To think £800p/m is pretty generous?

[Cuppasoupmonster]

Off the back of the ‘trapped women’ thread, out of curiosity I used ‘Entitled To’ to find out what I could claim if I was a single mum of 2 primary aged kids with no savings and an ex who paid the minimum in maintenance. The hypothetical single mum earns 1,300 p/m and rents a property costing £900 p/m.

The calculator said the minimum she would be entitled to would be £800p/m, which in my view is about right. Yet I hear a lot that benefits are a pittance and had assumed that to be the case, but I was pleasantly surprised by the result.

Am I overlooking something? Not trying to be goady, I’m genuinely curious.

YABU = £800 isn’t enough in these circumstances
YANBU = £800 is about right or even generous

When DD was born I looked at the CB forms and worked out it wouldn’t be worth it. I haven’t looked into it again since. Give me a moment and I’ll figure out what happened.

I don't want to go into details on this thread as I'm not convinced of your intentions. I will say that I have a undergrad and a Masters degree. I work part time to fit in school runs for my eldest. My youngest is cared for by family free of charge for 30 hrs per week. I own my home with my ex and there's a legal agreement making me responsible for mortgage. I can't work full time as can't afford the wrap around care for both kids even if it was subsidised by UC 80%. I only just tip into UC. I absolutely love my job and would love to work full time and actually build my career but my kids father does his part 1 night per week and the expectation is that I do the rest. I get council tax discount. I won't be able to afford the mortgage if rates remain the same when I renew in a few months. UC do not help with mortgage payments (which I understand). There's no luxuries here. Just the worry each night about what's coming next. Your thread (whilst maybe well intentioned?) knocks people like me down when we are already feeling pretty low because you start from a point of 'knowing better' than the people with actual lived experience. It's condescending and for what purpose?

Honestly I had no idea how much they would be. That's with 30 hours free too! I live in an expensive area but keep telling myself it's only for a few more months, then he'll be in school. Counting down the days!

61% say IANBU but they’re too nervous to come on this thread I reckon!

CM is NOT included in a UC claim

Thanks for the clarification, I thought from the post that the disability and such were on top of basic universal credit rather than additional elements included, happy to be proved wrong
I don't begrudge anyone with health issues or disabled children, god knows I'm fucking knackered with one kid.

So we can only discuss them if we agree they’re not enough? And anything else is ‘goady’?
No, but describing the amount as "pretty generous", and clearly implying that benefits claimants should not end up in an equal or better financial position than people working full time and not claiming, is absolutely goady.

UC should top up the income of those with low household incomes so they can cover the costs of living to the same extent that those with a moderate household income can. It shouldn't be about giving low earners just enough crumbs to scrape by, with a shitty quality of life (albeit this is what will now be the case for many people with the cost of living crisis).

HEAR HEAR

UC is universal.

Round my way it's £1300 for a 3 bed property.

So that £800 a month won't go far even with CM.

There's alot of selfish people about!

If you've not been saying benefits are too generous ,what do you mean by people saying yanbu but too scared to come on?
So you're being reasonable by saying what?

Just bloody own what you mean!

You are confusing things.

PIP for the poster and CDP for her child are separate benefits to UC.

On top of those as part of UC she will get a carer element and severely disabled child element or disabled child element.

Because so many posters are foaming at the mouth, misquoting me and reading completely inaccurate opinions into what I have said 😆 they don’t want the same treatment!

@Chillisquid no, you were right. PIP, CDP, CB, CTC and the soon-to-be Scottish child payment are all above and beyond my UC claim (which includes the disability elements). I also get discretionary payment from the council for the “extra bedroom”.

guess who I work for? That’s right, the government.

I wouldn't like to be surviving on 1200 after housing costs with two children as well.

It certainly isn't generous - I think i could just about manage but it wouldbe a pretty austere lifestyle

I'm pretty sure you are entitled to child benefit. It's very unfairly calculated per earner in the household, rather than for the whole household, so you could earn up to £50k (or more) each and still get it, whereas as a single parent, I can only earn up to £50k (a bit over given tax) as my total household income and then lose it. Extremely annoying, but it will benefit you, definitely put in a claim.

You have definitely done something wrong. Any family without an earner earning more than £50,000 a year is entitled to Child Benefit, untaxed.

When did I say they shouldn’t end up in an equal place?

quite and I don’t think the LHA rate has caught up with skyrocketing house prices especially in tourist areas like Devon and Cornwall where many homes are air bnbs or similar and that pushes local rents up further. The LHA rate rarely catches up quickly.

for my area it’s this per week/per month

1bedroom £103.56 £448.76
2 bedroom £134.63 £583.40
3 bedroom £159.95 £693.12
4 bedroom £195.62 £847.69

a two bed private rental averages around £900/month
a 3 bed averages around £1100

there’s no way any one on benefits can afford these rates without significant sacrifices or debts.

Many have no choice but to live in over crowded homes 3 kids in a 2 bed home for example or parents will sleep on a sofa bed and the kids get the two bedrooms.

I will double check!

To be fair to the OP I think there should be an open discussion about benefits. It’s funded from taxes. There isn’t a need to disclose personal details. I work full time, single parent. I’m not entitled to any benefits apart from CB. I’m surprised by some of the figures in this thread. I do pay a pension so I assume I will benefit from this in the future and my costs will reduce as the kids start earning.

If your disabled DC requires an extra bedroom because of their disability you are entitled to the 3 bed rate housing element of UC. If you are concerned the DHP may stop or reduce at any point it’s worth pursuing via UC.

cpag.org.uk/child-poverty/child-poverty-facts-and-figures

Lots of relevant info on this website for anyone who feels they are not fully informed and is interested in understanding the reality for lots of families.

49 per cent of children living in lone-parent families are in poverty.3 Lone parents face a higher risk of poverty due to the lack of an additional earner, low rates of maintenance payments, gender inequality in employment and pay, and childcare costs.

Can’t believe some of the low rents mentioned on this thread….

I live in Bournemouth and will have to move soon ….. here a studio flat is rarely under 800 plus bills, a two bed flat is anywhere between 1200 - 1400.

I’m self employed in retail and just about covering shop and home overheads at the moment and have been encouraged to claim UC - the bureaucracy and stress associated with claiming gives me the screaming and dabs.

I’m incredibly lucky, so far, touch wood - in my 50s, adult children not dependent on me but I know how friends in a similar situation in this area struggle on benefits, even if they’re working. Prices rise and there are unexpected expenses that benefits can’t cover.

Being on benefits means reduced choices in life and the constant threat of them being removed for various reasons - it’s not as simple as just being given money and being secure. Every time you register a change it can affect your income until it’s sorted out or processed and it doesn’t take long to potentially get into debt, especially if you’re a hypothetical single mother trying to give your kids a decent life after a messy break up.

How far your money goes is area dependent as far as I can see as well. I thank my lucky stars that so far, touch wood, I can work and just about manage - I really feel for those who have children, disabilities etc that make every day a struggle. There but for the grace of God and all that…..

Am I overlooking something? Not trying to be goady, I’m genuinely curious.

I think you should change your username to goadyfucker. It seems to be available. Cannot wait until you segue this thread onto the older generation and their "surprisingly good" pensions.

I am on benefits. Not UC. Disabled with 2x disabled children. I get a decent amount and thankfully don't really have to worry about money. I'm grateful for what I get.