I’m not being flippant- I genuinely don’t get it- childcare costs

[Strictlymad]

Please could you knowledgeable lot help me?

I promise it’s a genuine request I’m not being flippant!

theres been a lot of posts recently about childcare costs, being better off earning less due to benefits, UC top ups etc and I don’t disbelieve this but don’t understand what I’m missing. We are struggling and not getting any help at all. There was a long thread yesterday but I’ve lost tract now and didn’t want to hijack.

situation is - dh earns 41k, I earn approx 6k self employed from home whilst also being full time carer to toddler ds who has complex medical needs, we also have 6 year old dd.

ds can’t attend childcare due to his needs so work for me is limited. Mortgage on 3 bed house is 900 in south east, dh commutes to London so running two cars. Applied for uc but not eligible, get standard child benefit. Ongoing application for dla for ds but takes months.

i do appreciate we have more than many and am grateful for that, there is more to life than money- every day I’m grateful ds is alive. I’m just curious at these posts of others saying if dh earned under 100k we would be better of cuz of the ‘help’ - is there something I’m missing!!

thanks all

This means you are better off earning £99k vs £130k if you have two children, for example. Which makes no sense.

Not really - you can put £30,001 a year into your pension for a few years, get the free hours, and a healthy pension boost as well which is not to be sniffed at.

Train fares are much more expensive than running a car. In 2018 I lived in SE and studied in London. My annual train fare was over 6k including student discount.

Yes, it's absolutely dependent on everyone's individual circumstances and that's why people are always advised to seek out advice around what they are entitled to as it seems impossible to work it out unless you are an expert.

Slightly off topic OP, but DLA should be backdated to the date you applied (it was for me when I applied for dd anyway).

Under £100k and you get funded childcare hours and tax free childcare, worth around £7k per year per child so 2 children is £14k a year. Over £100k and you don’t get that. Just 15 hours age 3.

Not the point but how is your mortgage only 900/mth in the south east??

The main help is for rent and childcare. If you don’t have these costs there isn’t really any benefits for a working family

Claim DLA now as toddler has complex medical needs as those are above and beyond the care needs of a child their age. Then you can claim carers allowance. Depending on the rate of DLA this may then qualify you for UC possibly - I don't claim UC so can't be 100%

A) Why should you be forced to put huge amounts of money into your pension to get help with childcare? That makes no sense.

Most people in this situation will have really massive mortgages etc - putting ~40% of their annual income into savings they can’t access for 30 years…? Why?

The state claims less tax revenue, and it still funds the childcare.

B) Some people literally cannot do this, eg doctors, because of their already high defined contribution pension arrangements. All the consultants with young kids I know work part time to avoid this. Utterly ridiculous. I know people who have turned down covering shifts during the strikes this summer because it would cost them thousands in lost childcare to do so.

C) And the person earning £161k (who’s above the max pension contribution) is still taxed at 100% on income £100-140k due to loss of childcare. This means on earnings £100-161k they might take home £11,130 once you offset the value of the lost childcare.

That’s an 80% tax rate on that £60k of income.

Yes, that single parent high earner graph with a high student loan payment was very carefully managed to be extreme. Most people aren't in that circumstance.

I understand the mortgage/rent issue. If you have a mortgage you are buying an asset which you will have the benefit of when you stop paying the mortgage. Rent is ongoing and once you stop paying rent you lose the benefit of that expense, i.e. you no longer have that property to occupy and it is not a capital asset.
An improvement, in some ways, on the situation when I was young when mortgages got tax relief (I do wish they still did) and e.g. university/college grants (these were before loans, so over 25 years ago) were higher for those whose parents had a mortgage, whilst those whose parents rented got a lower grant, i.e. those renting (not acquiring a capital asset) were subsidising those able to acquire a capital asset - which was a bit unfair.
So now those with mortgages (acquiring a capital asset) get less help than those who are not able to acquire (or do not choose to) a capital asset.
That's why renters get more support.
As it happens, I think all parents should get the help with child care costs that currently only working parents get, and should be able to use it for whatever child care they choose: nursery, stay-at-home parent, grandparent care, child minder. Currently, the obsession seems to be that if you are not economically active you are unemployed though how anyone with children under five is unemployed eludes me. Something wrong with a society that equates staying at home to bring up children as unworthy of support.

Get your DLA application in and get all your medical paperwork for your dc. If your dc's medical needs are a barrier to them attending a nursery then consider applying for an EHCP.

It is such a short period of time to either go part time or put some more in a pension pot. Tiny tiny violin time.

Please be more sensitive to this OP who is trying to understand if there is more available to her and has much more difficult problems than you.

@Katy4321 I’ve made no comment about OP’s situation, I’m explaining (as requested) why people are are posting threads complaining about childcare costs when they seem to be on very high salaries.

If you have two children 2 years apart this might go on for several years (especially now with free hours from 9 months) - and tax-free childcare you can claim until the end of primary school.

The ‘loss’ / benefit of a higher salary for earners >£100k becomes greater with every new childcare initiative that is launched.

It's only referring to nursery/pre-school free hours, which isn't relevant to you.

The cliff-edge cut-offs don't make sense at all, but there always has to be a cut-off somewhere and someone will be negatively affected.

We went for 40 years to keep the monthly down

What you say makes a lot of sense! Maybe some more help for a sahp, even if it’s just towards costs like art materials and books that a child has access too in nursery but we have to buy for the home. With 2 children one of whom needs 24 care I’m far from ‘unemployed’ 😂 medical stuff crippled us too, the nhs is amazing, but every appointment costs me 20 for the train, late night a and e runs can cost £10 car parking, food for parents as an in patient…

Chances are once you get DLA you'll be entitled to UC, especially if you're little one is middle or higher rate. It's a confusing system.

Depends when you buy the property. Mine was £240 a month but was bought in 1997

Thank you all so much for your insight! I see now it’s a highly complex system with so many ins and outs it’s a bit pot luck where you fall! And the posts this week were very specific! I just wanted to be certain we weren’t missing anything in our circumstances! Fingers crossed the dla approves and comes in and then I can apply for carers to replace my wage deficit. Even I can offset the constant costs of trains to London hospitals it would be a huge help.

Op you will find that once your DS gets DLA then you will be entitled to more support. UC has a disabiled child element and also a carers element, once you’re awarded to these, then your entitlement goes up significantly. I know from personal experience how frustratingly long the DLA wait is, but make sure you apply for UC again once you have the award as you will be eligible.

Thank you! Application went in in March so fingers crossed decision soon!

I’m just curious at these posts of others saying if dh earned under 100k we would be better of cuz of the ‘help’ - is there something I’m missing!!

It as a childcare thread, surely it’s pretty obvious that the thing you are missing is that you don’t actually use childcare so it doesn’t apply to your.
There are varying amounts of 15/30 hours available at different ages but you don’t use childcare anyway so it’s irrelevant and based on your income I don’t think you work enough to be eligible even if he was in childcare.

It's the fact you have a mortgage OP. The Tory government is happy to pay a landlord's many mortgages for them (on behalf of the tenant) but won't offer the same support to a homeowner who is struggling. If you were renting you'd very likely be entitled to UC.

I think folk on higher salaries are only getting help towards childcare and not any other top ups. Perhaps non means tested disability if eligible. I can't lose any sleep about folk on over £100k a year losing out. Boo hoo.