Moving off Benefits to P/T work. What happens to all your benefits?

[Baggaged]

I'm currently job hunting now my youngest has started school, but despite info meetings with the Jobcentre lone parent advisor, what they advise doesn't match up with online information from government websites, and they said the same too, that you can't get access to all the information you need.

But as I'm flummoxed as to my financial situation when I return to work, I wonder if anyone is willing to post or private message their change in financial circumstances when they went into part time work and like me have two infant school age children and are also a lone parent.

It's a long shot but you need to be in identical circumstances to me.
Part time work only, claiming full time benefits, two kids under 6, no child support from kid's father, and (probably) minimum wage.

I need to know exactly how much Housing Bemefit you continued to receive, or if you get child tax or working tax credit and how that changed when you found PT work, etc. and how you afford childcare amd cover illness/school holidays.

I know that Jobcentre advisers can do back to work calculations and there are websites too, but they don't take into account everything, for example they can't calculate exactly the amount of housing benefit I would receive if I start part time work. My rent is £525 a month.

Effectively, Im supposed to jump straight into part time work without even knowing when and by how much all my other benefits will stop/change once I get my first month's salary. So I'm just supposed to wing it, tell them I have a job now, and they stop benefits but not all of them and they won't tell me how much by, so come payday, I'll have no idea if I can afford to pay the rent and may have not enough to live on for the first month of being back in work!

Please can anyone help?

I came off benefits and started part time ( which has morphed into almost full time!) at the end of sept. Council tax and HB have been a total nightmare! I'm paying more of both than I thought. And they still haven't fully sorted them

I rang tax credits and that was easier

Good luck! You will need it.

Entilted to is a good website, gives pretty good idea, housing benefits can be out slightly

This is my weekly income on benefits and working part time 20 hours a week, but I have 3 kids (primary age) and I pay for 3 hours childcare a week £34

Wages £140
Child Ben £47
Tax credits £256

I have to pay £20 week towards rent (council house rent £146 a week)

And pay £15 a month towards council tax

Hope this helps

Sorry should say tax credit were excellent and sorted my claim and money within days of informing I took job, also I found housing benefit to be good, I believe you get a 4 week grace period where you full rent is paid by housing Ben so gives you months to get on your feet x

As far as I remember. As soon as you start work and tell them your benefits stop until you can provide 2 payslips. They allow you 15 quid and then take off you pound for pound what you earn. Council tax and hb unaffected once it's reinstated.

Of course this is from quite a while ago.. I have no idea if it's like that now.

Thankyou so far everyone, I really appreciate your candid replies.

My lone parent advisor at the Jobcentre told me that I will continue to receive both child tax credit and working tax credit if I get a part time job of at least 16 hours a week.

I always thought you lost child tax credit and it was replaced by working tax credit. I keep thinking Ove done enough research and then I learn something new each time

No you still get your child tax credit and you will then get working tax credit to top it up!

I went back to work 2 years ago, got a £250 one off payment for coming off benefits and you also got £40 a week for 52 weeks as a sort of incentive!

You lose your income support stright away but I the hosing benefits def wasn't cut until four weeks later!

Def look at benefits calculator on entilted to

And also google deal for lone parents

The £40 a week grant ended in October as papers of the reforms cuts. I expect the one off £250 payment has too. Now those would have been very helpful indeed.

So far, I have learnt all Income Support is stopped, but that's fine as my weekly part time wage should just about equal it on minimum pay.
The child tax credit stays too, meaning at least £110 a week will be coming in.

Council tax, gawd knows, now that's complicated.

Housing Benefit is the one benefit I'm most nervous about. It takes 8 weeks just to process an initial claim for it. And as I have no idea yet how much housing benefit I could claim on a part time wage, how can I even be sure I can afford to accept a job, as I won't know if I can pay the rent at the end of the day. I don't have access to credit cards, savings or loans as a contingency fund.

If you already receive hb it won't be a new claim it will be a change in circumstances so will not take eight weeks.

Gosh minty your take home is much higher than our pre-tax figure. You'd have to be earning over 30grand to match that.

We came off job seekers to try self employed but is not proved great and we don't get any where near that level of tax credits.

A real pickle

Yes as I single parent you are much better off working, but only 16-20 hours or so, if you work to much they just take off you else where, I really struggled on income support so went back to work as soon as youngest started school

Your right if you already get housing Ben then it's just a change of circumstances so doesn't take weeks!

Talking to a married friend today and her and hubby really struggle for money, it's certainly sad to think 2 hardworking people don't get any help just because there married, like my friend said she would be better off single, makes you see why so many people beat the system

Sorry cheat the system not beat

I have 3 kids and part of that is childcare element in my tax credits

I went back to work 16 hours 18 months ago and the ch age over was pretty quick really. You will always be better off in work I think, I'm not exactly sure how much it works out as but that would also depend on how much child care you needed.

I would say the biggest shock for me has been the amount of council tax that i pay. It's a good chunk on top of rent top ups. I pay around £50 top up on rent, £20 on council tax a week. I get about £110 in wages, £150 in tax credits and the usual child benefit. I have one child.

I'm not sure if they now take maintenance payments into account or not? Does anyone know that?

No maintence taken into account now, changed a while back they used to

I am a welfare rights officer. If you PM me your expected earnings, hours of work and cost of childcare I will tell you how much benefits you should be entitled to and why.