To think I should work less and claim Universal Credit?

[Tiredandgrumpymum]

After a difficult divorce I find myself supporting my 2 children on my own. Ex-husband pays the bare minimum.

I work full time on about minimum wage, all my shopping is done at Asda usually yellow-stickered where ever possible. This year managed to take my 2 kids away for a weeks break by the seaside in a caravan. We had a lovely time but did it as cheaply as possible. Bought ice cream and put in the freezer in the caravan so when kids asked for an ice cream out I said wait till we get home.

No eating out except for takeaway chips etc. No expensive days out.

Just bought all the school uniforms as cheaply as possible from the supermarket and the school shoes which I've had to put on my credit card.

My SIL popped round for a coffee earlier on her way back from the hairdressers having treated herself to a new cut and colour at a posh salon and she was just on the way to get her nails done. She's just returned from a 2 week all inclusive in Turkey with her 4 kids. Her kids get the best school uniforms and school shoes and she pays for them to do various activities I can only dream about. All this and she works 3 mornings a week and gets topped up on UC. She goes to the gym everyday as she can afford it and has the time to so looks fabulous.
I'm sorry I sound so bitter but I really am.

The people taking in loads in benefits usually have high rents, a few disabled kids and are disabled themselves. Would you want to swap your health with theirs, so you can get this money too?

I know a man who lives alone and claims UC and PIP. He is on about £16k. He owns his flat so does not get help with housing. That is way less than someone earning on NMW.

Put a claim in as if you on minimum wage you may get some top up. If you rent you may get an element towards that.

I work 30hrs over 4 days with mortgage and have a decent salary for part time but still get a small amount of UC. Ex nit paying any maintenance and the CMS is degrading and useless so just telling myself it will all be worth it long term especially when by retirement house is fully paid off.

It’s frustrating when you do all you can and cannot provide same for your children as those who work less get to do. Haven’t been abroad since 2016 and when have been on holiday it’s Mon to Fri caravan or a weekend and take food bits with us/pop to Aldi and avoid expensive days out. Keep hearing of people working minimum hours booking holidays, eating out lots, days out and no idea how they do it. I can’t work another day as can’t afford the childcare plus think will end up with mental breakdown lol

And who is responsible for you knowing the numbers ? You can make statistics say anything you want, but those of us in work related to sick and disabled people know what’s really happening. We have a government who have no idea of the difference between sickness and disability benefits. They have no idea of the intention behind a disability benefit like PIP, intended to support the extra cost of living with significant disability, and sickness benefits which are intended as an income replacement while you are unfit to work. And yet they’re tasked with reforming these benefits. It doesn’t make sense.

you can have 6k in savings without it affecting UC, split the rest into ISAs for the kids, have a Holliday and then claim.
you would be entitled to something on minimum wage with 2 kids.
Go to child maintenance service to get something from your ex if necessary.

A Junior SIPP might be worth looking into. The money would be locked up until their retirement and, with 50 years to grow, could be a decent wedge. It would prevent them accessing it at 16 years old which would be a problem with an ISA.

The S&P500 has returned over 7% in real terms for the past 75 years.

£6k would become £250k in 50 years time (£1,089,000 excluding inflation). It would be a good headstart for them in terms of pension savings.

https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/rJw6ytTo2pSkyrfjycVw2

I invest in VUAG which is an accumulation tracker fund that automatically reinvests all dividends. You can just buy and forget about it.

It’s in the comparison - why shouldn’t they be able to have an ice cream from a van every once in a while and the other lady can go abroad etc. It’s not fair.

Doing this then claiming UC is going to look dodgy though. Especially when OP has had the savings for a decade.

What job is that? Décause the Department of Work and Pensions absolutely considers it a disability.

If she's been holding an inheritance on behalf of her children, then it might not be a problem.

UC is tapered so you're always better off working more hours. If you drop your hours you'll get 60p for every £1 you currently earn.
She's most likely in debt to be affording that, or massively saves costs in other ways like food.
We both work, me part time, DH makes 45k, have a mortgage, still only had a UK holiday this year and got all supermarket uniform except 2 logo jumpers each.
Got clarkes shoes in the past and they're a waste of money, didn't last any longer than asda ones.
Try to focus on what you have rather than comparing to others, there are plenty who would be jealous that you were able to afford a holiday and didn't have to use second hand unform sales.

She doesn't have all she needs. She can't buy decent school uniforms and thus she will be paying double when they need replacing sooner than better quality would - it's the Vimes' boots idea (in case you are not a TP fan Vimes points out that a poor man buys a 10 Ankh-Morpork dollar pair of boots and he has to replace them every 6 mths, whilst a rich man buys 50 AM dollar boots and they last him ten years, so the poor man spends a lot more on boots than the rich man). If she's entitled to UC she should get it - she will have paid NI and tax, after all.

She has £18k in savings. She wont get UC.

That's not a great deal.

She isn’t entitled to it right now because she has 18k in savings, so she also doesn’t need to buy cheap uniforms for her kids just now, it’s a choice.

It does not matter. If you have over £16k in capital/savings, you will not be entitled to UC. That is the rules.

Your sister in law probably only picks up that much UC cos she claims for 4 kids and most likely gets a disabled child element and carers element included in her allowance. You working less wouldn't give you the same amount of UC as her as you have 2 kids not 4.

Shes barely bloody existing, she has to scrape by on reduced food thats about to be binned. God forbid she's managed to get a couple of hundred quid together for a week in a caravan. Her ex is a fucking cunt to not provide adequately too. People in one of the richest countries on Earth shouldn't have to struggle like this.

OP for what its worth as a taxpayer (and don't forget you're a taxpayer too) I 100% would be happy to see my tax go towards helping you have a better standard of living than to pay to bomb some poor fucker on the other side of the Earth, subsidise billionaires or a bent MPs government contract for a friend.

Call your local Citizens Advice. They will be really helpful and let you know your options.

I'm not on UC, but personally I find the negative comments on here awful.

If you are eligible for UC and can work fewer hours, life might be a bit better and it's ok to claim. Don't feel bad and please ignore the comments on here from people who probably have no idea, and probably claim from the system in other ways - NHS, prescriptions, protected pension etc.

One day, the benefits system might be changed, and do might the pension system. In the meantime, don't suffer in silence. Talk to CAB :-)

If you're entitled to UC because you're a single parent on minimum wage, yes you should claim because you'd be entitled to something even if it isn't a lot. This is irrelevant though because you've got substantial savings, and even if you fully quit your job you wouldn't be entitled because of those savings.

Also, you may not get as much as your SIL and may not be able to afford luxuries still. I have two severely disabled children and I can't work due to their care needs, but my partner has a full time job. Our UC payment is around £2500 per month with my partners wage deductions and my carers allowance deductions. He earns around £1600 per month, carers allowance is £340ish per month, and then DLA also comes to £1000 per month.

However a lot of that money does go towards private therapies, home adaptations, transport between appointments, subscriptions needed for AAC devices and printer ink and lamination for PECS, extra gas money for multiple baths per day due to disabilities etc. I definitely can't afford the luxuries you say your SIL enjoys so I would try to get that idea out of your head just in case you don't get as much as you think.

Go to Aldi or Lidl. If you are low on funds why are you shopping at Asda? Asda is really expensive! Tesco have better deals.

So looking at the OP's responses she has £18k in savings. She CAN afford to buy her kids decent school uniforms if she wants to she just chooses not to. Due to her choice to sit on that £18k of savings rather than actually use it UC will deem her not eligible for benefits. I remember when my dad had to come out of work he had just £10k of savings and the benefits agency told him he had to live off that before being eligible for any benefits. It didn't last him long as he had to pay his rent out of it as well as paying bills and living off it. On her earnings she would normally be entitled to some amount of UC if she didn't have those savings sat in her bank account. It seems unfair but she's not poor. Benefits are there for people who need it. Someone with that much money sat in the bank doesn't need them.

op needs advice on how to spread the savings and be eligible, it won’t look dodgy, she has had the money for years but I’m guessing hasn’t been divorced for 10 years, things change.
Trust or long term isas for the kids are the best bet, but advice from someone who knows.
6k she can keep, and receipts for white goods would be ok to spend some on.

Bloody hell! You’re minted! Working hard is really not the way to go is it?

My DH has been in his current job for 19 years as a front line police sergeant. He’s been threatened with knives, run over, kicked, punched, spat at and abused for years and is on £3100/month! He was in the army for 18 years, fought in 2 wars and as a result had PTSD for 17 yrs until he became suicidal and managed to get help from a veterans charity! He since raised £5000 for that charity to pay them back for saving his life.

Never had any help from the Government. Definitely paid in a fucking load though!

Bloody hell! Did you read her post? She has two severely disabled children. I will bet my last penny of UC that she would swap the benefits she gets if they could not have the issues they do.
She is already working hard at being a carer to her disabled kids.