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

Glad we're in agreement 😁

But when labour inevitably get in, they won't help you either. Neither side ever reverses the terrible policies they were so fervently against whilst in opposition. I'm older than you and completely jaded and after being a life long labour voter, I resigned my membership back in 2017 and now it's fair to say, I hate them all equally.

Good luck though. You've taken a bashing and you've responded well 🙌

i don’t know why people get angry if you discuss benefits in a rational way. I don’t think it does anyone any good

This. There’s some right bastards around. I forget sometimes how nasty and jealous some people are.

I don’t think op is the bitter one

You didn't say it, you clearly implied it by calling an amount that brings lower earners to a similar place that middle earners are in "generous".

No sorry I apologise of course you started a thread just to discuss how you think benefits are set at just the right level 🙄

I agree with you OP. Plenty of people in this country make a career out of claiming benefits unfortunately, and the rest of us are paying for them.

I don't like threads like these because the motivation for posting always seems murky.

It doesn't take much effort to work out that £1200 after rent won't go that far but also isn't nothing. Like posting about how "aw it's not that bad" on Mnet seems to be somewhat ideologically driven.

What would the alternative be of making life for single parents liveable? Stay with your abusive DH because you know you won't get by alone?

Yes

Yeah it's very obvious you are posting so these types of views can come out

I'm a single parent who earns less than £1300 and I get no where near that amount in top ups and I get no child maintenance. Its not even worth the hassle trying to get it as his dad is constantly unemployed.

So if her ex isn''t paying anything she has £1,200 after paying her rent, you have £2,500. You must be rolling in it if you think she's doing OK.

Just before I leave and unwatch:

Please do leave the thread and unwatch to safeguard yourself if you are in a financially vulnerable position and this thread is upsetting.

For anyone feeling particularly low this evening, there are mumsnetters that care about your wellbeing and welfare :)
www.samaritans.org
www.turn2us.org.uk

There are some posts on this thread encouraging people on benefits who are financially vulnerable to disclose a breakdown of their income and outgoings - and the purpose appears is to check if they have a reasonable amount of money to live on.

@Lifeitiswhatitis says

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?

benefits should top up to a « moderate » level of earnings not a low level? Surely then there are no low earners as they are topped up?

It's hard to label anything generous when personal situations and access varies so widely.

Thing is, we can't assume the single parent is in a fresh situation, which isn't something we can add to the calculator. Separation can also include a lot of unexpected bills and debt is not uncommon. I imagine we wouldn't need to go back to last month to read stories of women on here with husbands and soon to be exes who've obliterated savings and ran up debts, nevermind right now with more turning to debts with rising costs.

But that’s the case for most people, benefits or not - a huge unexpected bill is pretty devastating.

Except on UC, you're penalized for saving to try to be responsible and reduce the impact of those events. That was brought in as enough people thought people on tax credits possibly getting a windfall and/or having savings didn't have it hard enough.

Also, speaking of huge unexpected bills, assuming maintenance isn't helpful not just because it's known how some get around that as others have said, but it ignores the situation where you can't collect it because the other person is dead. Could you pay for the funeral and expenses of an unexpected death and maintain the rest of your finances on an on-going basis without a hitch? Many can't - and remember, 1 in 20 children will have had a parent die by the time they're 16. It might feel less generous in that situation.

Also don't forget in case it hasnt been said (i'm not reading this whole thread for sure) that calculators like Entitled To include child benefit in their total, so if she has 2 DC then around £150 of that will be money that anyone with the same number of DC up to about £50k single earnings will be entitled to that too.

Also sorry but whether you intended it or not, saying that it "sounds about right to you" is very condescending and obtuse. People have a huge variety of circumstances and outgoings.

😂😂😂

Why shouldn’t op start a thread to discuss the level of benefits?

im a single mum. I’ve been on benefits. I’m happy to discuss benefits like a normal rational person.

This is where OP makes no sense. She says she can’t afford any luxuries at the moment. So presumably is breaking even at best on their wages. But then those living on much less should be managing just fine??? All very confusing.

Yes exactly - if OP was genuinely just "interested" then her or his assumption wouldn't be that everyone else is just lurking in the background to afraid to agree - agree with what OP?

Just icky. People, do not break down your income and earnings to randoms on the internet

I think those that struggle on benefits are mainly single people with no disability.

I'm a nurse who is currently on maternity leave, however I'm unable to return to my previous post due to a change in my circumstances. I've come to the end of my maternity leave and have transferred from maternity pay to universal credit while I find a new job.

I get my entire rent paid (£375, 2 bed housing association flat), a large percentage of my council tax paid (I can't remember the exact %) and my universal credit varies but this month it was £867. I'll also get 85% of my childcare paid for by universal credit when i go back to work. Obviously my UC income will change when I'm earning again.

I'm not living the high life, neither am I struggling.

This is where OP makes no sense. She says she can’t afford any luxuries at the moment. So presumably is breaking even at best on their wages. But then those living on much less should be managing just fine??? All very confusing.

Yes indeed, very 'confusing'.

You're right, my point was very badly worded. In the situation outlined where someone is working part time because of caring commitments, then yes, they should be topped up by the state. But also the base salary should be higher because I do not think it's fair or equitable for businesses to pay a low salary with the expectation that the state/tax payer tops up the difference.

I think it’s a bit ridiculous to suggest that single mums are going to top themselves because op started a perfectly rational and polite thread about benefits. Us single mums have to be pretty resilient you know!

800 a month to raise two children doesn't sound like a lot to me, hopefully you will be better off with your part time job, work is supposed to make you better off on UC and your free school meals can run on either for 6years or until the end of the key stage they're in, sorry I can't remember which but make sure you are getting what you and your children are entitled to, as others have said post separation can be an expensive time.
I'm a single parent claiming UC.
Funnily enough I've got a career.