Universal Credit

[sn21]

I get universal credit for me and 2/3 of my children. I get awarded my full amount of rent which is £922 however it has just gone up £30 a week I am now being benefit capped by around £200 which is pretty much the same increase in my rent. I already was only getting enough to pay the bills and now I'm in arrears with my rent.

I am already looking for an exchange to an older house that may be cheaper on rent but didn't know if I could request my rent being paid straight to my landlord if that would then be taken off my statement and I will get the rest of my awarded payment. I know it only helps out a little but I'm not even getting paid enough to pay my bills. I'm paying for shopping with my £50 weekly child benefit just really struggling to make ends meet and the last thing I need is to worry about losing a roof over our heads

Child benefit is included in the benefit cap. So all the UC rates + CB for 3 DC will bring the total to the cap.

So what is the effective cap for April/the period OP has just been paid for?

£1667.67

So there must be a reason she's only got £1470 then?

Oh, I'm being thick, if the CB is £200, then they've deducted that, so her CB and UC come to the benefit cap

Yes, exactly that.

Going forward UC won’t be capped at £1470 though as the the cap goes up to £1835 or £2,110.25 per month.

Ok, so next month OP should get £1835 all in, as opposed to her £1667 this month. £168 more.

£1835 - £922, leaves her £913 for everything else.

Her direct debit bills are £627. Leaving £286 for a month's food and fuel.

There's only two ways out of it. Cut your costs or increase your income.

Costs: What does the £627 consist of? Presumably you pay little (if any) council tax, so there's utilities, sky/Amazon, phone, broadband, car tax and insurance. Are you on the very best of these deals? Can you downgrade your car?

You need a job, you really do. You say your hours are restricted to the school run and the nearest school is over 20 mins drive from your village? Are you really 20 mins from your nearest town and with no other villages with schools between? Schools provide transportation over a certain distance, why can DC not use this? You'll have to look at some work from home jobs if not. Or if you have family/someone nearby, can they babysit while you do evening work? Local pub shift? If DC are already in bed then most people don't mind as it's just reading a book or watching TV, obvs better if family who wouldn't charge.

Are there any positions at the school? Dinner lady? Admin staff?

That's about what than I earn each month ☹️ I do not qualify for anything. Working gets you nowhere.

If you don't qualify then you must be in different family circumstances to the OP. Are you supporting a few people on that amount?

I get no government help whatsoever and have to pay all bills etc on that.
Just goes to show working full time doesn't get you anywhere in life.

Bills for how many people?

As @Okunevo posted, you must have different circumstances to the OP because if you had the same circumstances you would be eligible for UC if you earned £1470. With the same circumstances you could earn more than £3000 per month and still be eligible, and not be subject or the benefit cap either.

How old are your children, OP?
Do you or any of the children have any significant health conditions or disabilities?
Does their father pay child maintenance?

Firstly, you will get the next cost of living payment between 25 April and 17 May, that's £301 so it will help in the immediate term.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment

There are quite a few things you can do to help yourself in the short and longer term:

• Apply to your local council for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP).
• Apply to your county council for help from the Household Support Fund.
• If your ex isn't paying child maintenance, put in a CMS claim.
• Look into flexible work opportunities, part time WFH etc - if you can get just a small amount of paid work, the benefit cap will no longer apply and you will be significantly better off.
• Move house to a more practical location with easier access to schools and work. Get on the housing register, look into a social housing swap, and contact your local council's housing advice team.

If you need help with any of the above, or if you're really stuck and don't have enough money to buy food, contact your local Citizens Advice: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/#h-find-your-nearest-citizens-advice

I just feel very insulted how she says she doesn't work, surely if she is struggling she should find work?

I am no better off, I got to find everything in that.
I get rewarded fuck all. It really doesn't pay to work does it.

To run a house.
She could work, but chooses not to. Surely if she is supposedly struggling to look for employment.

Again, you must have different circumstances so you can’t compare situations. Yes it does “pay to work” because of the taper rate, those who work get a work allowance, and are not subject to the benefits cap.

How many people are in your household?

Different circumstances affect if you can claim benefits. I don't know why you're so insulted by that. Just for the record, with a combined income of 75k my family would still qualify for universal credit. Because my circumstances are different to yours.

So the "it doesn't pay to work" argument is bullshit. Without work I'd get circa 2k per month, working would still get us about £600 uc and then a take home pay of a lot more than 2k

If you are supporting one person on the amount someone else is supporting four people then you are definitely better off. I work full time and the top up I get for my child doesn't cover his expenses, children certainly aren't moneymakers!

But you work. She doesn't. I would have more respect for her if she worked and claimed, but she doesn't.

Children are a lifestyle choice.

She could work, but chooses not to. She would get more respect if she worked and claimed instead of bleating on how hard done by she is.

If you're that hard up, at least look for employment to top it up.

We can’t/don’t claim as we have savings but if we didn’t we earn more than £75k and would still be eligible.

The benefit cap threshold has increased this month so is now £1,835/ m which should apply in your next UC payment. You can apply for help from the Council with rent as well it is called a discretionary housing payment and can help meet the shortfall between your rent element of UC and the benefit cap or local housing allowance in your area reducing your UC payment.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments

Obviously if you don’t have DC and/or the large rent you don’t qualify, you don’t need as much money.