AIBU to claim UC with a 'high' income

[Loriclimbs]

I am very conflicted about lifting the two-child cap. I know many would benefit from it but it would lead us back to more abuse of the system. I, however, have three children myself. I have gratefully received UC in the past but as my income has grown I am currently no longer eligible.

With the addition of my youngest child, I will now be eligible for approximately £200 per month. I an a higher rate tax payer abd Icurrently pay over £1200 in income tax alone per month. I have to repay the majority of the child benefit I receive.

AIBU to claim what I am entitled to?

The cost of after-school childcare and the early breakfast club (7.45 start, not the free one) have both risen yet again at my GC's primary school to help cover the cost of the new "free" breakfast club. However the free one doesn't start until around 8.25. In Greater London it often takes over an hour to get to work so the later breakfast doesn't work for a full-time working parent.

Well, people on benefits get rent and council tax paid. I think they pay about £8 a week in the North East where I live. As soon as you earn over the threshold there is no help with that, and yes, in some cases you are worse off. You have to work more hours or find a higher paid job, which is not easy.

Was it last financial year that you checked? The elements increase slightly each financial year. So, for example, someone who wasn’t eligible in January 2025 may now be eligible.

Although the calculators aren’t 100% reliable, even if data is entered correctly, because there are some circumstances they don’t deal with well.

When I applied for DLA for DD, my day started at 7am trying to get her up to go in to school. Occasionally I'd be able to get her in by break time, more often it was lunchtime and a couple of days a week I couldn't get her in at all. I would keep trying until 2pm every day. She has autism (PDA profile), ADHD, migraines, anxiety and 'low mood' as it was described then (now she's an adult it's described as severe depression). Her meltdowns generally included property destruction. She self harmed. All of this went in our application. I worked for the civil service so am very well used to official forms - in my day job I was the one assessing applications in a different business area. Her attendance declined to 30%. We were paying to see a private child psychologist regularly. She was with CAMHS but she hated their 'support' so would never engage. We were eventually awarded low rate DLA. So in my experience, yes it is very hard to get.
Luckily when she turned 16 we were successful in getting PIP which pays for her private psychiatrist and private medication, plus other support she needs day to day.

This.

I earn 29k working full time and get nothing but child benefit.

How the holy hell are people on 72k getting UC??? This is what is wrong with the system. No one on 72k a year should be getting UC, it's no wonder our country is going bankrupt.

Please read the full thread.
The person who said her family gets it on an income of £72 thousand gets it because she has children with disabilities.
That is why.

Even so 72k should not be eligible for UC. Disability benefits yes but she also says she gets housing benefit etc. So again...how the hell does that happen on a salary of 72k?!

Because for certain disabilities and situations you get extra help.
The problem with UC is it's what was originally several different benefits but now combined into one so it all gets lumped together.
People just hear the words "Universal Credit" but don't know exactly which parts families are receiving.

This.
It has replaced several legacy benefits. I believe the last of people on ESA have now been migrated over, but then the press cries about the massive increase in people claiming UC. It is just people transferring over.

Bloody well do it then if you think it’s that great. You won’t though will you, you’re all talk!

I had to go on it a few year’s ago when I lost my job in Covid. Bloody awful it is. If you hate going into work you’ll hate going to see your work coach more. You’ll hate receiving random emails from them telling you to log in to your account when you don’t know why. You’ll hate feeling like they own your soul far more than your employer does. I would never ever choose to go on it as a lifestyle choice, it’s soul destroying.

Exactly this. People seem deluded and think it’s easy to claim. The appointments at the job centre are tedious, the fear of getting a notification on your phone from them and not knowing when they will call you in to look at 6 months of bank statements. You can’t go on holiday without telling them (or you risk being sanctioned), they can ask you to explain what you have spent your money on. But if you think you can just give up work and claim more than what your earning….crack in and try.

And yet many people make a career out of it, or work as few hours as possible, so they can get top ups instead.

And muggins here is working a 50-60 hour week a lot of the time. Talk about feeling like you belong to someone else.

I firmly believe that welfare should be for those who cannot work physically eg Cerebral Palsy, or short term for those who find themselves in hard times due to unforeseen circumstances, such as redundancy. The number of people claiming benefits is unsustainable and I do not want to work until I drop at potentially 72, to make life easier for those who choose to do fewer hours or none at all.

I thankfully found a job before my £ ran out following redundancy, but my very brief encounter trying to claim JSA was a truly horrible experience. Their default was to believe I was lazy, scum trying to get free money (with some of the opinions on this thread I'm not surprised). At no point did anyone say they were there to support me. I am not lying when I say it contributed towards a period of depression. People are not skipping in tearing up their resignation letters and bouncing out again waving £50s in the air.

People don't just neatly fit into those two boxes though.

I'm not disabled but I have a disabled child and I'm his carer.

It’s a highly informative thread.

You can't just choose to work a few hours as there is the AET you need to meet. I got example can work one shift a week because my husband earns enough but other people can't because they are the sole claimant. They will nag until you earn that amount. No magical 16 hours.

Not if it is basically a benefits bashing thread.

Not all the rent is paid, there is a limit, ours is currently £100 a month short. Others are short by much more.

UC is made up of several elements which are
*Standard Allowance (for the adults in the household)
*Child or Young Person elements (for all you could claim child benefit for)
*Childcare Element (to cover 85% of childcare costs to a limit)
*Housing Element (covers the rent to a limit, usually not the full rent for private rentals)
*Disabled Child Elements (for those whose children get DLA/PIP or equivalents)
*Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (for 1 adult in the household deemed unwell enough to not be expected to look for work)
*Carers Element (for an adult caring for someone else 35+ hours per week who gets DLA/PIP/AA or equivalent)

These are all added up to create the maximum claim

Then they reduce it by 55% of your wages or 100% of any taxable benefits such as Carers Allowance. Those who have children or a disability have a work allowance which is an amount you can earn before they start the 55% deductions. The work allowance is currently £411 for those who have a housing element on their claim (usually renters) and £684 for those who don't (usually have a mortgage instead). This means those without housing elements get to keep £150.15 more than those who do. I assume this is to help with their mortgages, but I've never seen anything written down about why.

So ultimately people in some circumstances will be able to get UC if they earn more than you because their circumstances are different than yours.

Exactly and even if you are working full time, if you are still eligible for UC they can pester you to get a better paid job until you are no longer eligible.

I would say claim it, the system is woefully unfair on families not eligible and paying a shed load of tax, many of whom are struggling. You sound fortunate in that you’re not a struggling family (lucky circumstances) However you’re one of those families also paying alot of tax which I don’t think you should be, so go ahead and get some of it back if you can

Don't spread misinformation. Not everyone gets their rent and council tax paid. I DON'T on UC. Live in the North too.

You too can make a career choice of it then. Just think of all those lie-ins you can have and get paid for it. The fact is you won’t do it because no matter how much you work and pay taxes and complain, you know you’d still prefer that to being reliant on UC. UC only really works if you have rent (not mortgage) and dependents. If you’re single and no dependents it’s not even close to a viable lifestyle choice. And as pp have said UC is an umbrella term covering a number of very different things. It’s not like the word dole which was specifically unemployment benefit.

Was talking to the woman who was referring to leaving work, not everyone on UC.

You know what the problem is, it's not working families claiming UC. I know of entire families claiming disability benefits who just haven't ever worked. I know a mother that is on full PIP and disability. She claimed it for putting too much weight on from her medication, after she had a mental breakdown. She said she has panic attacks when she goes out. Her Sons, both on Sick/PIP, have drug problems and SHE, claims carers for one of them. That is a fact, and also why benefits Britain is a joke.