I am better off on benefits

[yousilvertongueddevilyou]

I make £1100/month self-employed. I now get £620/month in Universal Credit and £80/week in child benefit.

I'm on a £26K/year salary which goes a long way where I live.

If I got a job that paid £28K/year I'd have to work more, for £100/month more, which I'd lose in prescriptions, free school meals, and council tax support.

I'd have to make at least £30K/year to make working worth my while and then I'd have to lose even more on childcare to work full-time.

So I really need to make at least £35K/year and even then the slog wouldn't be worth it.

I'm grateful. It does trap you into a static income though. Unless my self-employed work becomes more lucrative.

I do work as much as I can, but only in school hours and before school, as it benefits my child to have me pick them up every day.

I'm certainly not incentivised to go back to work, but I am still seeking employment because I enjoy working.

Universal Credit was bashed but it actually works really well and rewards people to work.

@Plenanna prepayment certificate and I am with an NHS dentist and even today going once a year it's £20 for an adult.

Possibly, it did cross my mind at the time actually.

Look, please please don't screw your life up by thinking things are easier on benefits. UC (apart from messing up my masters 😒) was great for me as it gave me breathing time to change direction, but I've got friends now hitting 50 who always thought life on benefits was easier than work, and now they have no kids at home are either panicking like mad about the future or marrying someone that they wouldn't have looked twice at before. Don't let that be you!

The state of this country's salaries they're so so low in comparison to the cost of living, it makes sense why some people don't bother to work. Judgy people will say daft things like think of your career when not everyone has a career and therefore not everyone benefits from being in work it's difficult for some to understand but it's a fact for some that they're simply better off not working.

At my workplace most people earn minimum wage get treated badly, no sick pay, nothing above statutory holiday or pension, strict working hours that mean annual leave to go to the doctors etc. so you end up needing to pay out more for childcare etc as you've used annual leave on basically surviving. No one should live like that, they're effectively cutting their life down and for what. A few extra £££ that's soaked up elsewhere in the system.

Benefits are there to support the poor. The problem is, the poor is no longer 'not working ' any more it's also low incomes and 'low income' in this day and age is also not as low as what many people think. Why in earth would anyone work if they had a better life not working.

This is why I think Universal Basic Income is a better option than means-tested benefits. Just give everyone of working age £800 per month (or whatever would be deemed appropriate) and that's it.

No income tax allowances, so all income, including the Universal Income, would be taxable. Therefore, if you do paid work you always benefit from doing it. Nobody would ever be better off on benefits than they would if they were working.

A life on the state pension only is going to be pretty miserable

Better off on Benefits
FUCK OFF

Come live my life for a month or two and see how much "better off" you will be
HTH

I'm surprised you get free school meals on that income. You normally only get them if you're unemployed on on a VERY low income. Same with council tax support.

Also prescriptions. Again, you only get free prescriptions if you earn less than £935 a month. I'm on UC myself so I know this. Are you sure you're being honest OP?

I agree with this.

Completely agree with you op when I was single I was self employed working part time and when I used the benefit calculator to see how much I’d need to earn to be on the same money it was something like 40 hours of national minimum wage for me to be £5 better off a month because I’d then loose my 85 percent of childcare costs etc you can Only get these if your also entitled to universal credit so the more you earn the less you would get and once you hit the threshold you don’t get it, always choose happiness op I was the same loved being able to pick my child up from nursery/school etc being able to attend their plays parents evenings after school activities.

You would still be entitled to 85% of childcare costs if you were working 40 hours at national minumum wage. I don't think some of you are calculating right.

£26k is a decent salary, OP. How do you get UC on that salary?

I didn't think I was entitled to UC but maybe I am...

I think there is some miscalculation as she said she brings home £1100pm, that doesn't work out right. I earn £24k and I bring home £1600pm after tax and pension. I do get UC though, around £400pm. You may be entitled, it varies depending on your housing costs for your area.

Not necessarily anymore. So many TAs are leaving to get jobs in supermarkets where they can work year round and earn more. I work in a beautiful little school in a nice area and it's hard to recruit. Just bear in mind being a full time TA is still a part time job. Even if you can push up your hours to around 35 with breakfast club and/or after school club, you're still not paid for about 15% of the year.

Nice to hear that someone can decide whether they are better off on benefits or not.

Glad to see my tax money (whatever % of it goes to ) is subsidising people to not work as much because that's what they want.

Benefits should be for the people that absolutely need it, not for people who want to work less because it fits in with their lives better. If we all did this then you can say good bye to benefits full stop as there would be none to give out!

Think long-term. A lot of that "benefits" money is because you have children. As soon as they stop being children you will drop to the single person's rate. That is a big drop. But if you've been working to earn your money, your kids growing up won't impact you negatively financially. It's much harder to find a decently paid job in 15 years than it is to work your way up from the start.

She's saying her take home pay from self employment plus her UC top up is the equivalent of a 26k salary.

It's worth getting a "better off" calculation done as there might be factors you've missed when comparing costs. I would get it from CAB or another impartial organisation - not the DWP.

But personally I see no reason to rush back to f/t working if your self employed work is working well for you in terms of finances and childcare. I definitely prefer being around to pick up my DD from school. At some point I think UC might hassle you to take on more hours, but if they're fine with the hours you do now then it's no one else's business.

ChatGPT has to practice somewhere

😂😂😂

@TheSnootiestFox Thank you for taking a genuine interest.

What would you do? I'm 50 in ten years and probably be in the exact same position, child will be 16 then so still living here but no one can say what they will be doing.

I could walk into a £24K/year job for sure but one I'd likely hate.

What could I volunteer or work in now for career progression at such a late age?

I might not have a choice.

@redandlellow I actually am not paid badly and work but it's just evident that breaking my back is not worth it when I could be less well off but happy and healthy instead of better off but stressed and unhappy.

I could earn £500/week doing what I do now but that would mean full days and I'm not sure the money would be worth it. I can make 1100/month and get topped up... that won't end even when I'm 50 and if it did I could work more.....

I'd love a full-time job I enjoyed and was worth it but not everyone gets that in life.

@80sMum what tax rate would that all be at? Taxing the £800 immediately brings it down so it's not £800 at all?

You're a spring chicken 😁 I can't mention specifics as they would completely identify me in real life, but I volunteer with 2 charities, am a governor at a local college and have just signed up for a Masters degree. Working part time allowed me to take a lower paid role than I ever could when I was married and had a mortgage and that has basically got me where I want to be now as I completely changed industries. I spent 4 years doing admin and getting a UC top up while I worked on the rest. It can be done! Is there a specific area you're interested in?

Not sure where in country you are, but if in South Wales you could register with one of the many supply teaching agencies and get TA work, or exam invigilation work on a daily basis as and when suits you. might be worth a consideration if it fits in around other commitments.

Totally understand why you are prioritising your families wellbeing for now though, do what's right for you. Too many of us struggling to do everything whilst NRP shirk responsibilities and the wealthy get wealthier. Whilst those that give to society give more than their fair share in terms of work, volunteering, support friends and families, caring responsibilities, tax paid etc.