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Original poster

Can I claim benefits?

166 replies

babyt2020 · 11/03/2022 12:33

Just curious as everyone keeps saying we should be entitled to something! I've never thought so but Martin Lewis seems to think so. We own our house outright, we bought it in September last year. My partner earns £24,000 per year and I don't work as we have an 8 month old and a 20 month old?

OP posts:
SandysMam · 11/03/2022 18:45

Op, can you get a job around your DH’s working hours? Evenings in a pub or a weekend in Tesco’s? Universal credit should totally be encouraging this before paying benefits in these circumstances.

Imitatingdory · 11/03/2022 18:51

Sandysmam claimants who are the primary carer to DC the same age of OP’s DC are not required to look for work.

Babyroobs · 11/03/2022 19:02

@SandysMam

Op, can you get a job around your DH’s working hours? Evenings in a pub or a weekend in Tesco’s? Universal credit should totally be encouraging this before paying benefits in these circumstances.
On Uc , op would have no work commitments. She has 2 children under 2. Even once they are older she would likely be in the light touch group because her dh earns enough for her not to have to job search.
GreMay1 · 11/03/2022 19:49

@Blackcatsocks

Owning a house with no mortgage is something most people can only dream of
Sour grapes 🍇
Degreeincodology · 11/03/2022 20:55

Lol at the sour grapes comment. Claiming benefits when you have no housing costs is morally dubious and everyone here knows it.

Babyroobs · 11/03/2022 21:46

Some awful comments on here. I'm not surprised op hasn't come back.

AndSoFinally · 11/03/2022 21:57

AndSoFinally
Doesn't equity in your house count as savings, then? I hadn't realised this!

How can it-it’s not freely available to live on

What I mean is, it seems odd that if you've got £16,000 in the bank you don't get any help, no matter how little you earn, but if you own a million pound house out right, but have a low wage, then you can claim benefits? Why aren't you expected to remortgage to release some of the million pounds to live on? It just doesn't seem very fair is all 🤷🏻

parabalabalabala · 11/03/2022 22:05

@AndSoFinally

AndSoFinally Doesn't equity in your house count as savings, then? I hadn't realised this!

How can it-it’s not freely available to live on

What I mean is, it seems odd that if you've got £16,000 in the bank you don't get any help, no matter how little you earn, but if you own a million pound house out right, but have a low wage, then you can claim benefits? Why aren't you expected to remortgage to release some of the million pounds to live on? It just doesn't seem very fair is all 🤷🏻

But if you remortgage then you would spend the money you've got from that to pay the new mortgage you'd created so would be no better off. Equity in property isn't useful day to day, other than of course the security of not losing your home. That is an amazing position to be in, but if your income isn't enough to live day to day you will still need it subsidised through benefits.
thevassal · 11/03/2022 23:19

@Imitatingdory

girlmom just because OP doesn’t have housing costs doesn’t mean they have an income than would be considered adequate. Perhaps you should look at the Joseph Roundtree Foundation minimum income calculator which shows according to their research OP’s household income isn’t enough for a minimum standard of living.
If you look at the income/outgoing section if the calculator that assumes about £380 needing to be spent on rent though, which OP doesn't have. And tbh £380 wouldn't get you at least a 2 bed house in most of the UK.
Imitatingdory · 11/03/2022 23:24

thevassal you can adjust the amounts so rent and mortgage are both set to 0. The minimum income is still higher than OP’s household income.

BankingOnChange · 11/03/2022 23:31

If the system is broken, blame the system.

Ignore the morally superior op. No doubt unless they're on the bones of their arse, none of them claim CB as they don't strictly need it Wink. They probably gracefully and charitably hand it back.

If I was in your shoes I'd claim UC if I was entitled to it. And if I didn't strictly need to spend it, I'd put it in bloody premium bonds.

Cantchangenow · 12/03/2022 09:15

@AndSoFinally the old tax credit system was even more unfair. When I left my exh, I owned a number of properties, some outright. I was “low earner” because I worked two half days a week through choice to be available for my children who were at school.
I was entitled to full tax credits, child benefit, free school meals, free prescriptions and dentist, the lot. I had employment income of 16k, rental income that was about 8k a year, and 6k a year maintenance payments and no mortgage or rent to pay. I think it was about £500pcm in tax credits. We then sold some of the properties 6months later and so I had over 100k in my bank but they told me it didn’t mater as was income based.
My new partner was “high earner” and I had far more disposable income than him.
Once I had my head straight after leaving my exh (I was really Poorly with the stress of the divorce, I had no idea how my divorce was going to go and I couldn't face increasing my hours with work at the time), after 2 years, I cancelled my tax credits and increased my work load.
But to have them freely available, I felt was ridiculous. I also felt like a fraud when sat in the PTA when discussing should we help the children on fsm with a hamper at Christmas.

The new system I believe would take into account the equity in my rental properties but not my home.
In theory, to claim, it’s best to not have savings in the bank but to repay any mortgage you have.

In theory, there is no fair way of giving people free money, there will always be people who need it more and most people would take it even if they don’t need it.

gamerchick · 12/03/2022 09:23

OP ignore the strange posters and their morality crap.

Put a claim in and see what's what. You'll never know till you try.

SandysMam · 12/03/2022 11:53

I don’t think anyone is having a go at the op personally but no one can deny the system IS fucked if someone can have £1800 a month to live on with no housing costs and get £500 free cash that could otherwise be used for those who need it, improve the NHS, pay for more police etc. £1800 a month is more than enough to live on with no housing or childcare costs. Come on!!

Original poster
babyt2020 · 12/03/2022 12:02

I'd forgotten all about this post and just came on to browse and read the comments, wow!! Some twisted, mean people on here! Who the hell wouldn't claim something they were entitled to, where is the logic in that?

Thankyou to everyone for their helpful comments. Our energy is £300 a month which is with edf, we moved in last September and the previous owners were with them. This is with barely having heating on and switching everything off after use. Our council tax is currently £243 a month and with food, petrol and everything else our income soon disappears. We have no sky just Netflix for £6, we don't eat out or go to the cinema anymore. I barely buy clothes and partner never does, both our babies are boys so one gets the others hand me downs.

OP posts:
Imitatingdory · 12/03/2022 12:39

Sandysmam yet OP’s household income is below the minimum income considered necessary.

Babyroobs · 12/03/2022 12:49

@babyt2020

I'd forgotten all about this post and just came on to browse and read the comments, wow!! Some twisted, mean people on here! Who the hell wouldn't claim something they were entitled to, where is the logic in that?

Thankyou to everyone for their helpful comments. Our energy is £300 a month which is with edf, we moved in last September and the previous owners were with them. This is with barely having heating on and switching everything off after use. Our council tax is currently £243 a month and with food, petrol and everything else our income soon disappears. We have no sky just Netflix for £6, we don't eat out or go to the cinema anymore. I barely buy clothes and partner never does, both our babies are boys so one gets the others hand me downs.

It must really make you wonder how others survive with similar bills and also paying a mortgage of perhaps £600-£700 a month as well. I have no idea how people are currently managing.
LakieLady · 12/03/2022 13:35

Their total Uc before deductions would be significantly higher as they are a couple so get a couples element and they have 2 children so 2 child elements

They might qualify for the higher work allowance too as they have no housing costs.

LakieLady · 12/03/2022 13:42

@Degreeincodology

Lol at the sour grapes comment. Claiming benefits when you have no housing costs is morally dubious and everyone here knows it.
Why? They still have bills to pay, kids to feed and a low income to do it on. If someone inherits a house, should they sell it, rent somewhere, and live on the money until they've only got £16k left?

They'll get less UC than they would if they were renting, so the overall cost to the state will be less. But if they were renting, a big chunk of their UC would be going to pay the mortgage of a BTL landlord, who will end up with an income and a valuable asset largely paid for at public expense.

LakieLady · 12/03/2022 13:45

The new system I believe would take into account the equity in my rental properties but not my home.

You're right @Cantchangenow, you'd get nothing because the equity in the houses you don't live in would be treated like savings.

Equity in the home you live in hasn't counted in all the 20+ years I've worked in benefits.

Babyroobs · 12/03/2022 14:21

i do think inheriting a house is a bit different to deliberately spending all your savings outright on buying a house and then claiming benefits to top up a low income though.

knittingaddict · 12/03/2022 14:25

@AndSoFinally

Doesn't equity in your house count as savings, then? I hadn't realised this!
Why would it? It's not only as asset, it's a roof over your head. The op won't be able to claim housing benefit, so that seems fair? Doesn't it to you?
thevassal · 12/03/2022 15:19

Assuming op is between 25-44 (as she has young kids) according to ons only 3-6% of the population fully own their homes by that age www.statista.com/statistics/793681/home-ownership-by-age-uk/
And if you are paying nearly 250 quid a month in council tax that's not a small house either.

I'm not knocking op personally because if I was entitled to something I would claim it too. But if you are better off than 97% of the population it is ridiculous that their/our wages (because that's where the money would come from, not the anonymous "government") should go to you as a top up.

Babyroobs · 12/03/2022 15:40

@thevassal

Assuming op is between 25-44 (as she has young kids) according to ons only 3-6% of the population fully own their homes by that age www.statista.com/statistics/793681/home-ownership-by-age-uk/ And if you are paying nearly 250 quid a month in council tax that's not a small house either.

I'm not knocking op personally because if I was entitled to something I would claim it too. But if you are better off than 97% of the population it is ridiculous that their/our wages (because that's where the money would come from, not the anonymous "government") should go to you as a top up.

I think the fact, as you've showed, that so few people are actually in this priveleged position of owning their own home outright means that it's not worth getting worked up about. It would be nice to thin that op is only considering claiming as they have 2 very small children close in age, and that once op is able to work again she will and this will only be a very short term thing.
WonderfulYou · 12/03/2022 16:29

Have a go and see.

On less than that wage I can’t get any help but I’m a one parent family and I know someone on less than that can’t get anything as she owns her own home and it’s just her, so you might be able to considering there’s an extra adult.

You definitely won’t get help with mortgage payments or council tax.

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