To wonder why the UC savings threshold is £6,000?

[GiddyLurker]

Why is the Universal Credit savings threshold set at £6,000? What’s the reasoning behind that number?

It feels quite specific and I just wondered whether there’s a particular logic or policy decision behind it?

Agree if you have 6k pay for yourself. Stop bleeding a system that is for real needs

It has been explained so many times why the government don't allow people to drop to absolute zero before support kicks in.

A lot of working people don't have anything like that in savings. Why should the people that don't work get an easier life

@BooneyBeautiful no I should’ve engaged my brain but thanks for explaining!

Because you're saying a nurse's salary is automatically enough to live on - but this is not the case in all areas/situations. If you understood the cost of things, you'd understand this basic fact.

Oh read the thread, it's been explained so many times why letting people drop to zero would cost the taxpayer more in the long run.

I understand that. But my point was that many people on UC can't turn to family or get credit, so a savings buffer is essential. If indeed there's anything left to save, especially with the current current state of the COL.

The system allows people to have up to £16k in savings before they can not claim anything. The people claiming are not doing anything wrong.

Being on benefits is not having an easier life.
Someone on benefits because they are too sick/disabled to work, or have caring responsibilities are not having "an easier life".

And this is why I asked why its not and the first response i got was from someone paying £350 a month on car finance. That's ridiculous. You can get a reasonable car on finance for £150. That's £200 saved there. 1k a month for rent for a single adult outside of London is a lot. Nurses have the option to pick up bank shifts if struggling. They can have these nicer things when they are no longer newly qualified and their wage goes up.
Edited if you actually read the thread i said nurses using food banks should learn how to manage their money better

£1k is not even the average for a home big enough for children in many areas.

You seem to live about six years ago.

If this hypothetical newly qualified nurse had children she/he would also qualify for uc.

The fact many working people can't afford to save is a different, no less serious, problem.

But there is no benefit to any taxpayer in making the benefits/savings threshold lower, in fact taxpayers would benefit from it being restored to the traditional level.

The poster is also assuming this newly qualified nurse with children is single and the father of the children not contributing. But has still decided to get a swanky car on HP 😄

Have you tried getting to some hospitals on public transport for shift start times and shift end times? Or on a Sunday

im very much a person for using active transport, but in this instance many NHS staff would not feel safe cycling or it’s too far to walk. Especially on dark winters beings.

the reality of getting to UCWH from anywhere is by car, unless you live in city and can get bus, but not reliable for early shift

very different from the QE2 in Birmingham which is easily accessible by train

as for £350 months payments, that’s on HP as no savings to buy a car. So getting a second hand car on lease is the cheaper way to get a lease car.

Yes, because the wages of one nurse are too low to cover the costs of a family.

Yeah which is why a single parent on this wage would be entitled to uc. But according to this thread would make them a scrounger and shouldn't ever be allowed a holiday or any savings

Nursing unions report many nurses are struggling to make ends meet on their salaries. The starting salary is low, much lower than it used to be in relation to living costs.

You can pick apart that hypothetical budget - but the reality is that a nurse's salary is not easy to live on in many areas of the country.

Rents in the SW for example are extremely high, due to tourist property pressure.

I don't understand your post.
I am lucky enough to have savings but I have always tried to save because I want some money to fall back on if I lose my job or have a sudden expense.
Should that happen I would live off those savings until I couldn't any more and then if I still didn't have a job, I would claim benefits.
That's what savings are for. I was responding to a post where the poster's friend was going to "enjoy" their savings & spend it all & then get to a level where they could make a claim
How this fits with what you are posting about I don't really know.

I never said don't have a car i said paying £350 a month for a car on finance when you are a single adult on a starter wage is ridiculous when you could get a car on finance for £150 a month. But everyone wants the best of everything straight away instead of working a few years and increasing your salary then getting the nice fancy car you want

No salary is easy to live on unless you are a couple as living costs are pretty much the same

What you would do, surely, is live off your savings until the earliest point you are eligible to claim benefits. Running your own savings right down would be irresponsible as it increases the risk you will become homeless in future, which would place an additional burden on the taxpayer as you would then require urgent housing support.

Plus why would you not claim what you are both legally and morally entitled to?

If newly qualified nurses are having to use food banks, then spare a though for all the NHS staff who are Band 2 and on lot less money (if Bands are still a thing... I was Band 1 but I don't think that exists anymore).

It's the £18 grand car on HP in your budget at repayments of £350 per month that's the problem here.

Not many single parent (with no contribution from the father), newly qualified nurses on a starter wage would go for such a crazy car debt. If they do - that's just a stupid decision.

You can get a quality second hand car for £170 per month.

Exactly well said.