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?

I generally find that immoral people losing the argument run off when beaten, shouting about lack of ‘comprehension’, name calling and general tiredness. Enjoy your cognitive dissonance.

This never fails to rile people up. The fact is we live in a country with some strange financial quirks so that you can rent a 4 bed house in the north for half what a studio flat will cost you in London. And if all the poor people move out of London then the economy collapses because no one will do all the everyday jobs like cleaning or retail and hospitality…
Also, with larger claims they are nearly always made up of rent and childcare contributions, money which goes straight back through the tax system and is paying someone else’s mortgage or rent and reducing their benefit claim.
so the whole ‘how much per month’ is a moot point really as the claimant is essentially just redistributing that money so the government can tax it again.
also, I do struggle to believe that all these people that post all these daft questions on here have never googled a benefit calculator to see what they can claim and how a change of circumstances would affect a claim. I’m sure they just do it for a wind up but here we are.

Oh dear, Kitten, you seem to be trying to conflate the argument on this thread with ALL instances of benefits to try to pretend you have an argument. Please stop gaslighting it’s everyone else who’s making daft points.

I am absolutely not surprised that you find yourself coming across this reaction often. I didn’t call you any names though. And I am certainly not beaten, we just don’t agree. Sorry you are struggling to understand this.

You should really read up on what gaslighting is. Because that’s not what that was.

Personally I think it's unwise to ever rely on benefits if you don't absolutely have to. It's very precarious.

A dear friend of mine has a health condition that prevented her working for a while and ended up in UC. She struggled to survive on it so went back to part-time work prematurely (against her Drs advice) after UC advisors explained about the tapering and how she'd be better off in work etc. After a couple of months they told her she was clearly well enough to work so could work full-time and reduced her UC accordingly. She dutifully upped her hours and ended up collapsing so is now off work completely and on higher UC. The system is bonkers!

Also, IMO the point about being better off working is BS. Yes the income is nearly higher but most jobs incur costs such as travelling which often leave people worse off.

The OP's income is not insignificant but it really highlights how affordable childcare is a real issue in this country.

You'd need to put it in a calculator - try entitled yo. If you're on universal credit then you do also get a large proportion of your childcare fees back.

Hello, just wanted to say I don't want to be on benefits at all, but the cost of living is rising and I am really struggling to pay rent/bills/childcare/food at the moment even with us being on a decent wage.

We don't have any debt and don't live beyond our means.

But I honestly think I would be better off not working and being on UC with how things are going ...

Have you check your eligibility? Have you checked if you can claim any clidcare costs? How old are your kids? It's easy to struggle when rent is so high. Our food costs have more than doubled in the last year and I don't even want to talk about gas and electric.

Are you really sure you will be better off? How much do you earn?

Quitting your job to claim benefits isn't really an option. You'll be sanctioned and expected to look for another job. If your income is too high to get any benefits, then stopping work and claiming benefits will mean a massive drop in household income. If your income is low enough to get benefits then you can get them alongside your income from work.

Actually I would say that people on £30K are net contributors since the personal allowance per person is £12,570 - how do you assume that they are not.

Many working people receive NOTHING in terms of benefits. You have a very one-sided view

We earn nearly 4k a month also,
Rent and pay for childcare and still get uc.

My childcare costs are £750
Rent is 850

We have 1 child.

We get £337 a month

In April when the rates go up we will be entitled to £550 :)

Net contribution is about far more than welfare benefits such as UC receive. According to the ONS the poorest 3/5ths of households are net recipients and a household on £30k would fall into the poorest 3/5ths.

Can you please quote where I said all working people receive benefits? Your penultimate sentence is irrelevant to my post, I didn’t say otherwise.

No she wouldn't as she has a partner who works and he earns enough on the aet,

She could also have kids under 3 and she isn't expected to work

Wow 😳

Lord, I’m a psychologist. Look it up yourself. The definition has expanded.

Again, I come across this reaction frequently in practice when people who can’t admit they might be wrong are confronted with their morality.

i earn £13k PA but because I’ve totally done without, lived frugally & paid my mortgage off & saved, I get nothing & might not state pension if it becomes means tested.

Meanwhile, people (not everyone of course before knickers get twisted) getting nails done, lip fillers, latest phone, spending as they get it, working but just enough to get UC are living a better life than me with more disposable income. Welfare needs a massive overhaul.

Be careful of giving a job up - i imagine it may mean you cant initially claim.. if volunteer to become unemployed …

Sure op, quit work and claim benefits. Then me as a single person renting and paying tax can fund you for being a scrounger

How many children and what are their ages?

What do you pay for childcare?

How much is you rent and roughly whereabouts in the Country are you?

The last piece of info is needed as the amounts you can claim towards rent depend on local market prices.

That's not how it works....

The cost of everything has gone up for everyone, why don’t we all quit work and go on benefits… oh wait that wouldn’t work would it??