to be scared when kids leave full-time education

[spanieleyes22]

So I'm currently eligible for Universal Credit with 2 children over 16 but in full-time education. But when the youngest turns 20 I believe I won't be eligible for it any more. I don't know how I'm going to pay my rent or survive without it. They will still be living with me and will be in university (hopefully). What do people do when this happens.

Usually posters want to hear from others in similar situations to get some advice, isn't that obvious?

I just opened a thread titled "how do people afford children" and after reading the OP I realised that me responding would be pointless as my financial situation is vastly different to the poster so whatever I have to say would not be helpful to her circumstances.

Again, as my post was totally ignored - you can rent one room to a student term-time only. With the proviso they take their stuff with them when they go home outside term-time- liberating the room for when yours is not at Uni. Private stuff can be stored in the other child's room when room is rented to student.

It’s a valid suggestion. However it’s not always possible to sublet a rental property. It would need a landlords permission otherwise op can be liable for legal action against her.

At a guess I'd say, like many of us, not inheriting a house to put us nicely in 'a position to cope'

Although plenty of people sublet rooms (to friends/relatives) for cash to raise much needed funds. No judgment here.

You've inherited a house, this is not the same situation AT ALL.

This has been explained-@TheSnootiestFox was outlining the changes she put it place to increase her earnings on the premise she would use the house proceeds to fund her mother’s residential care.

Dont let that detail stop you piling on though.

OP this sounds tough.

It must be sad to consider giving your kids’ rooms away if they are at uni. I have two at uni and they occasionally pop back for concerts, to see friends etc (we live in London) and it would be hard not to give them a room. Never mind for the holidays.

The other thing is, uni jobs are not always that easy to find. My daughter and her friends are at uni in a major city and really struggling to find jobs. Supply outstrips demand. I even looked at her CV and job applications to see if I could help but they were fine. She didn’t have luck when back at home either. Despite applying online and walking into lots of shops, cafes and pubs with her CV. It’s often said on here that students should ‘get a job’ but in some areas it’s really not that easy. Esp without lots of relevant experience.

Hope there is some option there for you OP. A cheaper area may be the best option if you can’t downsize.

Of course, have to go through proper channels. But it is very much a possibility. Term-time only- and freed for holidays if both come home at the same time.

and tax-free too, if for students.

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/homes/renting/rent-a-room-scheme-how-it-works-and-tax-rules

Well exactly. Take the house out of the equation and you can still see what I did to make sure that I could cope with the drop in UC once the kids left education. This also had to be actioned quicker than I would have liked as firstborn has decided to go to the AFC which is effectively an apprenticeship at 16, whereas I thought he'd go to college and then join up after that. I knew my UC would halve and his dad would stop paying maintenance the first moment he could. Everyone on benefits with kids with no disabilities knows this will happen. I don't understand how you wake up when the kids are in their 20s and firstly, you are still claiming for them, and secondly why this realisation hasn't already happened. I was asked what I did and replied. I really don't understand the hate as I had still busted a gut at work and studied further to remove the risk of me being completely skint once things changed. I was never expecting to inherit that house and I acted as if I'd be renting all my life, and needed to be able to pay that rent. There's no smugness or snootiness involved, I was asked a question and I answered. If people don't like the answer that's up to them, but I won't be the one struggling to pay my rent in later life. Again, I wish the OP luck in changing her circumstances but honestly it's all perfectly doable.

Her mum only died 6 weeks ago and house not her’s yet.
The provisions she made were irrespective of that.

Ive done everything "right" . Went to uni got a good job worked full time all my life except for a few years when kids were small yet I can't support myself without help from the state.

I have a hard time believing that you're so hard up if you've 'done everything right' - you're 55, university educated with a good, full time job 'all your life'. Some info is clearly missing.

I personally would be more worried about your kids' future with tuition fees, accommodation costs etc = ending up with a massive student loan and you want to charge them rent on top before they're even working?

Presumably you didn't pay tuition fees when you were at uni.

I agree with this. And I find it a bit disturbing that people think of their children as sources of extra benefits

How can someone uni educated with a good job who benefited from a free education not have managed to sort their life out by their mid to late 50s. Pull your socks up, OP!

Oh wouldn't it be good if life was perfect. (And there wern't deadbeat dad's around who leave the mum's in this kind of position)

Which is exactly how I felt at around age 45 leaving both my grim marriage and my teaching career practically simultaneously. But, being an adult, I did exactly as a PP said, pulled my socks up, changed career to a much lower paid but more sustainable mental health and family wise job, worked my way up, did extra projects for Brownie Points, and made a new life for me and my boys. It was and still is hard, bloody hard when my mum became ill as I'm an only child, but I did it and I'm nothing special. Everyone has a story to tell, some people like a PP are dealing with disabled kids and disabilities theirselves. A grown woman of 57 with no health issues, a long work history and a university education really should have no problems getting themselves together. To go back to the original point which keeps being missed, it really is a case of earn more or spend less, not respond snappily to those who were in exactly the same position but did something about it.

You might find it “disturbing” that many middle income earners cannot afford any standard of living and are eligible for benefits. Over 50 % of the UK population are in receipt of benefits.

Nearly half of UC claimants are in work.

Housing costs are now swallowing over 50% of a decent salary in the private rental sector.

Pull your own socks up and educate yourself better.

It's not the fact that working people have to claim benefits, of course I know that. And housing is outrageously expensive while salaries are stagnant. More housing needs to be built urgently and the rental sector needs to be better regulated with more rights for renters.

I was just a bit at the OP bellyaching about her circumstances which don't sound that bad to me - it's the younger generations that have it much harder, IMO.

Having a free uni degree, a good, full time job for many years, a 3-bed apartment/house and having brought up two kids bright and resourceful enough to go to uni = not doing too badly.

And while I know it isn't easy to manage when paying private rent on an average salary (been there, done that) I'm not sure why she can't manage.

Average salary = maybe £2200 a month after tax.
Just under 50% in rent = maybe £1100 a month. Are bills included or extra?
If extra maybe £600-£800 a month left after rent and bills. No childcare costs.
So yeah not ideal but manageable for a single person.

I've managed with less. My family members currently manage on less. People who have brought up their families in 1-bed flats.

But I admit on those maths she will likely struggle in retirement. She needs to plan now.

OP was not bellyaching. She was trying to work things out

Why do you think info is missing? Many university educated people like teachers, nurses, etc have to rely on UC to help pay the rent if they live in expensive places like the south east. ESPECIALLY if they are single parents, which many women become unfortunately.

At one point she said she might as well just kill herself at 65 if she was going to have to live in a one bedroom flat and not be able to have spare bedrooms and money to help her children and grandchildren out. Which is just melodramatic and ridiculous, and quite frankly offensive to the people who’ve never been eligible for any benefits in the first place and always managed their expectations about the sort of home they can afford to live in. It doesn’t exactly garner sympathy, when many people have pointed out that she has many options if she wants to stay living in a large house - including her adult DC working to help pay for their keep.

Quite.

My retirement plan is buying a 1-bed flat for my husband and I. Currently saving like hell towards that.

Well done for being sympathetic to a woman struggling. I despair at this place and would NEVER post for any support.

Correct - millennials who currently have young children. Not people of the OP's age!
She's 55, with her oldest being at least 20. So OP was in her early thirties when she had children. If she got such a good job after uni why didn't she buy a property?
Of course, OP didn't do 'everything' right I mean she married a waster who wouldn't pay for his own children. That ruins many women's lives.

But I highly doubt that she went to uni as a teen, got a good job, which is the 'traditional' path she implies...