Universal Credit....will we be worse off?

[adelle283498]

I'm worried. I can only work becasue of help with tax credits and a little help with Housing benefit, if they reduce some payments we wont manage.... Does anyone know a little more?

There's an online calculator so you can work out what you'll receive. Sorry I don't have the link offhand but googling should bring it up.

I think a few will be worse off!

There's a calculator here but I don't know how accurate it as there have been no official announcements to date that I can find. The stated aim is that no-one should be worse off.

Well done cogito! This is at least something to go on and give us an idea! You are a mine of information!

Thanks for the link, Cogito! It's been worrying me a lot not being able to get an idea of what the finances will be like.

Under the current system I'll qualify for about £12.5k per year when my baby's born in a couple of months. Under universal credit I'll qualify for £11.8k. So not a huge drop, but proof that the stated aim of no-one being worse off is bollocks.

depending on the size of your home, the ages and sex of your children, you may get a reduction in housing benefit.

As I say, there have been no official announcements, no budget statements, no actual numbers given out to date. The most reliable/respected benefit calculation service www.turn2us.org.uk is not offering a calculator yet ... just a lot of FAQs. So I would suggest not taking that calculator as anything other than a guide at the moment.

the bedroom tax was supposed to start from April - i think i read somewhere ecently that this was extended to summer 13 but i can't remember where.

i think the average predicted loss of HB is about 14.00 per week - which is quite a lot really

www.housing.org.uk/policy/welfare_reform/%E2%80%98under-occupation%E2%80%99_penalty.aspx

should make it clear that relates to social housing - you could be private renting i dont know