Am I better off on benefits?

[micaeola]

Partner works 45 hours a week earns £600, I work 24 hrs earn £300 a week but we're both really struggling.

Rent , childcare , utilities , insurance , everything has gone up.

We have nothing left once our bills go out and usually in arrears.

Would we be better off claiming UC? If I reduced my hours to 16 hrs a week?

Hours don't matter on UC, rather its multiples of the Living Wage.

You can put the details into Entitledto and they will calculate for you.

Have you checked if you’re eligible on your current income. Depending on your rent and how many children some people are surprised they’re eligible.

Either way you won’t be better off on UC reducing your hours to 16 it will just cancel the money out.

Universal credit works on a taper system which means you're almost always better off working than not working. You may be able to get universal credit without dropping your hours. Use one of the calculators on the gov.uk website to check. If it shows you cannot get any UC, check again in mid April. Benefit rates are going up quite a lot in April and for some households that will make the difference between entitled and not entitled

There's a brilliant Facebook page group called Universal Credit Survival.Admin are highly knowledgeable,you will get a straight answer as soon as you post.
Just a heads up-ignore any negative people in the comments.Im pretty partial to deleting my question once its been answered 😂

OP is on £4K a month.

Wtf would they get BENEFITS?!?

Jesus - what's wrong with people thinking benefits are better than working

It depends how much their rent and childcare is. They could be eligible. Especially as universal credit is calculated after tax

Why would people who live on £30k pay for someone else’s large rent or childcare, though?

You’re joking, right? 😂

Just to say depending on the age of your child they would be expecting you to work 30 hours.

Large amounts in rent are not a matter of choice; they're driven by the market.

The ceiling for a 3 bed in Outer London is over £1500/month now. More like £1700 from April after the rates are properly revalorised.

In that area you can pay Higher Rate Tax and still get UC.

You aren’t, you are paying tax. The working person with high rent and childcare is also paying tax. It’s not really a ‘why would’ anyway like it’s optional. People with lower earning and high rent can childcare can get help with that, wether anyone else likes it or not.

It depends on your circumstances- we are much much better off not working and on benefits due to our situation (disabled dc) but there are so many elements to UC it’s very individual

UC is designed so that people who can work are (nearly) always better off in work and if they do more work. The 'sweet spots' and cliff edges associated with hours worked in Tax Credits are removed.

If like @Spicylettuce you cannot work, or at least would struggle to meet the requirements of a job due to caring etc, then it should still work for you.

Lol we absolutely can lobby our MPs to stop the ridiculously unfair theft of someone living in a cheaper house on less wages paying taxes to subsidise someone in a more expensive house. We all know this is massively unfair. Saying ‘people can’t stop’ the theft rather than being grateful and considerate just makes people more angry and likely to vote in extremists.

It isn’t theft when it’s legally given out. HTH

Lol so you approve of MPs pay rises and fat cat bonuses while poorer people struggle to eat?

Not sure where you think I said that. Seems your comprehension is lacking a fair bit.

My son spends £200 on work related costs - travel, student loan, pension, NI and Tax. I'm sure there are plenty of others who would be better off on benefits.

People on £30k are not net contributors so you don’t need to worry about them paying for other people’s benefits.

Plenty of families with higher incomes are eligible for UC.

Ah ok, gaslighting when you don’t comprehend the question…for the hard of thinking - legal theft doesn’t make it moral, whether it’s taking benefits you shouldn’t be entitled to or massive bonuses you haven’t earned or or pay rises you select yourself. All taken from those that can’t defend their hard work.

Morally it is.

It’s not gas lighting, your points are incorrect and poorly made. You aren’t understanding the facts about benefits, you are spouting off about theft and giving stupid replies. It’s pointless trying to debate sensibly with posters like you as rational argument just doesn’t come in to it. Have a nice day

It’s not immoral to help had working people, such as nurses, to pay high childcare costs. It’s immoral to have nothing in place and force them to give up work or be unable to survive instead. Morals aren’t clean cut. It’s more complicated that ‘wahhhh it’s theft’