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?

UC classes what you have in your current account as savings.
You are conflating it with a different statistic about people having a separate £1k to that of their normal living costs. Ringfenced money.

People need to learn how to manage money. If you have a 2 adults working full time jobs they should be able to save some money and if they can't they need to look at what their outgoings are. There are people on mumsnet saying things like I earn 100k and im struggling. That is absolutely ridiculous.

Yep, I remember a thread where OP was on £100k+ and said they are so broke they will be cancelling Netflix.

If you pick the right run around it will cost you far less than any lease.

Just have to be happy with a boring old Toyota.

If they need the car instantly and have no savings then getting a car on finance is fine but don't get a £350 a month one and then cry poverty when you can get a reasonable car for significantly cheaper and get a nicer car when you are not on a starter wage or do some bank shifts or have a second wage coming in from a partner.

Exactly this I've never had a car on finance and only had old cheap cars and never had any major issues certainly no issues that would come even close to £350 a month to pay for then start saving for the next one as soon as you get it.

Have a look through some of the budget threads and see the people who lay out their finances - spending £500 a month on a car, not, servicing, tyres, fuel, insurance and car finance will rarely be under £500

ive totted it up to £500 but as the £350 doesn’t fit, you keep on about it

it could be £120 fuel £120 car insurance £220 lease hire, £40 carpark - it’d still be £500

to sit in a car park for £40 a week doing nothing for 13 hours

When I drove, my car was a 2 year old Peugeot. Cost £6500 second hand. Apart from the usual wear and tear, and services etc, the only repair cost was £900 to address some ABS issue. Other than that, it was really reliable.

I used that same car when I was on placement training to be an NHS healthcare professional. I had to pay £10 per day to park. £40pw, and the bursary I got did not even cover that.

I know the cost of second hand cars has shot up now. Even a rusty old banger is about £1500.

DM always leases, as she needs a car for her business.

I agree with that! Never get the whole keeping up with the Jones'. I'd rather have a good buffet and quietly judge

Where did you get the £6500 to buy the car?

I whispered gently into my cupped hands, and the money magically appeared.

People on this site have no idea they live on a different planet. They say they have no money but are paying significant amounts into pensions, cars on finance, have children in 5 different clubs a week, supporting older children through uni, going for regular days out, buying new shoes clothes and handbags regularly, spending £200 at the hairdressers (someone was claiming this was a standard amount last week). There is nothing wrong with this but don't then moan you're poor and that you can't save any money and that people on benefits who can save shouldn't get benefits. The reason I have a small amount of savings is because I do none of the above. I own 2 pairs of shoes total which I've had for years I have 1 handbag which I've had for years (from a market stall £5) my dry cut costs £15 which i have twice a year. I couldn't tell you the last time we had a day out that cost money. We just don't spend much its not needed.

Nurses don’t have that power to just make the money appear, the best they can do is drop the bedpan on your foot

£120 a month car insurance are you a teenage boy

The bedpans are made from paper pulp.. you probably wont even notice 😂

You need a plan b they they are like cardboard

People can put money into private pensions and its not counted as savings.

People re on UC for all reasons.

Bit of a silly sratement. Many peopke are only just above the threshold to get benefits. Not everyone not gettimg benegits is on loads of money a year. Sad but true.....

Loads of people with the cost of living at the moment have zero savings but don't get any benefits! I never realised it was anything above £0!

If you can only have £0 to claim benefits, then no one will ever be able to claim.

Also, if you do claim UC, you have to wait 5 weeks to get paid.

I’d like to see parity between those who have assets vs those with savings.

Do you think a family renting with little or zero savings should be paying taxes to cover UC for a family with £1m in assets!? Really!?

For care, that families assets would be accounted for, why not for means tested benefits? A charge put on when sold? If it’s short term the charge be minimal.

How can it be fair homes owned outright, allow cake and eat it too yet renters can’t have savings more than £6k before claw back happens?

This is a good faith question @XenoBitch but what do you feel it would take for you to come off benefits? I’m genuinely curious.

No you are not, and I have discussed this loads with you before.. with you under a differnt name. I know who you are, and for the sake of my own heatlth, I will not be engaging with you anymore. I asked you to stop talking to me last time, and I am asking the same again.
go bully someone else.

You can't eat bricks.
It makes no sense to make home owners sell the house they live in before they can claim benefits.
Home owners do not claim the housing element off UC, so generally cost the tax payer less anyway.
I do not rent, and because of that, I do not the claim the £620pm LHA that I would get in UC if I rented.
And the shit thing about that is... the cheapest 1 bed place where I live is over £800pm. UC would not cover it anyway.

Most people working, who are paying taxes to give dole scroungers UC, live hand-to-mouth, have overdrafts and zero savings.