I'm a teacher on 42k a year, two disabled children, one who gets DLA, I get approximately £500 a month UC. I rely on it, it allows me to work part time so I can be home for my daughter who is out of school, but when she turns 16 next year if she doesn't get PIP it'll stop, along with her DLA. We would lose 1k a month, I'll manage but petrol to get to work will be tricky, food will have to be reduced massively, (we already never get takeaways or anything fancy, Aldi shop once a week and batch cooking) we won't be able to put the heating on to stay comfortable. No holiday and very reduced outgoings.
On the face of it I earn well, I'm a professional with a good career...but without it life would be much harder than it needs to be. Even if she got PIP, at 19 UC would stop and I'm still housing her and she's very unlikely to get a job or go off to uni. I'll have to work full time and I don't know how we will manage.
The system isn't crazy, it's helping people like me and my daughter. Without it she'd be home every day for 10 hours alone, when she was self harming and in burnout it would have been dangerous to leave her, so I reduced my hours and UC topped my earnings up.
I do extra tutoring in the holidays, for 6 full days of work I earn about £600...which UC takes back through reductions so I'm actually working for 8 hour days plus prepation of about 2 hours for less than £50 a day. But it's something extra so I do it. I'm trying to reduce my benefit burden.
So if you're entitled then you should get it, the way it's worked out is for a reason. I've paid tax and worked since I was 16, 33 years.. I've done my bit and now I need the help, that's what it's for.