Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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.

Original poster

What is a singles mother?

70 replies

jagosma · 27/04/2018 07:04

I'm about to split up with my partner.
I envisage a split with custody 50/50
What sort of effect does that have on me claiming benefit?
I currently work a well pay but part time job what will I get? Am I better of. Getting a low paid job?
Do I have to my LO more that 50% of the time to be a 'single mum'?
If we share childcare will I even be classed as a single parent?
I don't want to be worse off when this split happens.
Confused!!!

OP posts:
crumpetsandcoffee · 27/04/2018 08:07

If you took a lower paid job, your benefits would only top it up so you'd be working the same amount of hours for roughly the same amount of money, just some of it would be tax credits. So don't really see the point in taking a lower paid job to top it up with benefits when your salary is more than enough. I work full time, have two teenagers and take in between wages and tax credits 19k a year. I pay a mortgage from that and al bills and get no financial help from their dad (it's going through court at the mo) so I'm pretty sure you'll be fine on your 25k and only being two of you Hmm

insancerre · 27/04/2018 08:08

You are a director?
So you own your own home, have shares in a company, work part time, get free childcare but you still want more?
Okaaaay

Bigpizzalover · 27/04/2018 08:10

You would get child tax and working tax. Go on gov website you can do a tax credit calculator... 28k average is also full time so really you are above average earning 25k part time.

Sugarhunnyicedtea · 27/04/2018 08:11

The simple answer is no you wouldn't be better off taking a lower paid job. £25k is plenty for you and a child to live on, many families have less.

You may get some of your childcare costs covered (I think up to 70% but I doubt you would be eligible for the full amount)

Original poster
jagosma · 27/04/2018 08:13

I don't have shares in the company. I'm a non executive director. It's a senior title.

OP posts:
Original poster
jagosma · 27/04/2018 08:15

I never said I wanted more. I just wanted to know what the situation was. I don't have any experience in this sort of thing. I didn't know if benefits made up for the other person or a top up. Etc etc

OP posts:
Sugarhunnyicedtea · 27/04/2018 08:15

As you only work part time could you only use the free 30 hours of childcare and free up the £60 you currently pay?

Sugarhunnyicedtea · 27/04/2018 08:17

Benefits are to help people survive. You earn more working part time than many people earn full time. Of course they don't 'make up for the other person' - if that was the case we'd all live as single people with a double salary 😂

Original poster
jagosma · 27/04/2018 08:22

Yes take pee out me for not knowing something but trying to find out. Excuse my ignorance but before you were single mother did you know the government handbook off by heart?

OP posts:
Original poster
jagosma · 27/04/2018 08:22

I'm part time - I work 3.5 days a week. This is when my LO is in childcare.

OP posts:
Sugarhunnyicedtea · 27/04/2018 08:28

Nobody is suggesting you need to know anything inside out. You earn £25k working 3.5 days so the fte would be almost £36k so way above the national average. You're in a really good position but asking how to get more. Unfortunately, that will always annoy people.

InDubiousBattle · 27/04/2018 08:32

What does your ex have to say? If your lo childcare costs are £60 will he cover half? How do you see 50:50 childcare working is he ft?

motorpink · 27/04/2018 08:44

As 25k is a strange in between figure of low and average.

No. It's really not.

However, I hope you all agree it's still below the national average of 28k

You can't compare the national average wage based on full time hours with your part time wage Hmm

Gazelda · 27/04/2018 08:44

OP, you are on a very decent salary for PT work. Your childcare costs are incredibly low. You seem to be asking how you can have the same standard of living You currently have, paid for by benefits.

This is what is winding posters up.

You've been pointed in the direction of entitledto.com several times. Your time would be better spent there than justifying yourself on MN.

FissionChips · 27/04/2018 08:56

Surely as a company director you’re more than capable of researching these things yourself, why not just look on the government websites?

tweetweet2 · 27/04/2018 08:58

Ignoring the moral side, even if you could get a lower salary and get benefits instead I think you'd be mad to. The government is continually changing the rules - you could lose your good job get more benefit only for that benefit to be reduced in 6 months.

AnnUnderTheFryingPan · 27/04/2018 09:00

Are you married?

Shen0102 · 27/04/2018 09:00

25k is enough for an adult & a child .. you just need to budget and know where all your money is going.

Original poster
jagosma · 27/04/2018 09:02

I have looked on government websites but not done any calculators wanted to find out other experiences first hand. There was no information on what it is to be a 50:50 parent I wasn't sure whether that was classed as a single parent..

OP posts:
Original poster
jagosma · 27/04/2018 09:05

25k is enough for an adult & a child .. you just need to budget and know where all your money is going.

Thanks feeling much more confident in my position.

Of course, I'm just worried about losing my standard of living, paying my partner out of the house so he can also not lose his standard of living and losing £34k (my partners income) out of our household. At this stage it's all very scary even with my whopping 25k job!

We aren't married!

OP posts:
PattiStanger · 27/04/2018 09:06

I'm pretty sure you're not a non executive director if you work 3.5 days a week.

Non executive surely means you don't work regularly in the business and I'd be amazed if any non executive contract said you couldn't take another job, that really doesn't sound right.

TawnyPort · 27/04/2018 09:07

However, I hope you all agree it's still below the national average of 28k and it's certainly not a 35k or 50k job a lot of people have

Its part time though, so its actually well above the national average of 28k for FULL time work. Hmm

PattiStanger · 27/04/2018 09:08

Is their a legal definition of single parent? I work so don't know much about the benefit system but parent my DC on my own and would be interested in registering as a single parent if I need to. How do you do that?

BertieBotts · 27/04/2018 09:11

Income with benefits is usually less than 25k, so you'll have to work out how to manage within that. When you say you own the house is that on a mortgage or paid off? Housing is normally the highest expense followed by childcare followed by food. If you have debts you will struggle. If your income isn't enough then you'll have to reduce outgoings or increase income.

I would assume you'll get no benefits and then if you do get some it would be a bonus?

YimminiYoudar · 27/04/2018 09:14

The benefits system is structured to ensure that you are always better off working if you possibly can.
If you choose to work less you will definitely not fully replace the lost income with benefits. You will not be better off earning less.

£25kpa is actually quite well off. If you don't consider yourself well off it is solely because you don't realise quite how many people get by on less than half of what you have.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.