Friend earns as much as me on benefits

[NattyFinch]

I felt really shocked and conflicted after a discussion with a friend recently that revealed that she receives over £2000 a month on benefits for 2 children while I work full time as a single parent with one child for a similar amount (once I’ve paid all my taxes, ni etc). It stemmed from her saying she was going for ivf treatment at 48 at a total cost of £8000. I’m supportive as a friend and try not to be a judgmental person but this just seems unjust when I’ve worked so hard to stay in employment and raise my son single-handedly for 12 years. She doesn’t want to move to England because if the ivf is successful she will get more money to stay in Scotland. AIBU to think this is all bonkers ?!

It's total nonsense. Unless her rent is sky high - which in Scotland it probably won't be

Unless she lives in one of the parts of Scotland that is currently enjoying rent-inflation outstripping that of London, thanks to over-tourism, BTL, and absentee speculative landlords buying everything rendering it impossible for locals to buy property.

It's still true that most of Scotland is relatively affordable, but it's not true of the entire country, and it's changing rapidly as more and more of the aforementioned nonsense spreads into areas it never formerly affected.

3 people living on £2000 is not even that much when counting in the cost of rent, groceries and bills these days. So I don't know where on earth is she getting £8000 for the ivf? If she is spreading the cost over one year, that will leave them £1333 a month to live on.

She also won't get welfare for her third child (which she won't have because it's practically impossible to have a child at 48) except the child benefit which is only 25 a week for the first child and less than that for subsequent children. She won't get universal credit or child tax credits for the third child. Just saying

Hmm. If there's no disabilities she will have work commitments.
If you're only clearing 2k p/m OP and you private rent then you should claim UC yourself. Highly likely you would be entitled to some help.

If OP and friend both have the same amount I can't see how OP would be much better off going through life...
Yes they'll both have rent or mortgage to pay but OP may have to pay for dental treatment/prescriptions/eye tests all of which friend may not have to pay out for.
Friend could also be entitled to up to 100% council tax reduction.
Friend could also get pension credits to contribute to a state pension.

I'm not sure it pays to have or want to buy you're own property or have more than 16k in savings TBF there's a chance that it'll all be taken once in old age if you have to go into care...

In the distant future OP could be sat in a care home having had to hand over her own home and savings to pay for her care with her friend sat opposite her being funded.

I thought you couldn’t claim universal credit if you’ve got over 6k savings

👏👏👏

A good start would be regulating business properly to force them to actually pay realistic salaries, instead of permitting them to pay breadline amounts then the Government having to top it up with in-work benefits anyway.

Since the 2008 crash we've had slow growth in productivity, yet next to no growth in salaries. All that money is going somewhere, yet it isn't ending up in the pockets of employees or in the UK Exchequer in the form of tax or general population spend.

The maximum you can have is 16k.

I am aware of the LHA yes but if it's council/social housing that doesn't apply. Also assuming she's entitled to a 3 bed property for her and 2 kids, the LHA for Glasgow is £223 per week. Edinburgh is £316. But equally places like Ayshire and Dumfries & Galloway are £130 and £115 with lots of other amounts in between those and Edinburgh. So it really depends where she lives. But I don't know why people seem to think renting in Scotland costs pennies. I guess it's cheaper than many other places in the UK but it's still easily enough for this woman to possibly be receiving over £1k in housing element on UC.

The OP does not know that there are no disabilities.

Its 16k but you get less if you go over 6

On the slim chance this isn't a windup (48 and getting IVF, yeah right!), then I'd say she was lying. Unless she's claiming disability benefits for herself and/or her children then there's no way you get that much in benefits.

When the children turn 3 they expect you to look for work and prove it. Endless meetings and planning with the threat of sanctions always in the air.

Also, once you have £6k in savings they take money off your universal credit. £16k and benefits are stopped.

Go to the entitled to website and put in your information, you're likely entitled to universal credit top up as a single parent.

It's Mumsnet, you cannot have a discussion about this without being accused of benefit bashing or fibbing I'm afraid Op.

What? How?

I can believe this. I was a low earner young kids, partner left. I received £1000 towards my rent (south east), £900 in universal credit. £900 from work and then a £800 payment for child maintenance which is never counted as earnings. I am no better off now I work full time. I was pleasantly surprised at the time. I expected to be in poverty. All of that was tax free.

It would annoy me that she is planning a further child and expecting the state to fund it

I don't believe she is getting £6000 a month. Also very sad that you would want your neices/nephews to be living in poverty.

She doesn't need to build one..look how much better off people are not on a full state pension.
Pension tax credits.

It stemmed from her saying she was going for ivf treatment at 48 at a total cost of £8000.

She sounds to me like she's living in some kind of parallel universe.

Do you mean she pretends her children have disabilities to claim more money from the state? If that's true then this is child abuse and deserves to be reported. I'm in my 50s now, but I was that child. I had to sit with doctors while my mum described symptoms and conditions that simply weren't true, I had to agree with her and say what she told me to say, all so more money could be claimed from the state.

CarnivorousHipPain

Disgusting comment! Who the hell do you think you are? Definitely not a friend.
What do you know about your friend at all?
That's a total pile sht you just came out with.. I guarantee that there is reason behind everything she has and benefits she is given and entitled to..
Another thing all of us including our forefathers built the system, you shouldn't be turning on each other .

I'm on benefits, the most I received was only £200 more than my rent which wasn't enough to cover bills.

I know it's been said but you really don't know what elements she's entitled to and what makes up that £2k unless you asked her which would be rude.

To throw myself to the mumsnet lions, our total benefits amount per month is £2300 and we don't even rent. My partner earns under £35k a month so we receive slightly more in benefits than income.

I don't work but people assume this is because we have young children and that I'm just a stay at home mum. It's actually because I'm classed as having health issues which result in qualifying for certain elements of UC and Adult Disability Payment which is the Scottish equivalent of PIP. This amounts to around half the total benefits we receive per month. Nobody knows this except us. Oh and we also put one of our children into nursery 2 days a week and receive 85% of those costs back too. Because of my health, I need the break. Everyone just assumes we pay for this out of pocket. I'm sure some people wonder how on earth we manage to have bought a lovely fairly large new house and whatnot when they know what my partner does for a living because they must know he isn't earning enough to pay for everything for a family of six. I wonder if any of our friends are ever interested enough to post about us 😂 Probably not tbh.

Anyway, the point is you just don't know.

I admire your honesty. Every time this subject is brought up so many posters on here are determined to prove every benefit claimant lives in poverty and working folk should be grateful to have a job, lol. Yeah right. Sorry, I don't buy it.