc… so be honest, get advice and take your time.

• payment may be backdatable to the date the form is ordered, check this whenever you phone to ask for the form. They usually give a deadline of 6wks to fill it out. If you miss this payments will be from the day they receive the form instead.

If you rented a house you would
Possibly get universal credit, but I'm not sure your entitled to anything currently.

When will your mortgage be paid off?

Your budget is probably doable but is tight, having the mortgage repaid would put you in a very different position.

How old are you OP? If you are over 55 you can by law now draw down Large chunks of your pension fund in cash, you are not obligated to wait till pensionable age and to be frank you sound immediately in need of it , if and when you retire , getting a small private pension monthly might push you over the edge to get benefits .

I mention this as you said no savings—but mention income after deductions including pension. a pension fund is savings as such these days - it’s very different to how it was— depends though if there is much in it

Im 46 about 8 years left on mortgage, very small pension

@MarriedThreeChildren
I one of the ones working and getting PIP. I have Multiple Sclerosis and Epilepsy. I'm stubborn and won't give up work, luckily work have been amazing and I have several 'reasonable adjustments'.

I make it work because I don't want to give in to my disabilities. I'd rather work and be knackered (an run the risk of a fit due to tiredness) than give in.

My pip goes towards a cleaner, gardner and I've had a new bathroom put in (shower) so I can sit as I can no longer get out of a bath.

How dare you accuse disabled people of benefit fraud?!?!?

Where did you get that from? @SpringsSprung

I make it work because I don't want to give in to my disabilities. I'd rather work and be knackered (an run the risk of a fit due to tiredness) than give in.

I get that! I'm doing the same but then I end up needing DH to basically be my carer (aka cook, clean, wash clothes etc.. ) for me which isn't ideal either.

Welcome to real world of single adult people! You woke up, congratulations. You finally see how single adults get naff all help except some paltry 25% council tax discount. Even then the single person pays more in council tax than a a house with 2 working adults in it

This has its always been and always will and if you dare to point it out noone gives a shit. Everything is geared to helping everyone else out. We are expected to be fighting for them to get all the tax breakd and benefits otherwise we look selfish but do they ever think you know single adults deserve some sort of break...naw they don't.

Rant over. Pointless one since nothing will chmahe but ots good to get voice how single adults are marginalised and treated unfairly.

@Bpdqueen

I have borderline personality disorder, pots, hypothyroidism and cardiovascular disease so 30hrs is a struggle as it is I wouldn't be able to do more but when I looked into pip the questions where can you dress yourself and feed yourself ect which I can

PIP entitlement is not as straightforward as just being unable to carry out those activities.

If you can't do them safely, repeatedly, to an acceptable standard or in a reasonable amount of time, it counts as not being able to do them. Someone with POTS who gets bad dizziness might not be able to cook safely, for example.

It might be worth having a chat with a benefit adviser to see if they think you might be entitled to PIP.

But yes, it's shit. All of your earnings are taken into account for UC because you don't have any children and your health conditions are not so severe that they give you limited capability for work. If you were renting, you'd probably qualify for some help with your rent, but there's no help with mortgage payments (although many BTL landlords are having their mortgages paid by tenants' UC or HB).

Is there any chance of you getting promoted, or getting a better paid job? You must be on close to minimum wage to take home £1k for 30 hours pw.

I was told by benefits that £105 is what the government expect a single person to be able to live on a week, and thus they would get no help if they made that.

Makes little sense, but then makes little sense that Income Support class 16 hours as full-time work.

They can just make up what they like.

If you haven't noticed the money system is in trouble. It's based on debt and so people need to keep taking out debt in order for banks to be able to print money, which is created upon the taking out of the debt.

Failing constant debt/money creation the system would crash and societal collapse would ensue.

It's in so much trouble it has become necessary to push millions into debt. That's what's happening now.

I did some shopping yesterday and took home two full bags for £40 where only last year the same shop would have been literally half.

You can't have any quality of life on that wage where you could have in the past.

This energy hike is the most egregious I've seen. You're not meant to manage, you're meant to take out large debts.

@Bpdqueen, I think you need to get some support/guidance on how to fll the PIP claim.
Yes it is about dressing yourself etc... but you need to uderatd what each question actually mean (and no it doesnt mean what you think it does. And it forces you to also look at what you CANT do, which is hard because you end uo having to face your own limitations iyswim).

Also thr advice of a freind who has been claiing POIP for a long time. Claim for PUP. Expect it to be rejected. When it is, asl for a copy of the comments and then go to appeal. You'll then have a clear idea of what they thought you could do or not and you can explain/put things right.
it seems that going to appeal is now simply part of the process :(

And people wonder why some people stick in relationships they find less than satisfactory if the other person at least ‘contributes significant amounts’ — a single mum I know was always on Tinder looking to meet someone— in all honesty she quite liked things as they were on her own but always struggled financially— she was honest and said she wanted to meet someone mainly for the financial aspects of sharing costs!!

Yep I can totally relate to that too.
It’s crap but that’s what i would call survival.

I’m reading all this and thinking ‘well stuff this. I need to apply to PIP and I ought to get too’.
I mean I have a chronic illness, bad enough that apart from a few hours of work p, I can’t do anything, not even cooking for myself.
But somehow I also know I’m very unlikely I won’t get it. Like the many other with a similar condition than me.

You really shouldn't let other people's experience of PIP stop you applying. That's just daft. For all the people who don't get it there are plenty that do.

Got help to deal with the forms and read up on criteria before filling in but definitely do it.

I can't safely navigate the kitchen now, I can cook but I can't drain potatoes/pasta, I can make a sarnie but I can't chop veg, and doing even the most minor of things leaves me exhausted. They have awarded me PIP for the next 10yrs.

It really is worth applying. If you are not successful mfirst time, you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration, if that fails then you can escalate to a tribunal.
If you persevere you are likely to succeed in the end, it takes time, but you will get back payments in a lump sum.
I cannot emphasise enough that your chances of success are increased dramatically if you have help in completing the form for Citizen's advice or other agency.

@Bpdqueen

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

If you’ve got a CPN this is already a massive tick for successfully claiming PIP

@MissMaple82

Yes you are expected to live off this, and sounds more than manageable for 1 person !

Have you tried it yourself?

Go to the Citizens Advice bureau - they’ll be able to advise if you’re entitled to anything.

I sympathise.
My DD is an intensive care nurse - she is single and can't afford to live alone any place near her work.
She was living with a good friend, but she is moving out, so my DD is having to live with someone who is a "lukewarm" friend, simply to share the costs. The second friend is in the same position, has had to live with a series of flatmates over the years.
They would both ideally like a place of their own, but financially it's not possible.

I get pip as am on autistic scale-Aspergers. I'm also looking for part-time work. Try for pip-can't do any harm.

You do realise that you can claim PIP even if you work, it’s not mean tested. You can also claim it if your mobile.

Look into pip but get help filling in the forms, try CAB, you need to add more detail on there and explain issues, had to do this for my son as although technically he can do things, he can't manage them due to his autism if that makes sense. Took an appeal to get it right. First time I did it myself and got it wrong the second time I had help.

Apply for PIP