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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I am better off on benefits

205 replies

yousilvertongueddevilyou · 03/03/2023 09:49

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.

OP posts:
Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:04

@Coffeellama You don't get FSM just because you're on UC, nor do you get automatic free prescriptions. You need to show you earn less than 7k a year to get FSM.

BodyShapeWoes · 03/03/2023 18:05

@yousilvertongueddevilyou

Some days Dh is ok 😂😂 I wouldn’t really miss him if he could come and stay a few nights a week would I? As long as he comes over the night before the bin have to go out I’d be happy…

Yes I do earn more than 26k (not so keen on the job) but at the same time I’ve obviously been doing something wrong if someone can get 26k in benefits 🤷‍♀️

Paperexcelandpens · 03/03/2023 18:06

Op please answer the question about free school meals. The threshold for those is about £7k which you earn above so surely you don't qualify for free school meals? Are you getting confused with the standard free school meals that all infant and junior school children get? You need to research better before making such statements.

Coffeellama · 03/03/2023 18:07

Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:04

@Coffeellama You don't get FSM just because you're on UC, nor do you get automatic free prescriptions. You need to show you earn less than 7k a year to get FSM.

Yes I no, that’s why I asked her, because she said she gets them. But she isn’t eligible.

Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:07

OP I respect that for YOU, you are better off on UC, but please remember most people are not. Creating threads like this doesn't really help and it makes people bitter and pissed off when they apply and find out that actually what you get on UC is next to nothing. The work coaches get the flack for this and it causes a lot of division in society. I'm not sure what you want to get out of this thread but there are a lot of people who would love to get as much support as you are getting and they just can't as they wouldn't be eligible.

Coffeellama · 03/03/2023 18:08

Paperexcelandpens · 03/03/2023 18:06

Op please answer the question about free school meals. The threshold for those is about £7k which you earn above so surely you don't qualify for free school meals? Are you getting confused with the standard free school meals that all infant and junior school children get? You need to research better before making such statements.

I agree with this. And if you don’t get free school meals OP, do you actually get universal credit either? Or are all the figures made up?

Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:10

@Coffeellama Yh sorry this poster doesn't seem genuine tbh. I'm really confused as to what she wants to get out of the post. It's coming across very weird. I was a work coach during the pandemic and being better of on UC is really only for the few and it's not really that great tbh. Most people couldn't wait to get off it. It does help a lot with rent but unless your child is disabled you really don't get much and the expectation to get back into full time employment are high, even for parents of small kids.

BodyShapeWoes · 03/03/2023 18:10

@Dodgeitornot my kids are a bit older now so I’d have to have another wouldn’t I?

The system is broken if you can get more in benefits than working!

whilst I appreciate some people can’t work due to being unwell and I fully support a system so they are, however working seems to be a mugs game

VerityUnreasonble · 03/03/2023 18:10

Really you seem to be saying that financially you might be a bit better off working full time but you don't really fancy it as it is "a bit of a slog" and you like being able to collect your child from school.

Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:13

@BodyShapeWoes You wouldn't get anything for your 3rd child. It's capped at 2 kids unless you had a multiple birth after the 1st single birth. UC is not ideal but it's really not as great as the poster is making out. A lot of the things she's said are actually close to impossible. It sounds like she's probably claiming lots of expenses on her SE I come to lower the net earnings which is illegal and they're clamping down on.

Original poster
yousilvertongueddevilyou · 03/03/2023 18:13

@Dodgeitornot Yes I know, I make my MIF now, it's 1100 a month

I didn't know that about age 13, but that would mean I make myself what I get now with work and UC, would they still top me up further then?

I mean by then I do want to be in employment that I enjoy and pays well. I just can't find the right route to take.

OP posts:
ivegotthisyeah · 03/03/2023 18:13

She must get FSM from legacy benefits once your awarded then they stay with you whilst on benefits with no threshold.
You must of had them for a few year previously been on Ta credits so they roll over when on UC.
I know a mum who is about to get married to a very high earner and her kids get them presumably through legacy benefits 🤷🏻‍♀️
The rules changed about 4 years ago?

Coffeellama · 03/03/2023 18:13

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.

Yeah this but makes no sense, because you aren’t getting these Fsm and prescriptions. So you would be better off financially on 28k.

Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:16

@Coffeellama Additionally she can't be on a salary and be self employed. It's one or the other. I'm assuming she's earning 26k gross and claiming lots in business expenses, reducing her net earnings which are taken into account for UC. This is not allowed. Her business has to be profitable and expenses can only be reasonable. Even if all the expenses are technically ok and not fake, they have to be reasonable as to the nature of the business and absolutely necessary. The expenses allowed on UC are a looooot less than what you're allowed to claim for your tax return. It's the bare minimum you need to run your business.

BodyShapeWoes · 03/03/2023 18:17

@Dodgeitornot what a shame I guess I’ll have to carry on working and paying taxes so I can keep the op in her life of having 26k a year

As I previously said the system is broken if benefits pay more than working

Original poster
yousilvertongueddevilyou · 03/03/2023 18:17

@BodyShapeWoes It depends how much more you're talking about. I did something wrong in that I dedicated myself to third and public sector and got my top wage of 28K and then had a mental breakdown.

Pursuit of a career then gave way to the need to be mentally stable so got a 12K/year job that I enjoyed. Then I went self-employed with that work, now I get a fair amount for it and wondering about using this year to go to career progression again, only problem being the sector and type of work I used to do would make me worse off than on UC.

OP posts:
Original poster
yousilvertongueddevilyou · 03/03/2023 18:18

@Paperexcelandpens Yes, I assumed you get them and found out a few pages back I was incorrect. Mine will only have packed lunch either way.

OP posts:
Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:19

@yousilvertongueddevilyou OP your comfort on UC is short lasting. As someone who was a work coach, I would really urge you to do whatever career progression you can now, even if it means you'll be slightly worse off. This sweet spot on UC doesn't last long.

Original poster
yousilvertongueddevilyou · 03/03/2023 18:20

@Coffeellama I'm not paid a salary, I'm bringing in the amount that salary would bring.

OP posts:
Original poster
yousilvertongueddevilyou · 03/03/2023 18:20

@Dodgeitornot I thought HLTA could be a good option.

OP posts:
Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:21

@BodyShapeWoes The OP is in the sweet spot and it doesn't last long and few people manage to get this set up. Honestly, UC is better than the old system and it's very rare to be better off on it than not on it. The time period when you're better off on it, is actually quite short and most people are advised to progress their careers as quickly as possible.

Original poster
yousilvertongueddevilyou · 03/03/2023 18:21

@Dodgeitornot Well no that pays awfully.
I really don't know what to do to be honest.

OP posts:
Coffeellama · 03/03/2023 18:22

yousilvertongueddevilyou · 03/03/2023 18:20

@Coffeellama I'm not paid a salary, I'm bringing in the amount that salary would bring.

I didn’t ask. I asked about if you even receive universal credit seen as you don’t receive the other benefits you listed while bashing the system? I think you should properly check on your own finances and benefits before making career decisions and suggesting the system is broken etc.

BodyShapeWoes · 03/03/2023 18:24

@yousilvertongueddevilyou so you could work more but choose not to…

I’d fucking love to pick my kids up from school at pick up time, instead I’m at work…

Fuck a duck I’ve got a auto immune disease, which has completely destroyed my life, yet I still manage to drag my arse to work

Dodgeitornot · 03/03/2023 18:24

@yousilvertongueddevilyou The trouble is you're self employed so you've essentially cut yourself off from any support the job centre needs to give you. However, contact your work coach via your journal. Ask for details of any job clubs your job centre runs, and any apprenticeships they've got coming forward. Go to college whilst you can, often it's free if you don't have a level 3 qualification and even if you do, they can help you apply for bursaries. You can get 80% of your childcare covered, this includes breakfast and after school club. Utilise this whilst you can.

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