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.

@Trinity65 But I'm talking about my circumstances, not yours.

@Beezknees You have a salary of 24K and still get £400/month UC?

Well that's great, is that a child element of what?

I may completely have misunderstood the situation which is great because I can get a job that pays this in a heartbeat.

But you are working? You make £1100 a month self employed!

@Beezknees Just did a calculation said you would get £76 a week UC. But I only put 450 rent. Is it a housing element for you?

@Findyourneutralspace Yes that's right, I put that in my post.

But I don't work full time, I work under 20 hours a week.

@yousilvertongueddevilyou what job do you do from home?

Well that's a car crash.

I now get £620/month in Universal Credit and £80/week in child benefit.
and I'm certainly not incentivised to go back to work

But in the next line
Universal Credit was bashed but it actually works really well and rewards people to work.

Did you mess up your cut&paste or something, OP?

£21.80 for the first plus 4 @ £14.45 comes to £79.60. They'd have to be born before (iirc) April 2017 though.

OP explained further down that it was the monthly figure not weekly. It was an error.

Yes, it includes housing element, my rent is more than that.

What happens when you no longer receive child benefit in the future ?

Will other parts of the UC decrease too ?

I hate these posts. What is the point of them? To make other people jealous because they work hard for the same money? To get people frothing that benefits are too generous and don't incentivise work?

OP, if this is true then good for you. You are cash poor but time rich, and that suits you and your family. If you are allowed to claim it and not lying about anything, go ahead. However, I have yet to meet anyone who is truly 'better off on benefits' and at some point you will realise that too.

Research to inform policy

Did you include pension contributions? I pay into a workplace pension so that amount is deducted before my UC is calculated. My take home pay is £1600 and I actually get £450pm UC plus child benefit. This is with one child and no childcare cost. My rent is £500pm from April (just increased). If you maximise your pension contributions you can claim more.

I hate these posts. What is the point of them?

It's to make it seem as though there's a public wish to scrap benefits. It's the media equivalent of having a "mate says" who always backs them up. even as I type I will guarantee that disgusted of Tunbridge Wells is holding court at the golf club with such tales.

Getting chatbots to write them seems to be adding insult to injury.

The child element will, but anybody can claim for the individual element and housing element whether they have children or not. People without dependent children are expected to look for full time work though as one of the conditions of claiming.

This is what I get OP based on my earnings and my rent of £500pm, as a single parent of one child with no childcare element. I don't know what your rent is or your LHA, my rent falls within the LHA, I think it's about £550 for a 2 bedroom here.

@Agreeable None of this is true

Firstly you say if we all did it, but you're not doing it when you could? Why not?

Secondly there are millions in unclaimed benefits every year and there is always an underspend.

Thirdly we all wouldn't do it, someone who earned £130K wouldn't, as they'd be worse off.

@TheSnootiestFox I've done lots of volunteering in my time and am looking into things now.
I like working directly with people but because I spent my entire career in an office I did myself out of all that experience.

Now I have the chance to retrain or volunteer somewhere but I still really want it to lead to something well paid eventually if possible.

I just like being with people and I love helping people.

Well, then you are probably looking at the third sector, which unless you're a chief exec is notoriously underpaid, but vwry rewarding and usually quite good fun. Have you a FareShare near you? They're always after volunteers....

The whole point of UC is to reward work through the benefits system. It’s set up to do this.

Yes, it is certainly true that before these benefits were available poverty was far worse. And it is posts like yours that will put things back there! I don't know whether you are aware of this, but I suspect you are, because you are bragging about benefits underwriting a standard of living that many parents in full time work cannot afford. Everyone would like to only work the hours that suit them, be available to their children most of the time, buy them new clothes, let them do activities, and have a job that they like doing. Many peope who have none of those things are slogging their guts out to support you having those things. And those people have clout at the ballot box. And might be wondering why they are paying for you to be a privileged single parent rather than the father of your child.

Perhaps there might be more income tax tiers than we currently have? It's always seemed to me a big jump from 20% basic rate to the 40% higher rate. Maybe it would start at 10% and go up in increments of 10%?

I forgot to mention that I would do away with National Insurance as well and have that included within income tax. That would, I think, make for a fairer system and would mean that older people would be making the same contributions as the young. I think it's wrong that people no longer pay NI after retirement. The burden should be shared equally.

Once you don't need child care you will be better off and able to gain a bit more money in your pocket. It's a trap for now but it does work out in the long run. I went back to work on tax credits and now earn well. Couldn't have done it otherwise

Exactly. Which is why I work full time and people are surprised that I still get over £100 a week in UC. The more you earn, the more money in your pocket as it gradually tapers off.

It's easier when you don't need childcare admittedly. My child is older.