Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

The big benefits headache

103 replies

Headisspinning · 04/02/2018 18:42

Can anyone help me? I'm hoping to have my first child, but I have a problem. My husband and I are not rich people, we both work 40hours a week. My job doesn't allow for jobshare/or pt hours or any of that, it's 40 hours or nothing, so I want to choose nothing and spend my time for a few years being with my child and not working. I'm stumped with working out how much we would get helpwise on benefits. I've tried the govt calculators and I'm even more stumped . My husband would continue in his job, so we wouldn't be entirely reliant on benefits. My other main issue is, despite as I say we are not rich, we do own our house outright, and we have savings that put us above 20k. This is money saved for varying things, including things like the boiler dying, any major expenses, a car (as my 15 year old car may not be ideal) and general rainy day stuff. I know our savings sound like a lot, but we've both worked since 16 and we are now both late 30s... and weve saved hard . My best guesstimate on the govt sites gave me £20.70 for child benefit and no other help. If this is the case then we can't afford to run the house on my husband's wage alone. I'm literally crying at the moment because i feel so overwhelmed and may have to give up on my baby dream because we can't afford it . Please don't say well £20k is loads of money because that's our basic retirement fund too, as the people's pension and state pension are never going to be enough for us. I'm not the live for today sort of person, I'm a squirreler who worries about tomorrow, and I don't want us to be in a situation where we struggle for basics. Can anyone help me understand what we would get? I can provide figures on dm (if that's a thing on here I've no idea I just joined) for anyone who knows what they are doing, because I sure dont...

OP posts:

feral · 04/02/2018 20:13

Put the 20k into a pension fund then if it's for your old age!

And go back to work like the rest of have to instead of expecting to be paid for!

As PPs say you if you've never taken anything out then you've never been to the doctors? Never used the police? And your outgoings are tiny.

Pay for your own kid.

RunningOutOfCharge · 04/02/2018 20:14

You can't save chunks of money and then TELL the government you are keeping it aside and they should sustain you with THEIR money!!!

I can't believe you think that would be ok..... just because you've worked since you were 16 and never claimed a penny.... no, plenty of people haven't

MongerTruffle · 04/02/2018 20:14

Unless there's something you haven't mentioned I don't think you need to worry. £1300 should cover all of the expenses you've mentioned, and still give you quite a bit of money to save or spend as you wish.

Babyroobs · 04/02/2018 20:15

Some very harsh comments going on here. people can get bloody tax credits on incomes up to 50k if they have a few kids. this family will be on 17k. Get a grip !!

SummerRains · 04/02/2018 20:16

I found the baby Year very cheap to be honest - breastnikk was free, I used cheeky wipes and washable nappies. I wasn't given lots f clothes but people sell bundles for very little and baby clothes do not get worn out. The child benefit covered the costs of the baby for me - apart from about £1000 of my savings which I used for the washable nappies/liners/cheeky wipes/cot/prom/other essentials. And you have the savings to set yourself up with a baby and take two years out of work . If you can work until 8months at least and then get SMP and child benefit you should be fine with no rent/mortgage. Plus you can use the time it takes to have a baby to save money.

You may not get money from benefits to be a stay at home Mum that you might want to be until the child goes to school, but with your own resources/SMP and child benefit you might find your resources stretch far enough. And if your income is assessed as too low then there are Working Tax credits etc ( not so sure about UC areas).

If you replace your ageing car or other essentials your savings will go below the £16,000 limit.

BookHelpPlease · 04/02/2018 20:16

You are choosing to give up your job and want the rest of the country to pay for you to do so when you have over £20k in the bank?

That sounds great, I shall do the same! Everyone let's all quit work, the government can give us all money. Only for a few years though so that's ok

Babyroobs · 04/02/2018 20:16

And people can get tax credits with £100k in the bank as long as they declare the interest !! My dh has a six figure sum in the bank ( inheritance) and we have 4 kids and could claim them if we lost our jobs tomorrow !

SummerRains · 04/02/2018 20:17

*breastmilk

BookHelpPlease · 04/02/2018 20:18

Some very harsh comments going on here. people can get bloody tax credits on incomes up to 50k if they have a few kids. this family will be on 17k. Get a grip !!

By choice! She is choosing to quit work and choosing to have a baby. why should I go to work to pay for that choice?

OP what if your DH was unable to work- was made redundant or had some awful accident?

TittyGolightly · 04/02/2018 20:18

when my DH is at work I'll be stuck in the house with a child as we don't live on a bus route, and I don't drive.

Use some of your £20k to learn then.

On the other hand, if you can’t go anywhere, what do you need even more money for?

Babyroobs · 04/02/2018 20:18

Op - on an income of only 17k you will get a significant amount of working and child tax credits. if I get a few spare minutes later I will do a benefit calculation for you and let you know a rough estimate of amount.

sunshineintheclouds · 04/02/2018 20:18

Please remember that WTC and CTC you can longer claim for after Sept18.
They will no longer exist for new claiments after this date.
Under UC tax credits are abolished.

wowbutter · 04/02/2018 20:18

Your outgoings appear to leave about 400 a month, even with my very generous rounding up.
Which is plenty for a baby.
Tax credits might top you up a bit, child benefit would give you a bit.
Your issue seems to be that you want to stay a home for years, when that may not be the reality. Firstly you may not like it. Secondly, you might not be able to afford it.
If you have a child and don't want to go back to your job, look for other work, not hand outs. Many women go back to poorly paid, part time work, and get topped up with working tax credits.
You have so many options, but wanting everything perfect before you start isn't the way to go. Tax credits will work on the previous years earnings and are confusing enough to understand when you get them, they can't give you figures in advance.
Two adults surviving on 18.5k would get some form of tax credits, I just can't give you an exact figure.

You have taken money from the system by the way, doctor, roads, police, your own education... everything taxes pay for. It's not a savings scheme you pay into and then get something back. You are getting a thing back, every time you get to see a gp, or don't get murdered thanks to the police etc etc.

sunshineintheclouds · 04/02/2018 20:19

no longer claim from Sept 18

NameChanger22 · 04/02/2018 20:19

Your bills add up to about £600 a month. That leaves plenty for non-essentials. You've been able to save 20k because you have enough extra income to be able to. I think you are worrying too much.

BarbaraofSevillle · 04/02/2018 20:19

Could that be because it costs more to feed and house 'a few kids' than it does one? And aren't tax credits being phased out/reduced for larger families?

If the OP puts some or most of her savings into a pension, she might get some help and from what she has said, the family will have enough money anyway, so I'm not sure what the issue is, benefits or no benefits.

Babyroobs · 04/02/2018 20:20

Even under Universal credit which is a lot less lenient than tax credits have ever been , the person in the couple who is the main carer of the children and lone parents can still stay home until the child is 3 with no conditions to look for work.

ellesbellesxxx · 04/02/2018 20:20

We have twins and manage on one salary and that's with a mortgage.
I saved up before i got pregnant (in fairness took 2.5 years and ivf) which supplemented my maternity pay and now I just do some part time tuition a couple of hours a week to cover my car/phone etc.
If your husband's wages cover bills now, why not save your wages whilst you ttc to bridge the gap between mat pay and when they turn 3?
You are in a really good position with savings and no mortgage.. even if you have to dip into savings you can always top it up when you go back to work?

sunshineintheclouds · 04/02/2018 20:21

Sorry as you are not even pregnant yet , you won't be able to claim TC at all.

QforCucumber · 04/02/2018 20:21

People just don't understand your calculations that's all. Dp and I earn 25 and 20k. We DO have a mortgage, and nursery fees - yet the household outgoings are still 1500 a month.

SingaSong12 · 04/02/2018 20:21

I'm afraid no one can tell you what the benefits system will be in more than a few months, maybe a year.

Assuming you are in England and in full service UC area and have just had a baby

you will get CHild benefits but no UC. You cannot get UC at all if you have £16000 or more. You might get some Council tax reduction.

You can use capital on reasonable things, but if you are going to buy something big then keep a record of the things you have bought. So for instance keep a record of the age of your old boiler. If they decide that it wasn't reasonable then they could treat you as still having the money.

If you have £6000 - £16000 your UC will be reduced by £4.35 a month for every £250 over £6000.

www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Savings-and-other-capital-overview-Universal-Credit

Babyroobs · 04/02/2018 20:22

Sunshine - does that not completely depend on the area op lives in ? I thought the roll out of UC is being slowed down/ put on hold ??

sunshineintheclouds · 04/02/2018 20:22

And aren't tax credits being phased out/reduced for larger families?

TC are no longer being claimed as of Sept 18 and once moved onto UC you do not get them.
That is everyone working or not
CT and WT

sunshineintheclouds · 04/02/2018 20:23

Babyroobs

No, tax credits are not open for new claiments from September 18

RunningOutOfCharge · 04/02/2018 20:23

when my DH is at work I'll be stuck in the house with a child as we don't live on a bus route, and I don't drive.

Then this

This is money saved for varying things, including things like the boiler dying, any major expenses, a car (as my 15 year old car may not be ideal)

You don't drive but you talk about your car? Which is it......

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Swipe left for the next trending thread