Please help me understand my benefits entitlement

[BeauMirchoff]

I'm finally going to split up with my husband. I've done a quick calculation online of what help I would be entitled to and by the looks of it, I would be left with about £1065 after rent (£1250) and childcare (£1400). With that £1065 I'd have to pay for food, transport and all other bills/debts. Council tax would be about £100, phone £50, tv and internet £65, repayment of tax credits £40, cc repayment £30, water bill arrears £50, energy bill arrears £45, other debts approx £50. So that's £430 if my calculation is right...that leaves me with £630 for food, clothes and transport. Can it be done? this is making me so anxious but I just can't live with that man anymore. I'm so unhappy and he treats me like shit and the reason why I even have arrears is because he can't hold down a job for longer than a month. I want to start afresh on my own but that may mean I will really struggle...

@bluedog op said her ex partner got then into arrears before she was working.

@Bluedoglead these arrears are from years ago and to be fair, until this day, I still have no idea why it happened. I have always informed HMRC of any changes.
The water and energy arrears are spread out over 6months.

Ohyesiam that’s not what she says.

She says it’s because he can’t hold,down a job. Not from before she was working.

If you don’t work on the 28k figure you’re going to end up Horlicksed once the new tax year starts because they’ll have overpaid you and they will claw it back.

I don’t see how they can expect you to pay the joint arrears off your single claim to be honest.

I think you need to go and talk to someone.

Hi op, I wrk full time and have take home around £1,700 pcm and I get about £600 pcm housing benefit and £300pcm child tax credit plus £80pcm child benefit and £300pcm maintenance. My rent is £1100 and childcare £1000pcm.

@TeachesOfPeaches thank you for that.

To clarify, yet again, This was a calculation. I'm not taking any of that money yet and HMRC know what my salary is.

The calculators ask if this year’s income rises or drops dramatically from last years & if you say yes you should input last year’s figures & the current figures.

Firstly, it depends on whether your rent will be covered completely by HB allowance for your area.

Are your children the same sex? If they are they will be expected to share a room and you will only be entitled to a 2 bed property. Where I live (expensive SE) that gives you around £800pcm maximin HB. Most rents are over £1k here. There is a freeze on HB rates until 2020.

I earn approx £10k pa. rent is £900pcm. I get a TOTAL in HB and tax credits of £203 per week. You earn FAR more than I do. I can't see you getting more than I do!

@wendywhite yep, I did put that in too.
I wanted to know what I'd actually get and then figure out a way to manage. Of course I don't want more than what I'm entitled to if it means I'll have to repay it.

I have to live on less than 500 a month without any benefits, after paying my bills, council tax,, utilities and general living costs I am not left with much.

@MissWimpyDimple where I live, the allowance is £242 a week.

OP your STBXH is going to leave you destitute if he doesn’t either pay maintenance or provide childcare.

No, it’s not ideal, but if you have to give up your job and move somewhere less expensive then that’s what you’ve got to do. 2.5k PER MONTH on childcare and rent is insane. And you’d be living hand to mouth. It makes no sense.

So you’re short the guts of £300on your rent before you even start ?

(Assuming you get full HB)

@Bluedoglead i'm not going to get full HB. £576 every 4 weeks.

Ok so you will have a top up in rent of £200 a month. That's probably about average.

It's the childcare that is killing you here and making your tax credit entitlements seem huge.

The other thing are your debts and arrears. To be paying a rent top up and debts and arrears whilst on benefits is vey hard.

You will be able to live, but you can't expect the benefits system to allow you your previous lifestyle I'm afraid.

Are you sure it isn't Universal credit in your area?

0is your husband still living with you, you sound like you have a difficult time ahead, have you spoken to the cab . Your ex will have to contribute.

So you’ll have around a £600 rent top up to find before you even start?

If the older one is 10, when are they going to big school? (Because they should be fit to make their own way home and start homework once they’re at big school)

@MissWimpyDimple
Yeah, it's the fecking childcare.
And to be honest, my previous lifestyle wasn't that great either. Always struggling because stbxh spent money left, right and centre. So I'm not expecting an amazing lifestyle. I just want to make sure I survive.

@Bluedoglead in September 2019

You will manage OP. As I posted earlier I work full time and receive just over £1000 in benefits per month. Every penny is spent on bills and rent and childcare but we get by and childcare won't last forever. Don't give up your job and end up on universal credit as that will be a pittance.

It sounds pessimistic but you just aren't going to be able to carry on paying those arrears and meeting your rent and childcare costs. Your HB won't cover the full rent. And the childcare allowance won't cover your childcare costs. Why can't your ex pay those arrears. You need somebody to do an accurate check of your entitlements or else you will be in for a huge shock and go into massive debt.

Sorry if this has been said but my experience is that tax credits calculate allowance based on the year before then in July you put in this year's amount and they "correct" what you've been paid.

It's bloody ridiculous but they seem to assume you will never get a pay rise. I told them we were no longer entitled after I returned to work when dc started primary yet they insisted on paying based on the year before. The following July we filled in the form and received a shitty letter saying we had to pay it all back (we knew this and had put it all to one side after 3 calls trying to stop them paying us). When dh called to pay it all they were totally baffled as we wanted to just pay the £2k back in one go. They are a nightmare and make it really difficult to plan. Expect the minimum.

I realise this sounds tough but we couldn't afford to stay in the south east so moved away from family. You're not automatically entitled to a life where you want to be if you can't afford it.

Why are you paying a childminder if your ex dp can’t hold down a job. Can’t he do childcare and school drop offs . If he isn’t giving you any maintenance at least this will save you a fortune

Hi OP I am sympathetic to your situation but something HAS to give. The numbers are completely unsustainable. Working on the basis that you would not be entitled to benefit help, is there any way you'd be able to commute into your job from a cheaper area on the outskirts of London with smaller rent even if you have to buy a travelcard? I don't think giving up job is a good idea, you are on a good wage and hopefully this will increase over the years and things for you and your dc will get easier.

Could you look into a 1 bed flat with you sharing with toddler in living room and 10yr old in own room? This could be a good year for moving to a different area in terms of your eldest school application.

What is the nature of your job? Is it somewhere that has other branches/offices in other regions that you could ask to be transferred to?

I live in the midlands and you could rent a decent 2 bed home close to good schools and nurseries for less than £500pcm.