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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:
Danikm151 · 13/03/2022 23:32

It’s definitely worth doing a calculation. Every bit helps.
UC is benefit for all who are on a lower income.
Are you claiming Child benefit too? If not get on it asap it will help your NI contributions.

Imitatingdory · 13/03/2022 23:38

Babyroobs Maybe, but she didn’t mention that and I presumed she would, and also typically deductions are only a maximum of 25% of the standard element (barring a few circumstances that I definitely would have expected pp to mention) which wouldn’t account for £115 less. If the poster has debt and is struggling she can ask for the amount taken to be lowered.

caringcarer · 13/03/2022 23:50

There are a lot of very jealous people on this thread. To have inherited a house one of the pair will most likely have lost their parents or close family member. They are paying high council tax and have 2 little ones and her DP does not earn a lot. Maybe when kids are at school OP will want to work PT out of the home but for now she is busy looking after children so is entitled to claim UC like many others.

Babyroobs · 14/03/2022 00:06

@caringcarer

There are a lot of very jealous people on this thread. To have inherited a house one of the pair will most likely have lost their parents or close family member. They are paying high council tax and have 2 little ones and her DP does not earn a lot. Maybe when kids are at school OP will want to work PT out of the home but for now she is busy looking after children so is entitled to claim UC like many others.
I don't think op says anywhere that they inherited a house? It was bought outright a few months before they want to claim benefits?
LakieLady · 14/03/2022 01:09

@Degreeincodology

Lol at the sour grapes comment. Claiming benefits when you have no housing costs is morally dubious and everyone here knows it.
But if someone had rent to pay, and their circumstances were otherwise identical to the OP's, they'd get nearly the same amount of UC as the OP plus all or most of their rent on top. Without taking the rent into account, there would be a difference of around £100 a month because of the higher work allowance that the OP would get because she has no housing costs, but the total would paid out to the family renting would be far higher. But that would be the same if OP was living rent free with her parents.

And people who own a home have higher outgoings. They have to pay insurance on the building in case of flood, fire, or storm damage. That's down to the landlord if they're renting, as are the costs of maintaining the building, servicing the boiler etc. If you need a new boiler, it's a grand, minimum, when you own your house. If you're renting, the landlord pays.

My (pensioner) neighbour just had to fork out £600 for fence repairs after the recent storm. If she hadn't bought her house, it wouldn't have been down to her, and fences aren't generally covered under buildings insurance. A recently retired friend is having to pay over £1,000 to have a sash window replaced, she can't get it done any cheaper because she lives in a conservation area and it has to be the same as the original.

People often regard owning a property as though it's money in the bank, but it isn't that simple. You can't sell it and live in a shoe box, you can't eat it, burn it to keep warm or use it as fuel for your car, and they come with running costs, just like cars do. I can't see why it's "morally dubious" to claim benefits if you're income is low enough for you to need them to live on.

Sure, when you die, you get to leave it to your kids, or you can downsize and free up equity when they leave home, but unless you have less than £16k, you wouldn't get any benefits then anyway.

I own my house, and I can't afford to retire despite being of pension age because there would be so little left after the running costs,.

My MIL, who gets pension credit, has a pension income only about £50 a month less than mine, but she lives in a council house, rent free because she's on pension credit, pays 0 council tax (I'd still have to pay around 60% of mine) and never has to pay for anything to be done on her home. It gets decorated externally every few years, she gets a new boiler every few years whether it needs replacing or not, and has had 2 new kitchens in the last 16 years while mine is 24 years old and decidedly shabby. She gave up work when she had her kids at 21and has never worked since, I'll have been working for 50 years in a few months time. Which of us is the greater burden on the state?

girlmom21 · 14/03/2022 07:14

@Alicesweewonders

Christ on a bike, some these comments are bitter...

We we're in a similar position op & could claim approx £400. I've since gone back to work part-time and get help to pay for childcare for my two kids. Costing approx £1200 a month - and some people would probably still complain about that too!

I personally would prefer someone work and claim more support in childcare than not work and claim less.

When you're paying childcare costs another person is getting a job, businesses are supported, etc.

Those childcare costs will only exist for a few years too. Short term investments make sense.

babyt2020 · 14/03/2022 07:22

My dads father who he was very close to died. He would rather have no house and his dad back

OP posts:
girlmom21 · 14/03/2022 07:30

@babyt2020

My dads father who he was very close to died. He would rather have no house and his dad back
That makes no difference to claiming or not claiming benefits.

Is the house in your name too?

babyt2020 · 14/03/2022 08:11

Yes both our names

OP posts:
babyt2020 · 14/03/2022 08:13

@LakieLady couldn't have put it better myself, thank you so much! The house is bloody expensive! I've worke my entire life, sometimes 2 jobs.

OP posts:
caringcarer · 14/03/2022 11:03

Take no notice of jealous posters @babyt2020, make your claim. You are entitled to it. Can't believe so many people making snippy comments. I know the feeling. My DMum died and left me quite well off, but I would give it all back and more besides, in a heartbeat to get my Mum back.

LakieLady · 14/03/2022 11:17

It's a bit of a sore point with me, @babyt2020, I've forked out approx £20k in renovations/repairs over the last 18 months. I'd have gladly given the fucking house to the council if they'd let me rent it from them for the rest of my days while they maintain it.

And I still have to pay to have it redecorated after all the work.

oviraptor21 · 15/03/2022 14:20

@girlmom21 That's your preference. Others, including me, have a preference for staying at home with the children when they are young.

It would be interesting to know if there any statistics on the relevant costs to the government of the two scenarios.

GreMay1 · 16/03/2022 06:12

@LakieLady you have raised some good points. I think there's no point comparing being a home owner and renting from the Council. There's pros and cons to both. Whilst the council do the repairs.. a lot of houses are in run down and deprived areas! I understand what your saying and I'm with OP here don't get me wrong. Why shouldn't she claim what she's entitled to? However some would rather live in a nice area in a nice house and a shabby kitchen. Tbh plenty of Council houses do not get kitchens replaced at all in fact it's unheard of and especially the boiler replaced every few years? Your MIL is definitely in the minority on that front.

The argument doesn't stack up homeowner/renting its like saying you do a high pressured job... yes and your salary reflects that also.

GreMay1 · 16/03/2022 06:16

@Babyroobs

When I read threads like this I feel like I was a bit of a mug when my kids were small. Admittedly we had four close together ( not entirely planned ! ) which wasn't the best decision but I literally took four and five month maternity breaks because we couldn't afford more and then for fifteen years or more we worked opposite each other. Dh worked 9-5, I worked most of the weekend or a couple of split nightshifts a week and somehow just survived on naps when the toddlers napped. It was hard. Looking back we probably should have just taken the 1k benefits instead.
I agree. Especially if you had them Close together 4 is a lot too.
babyt2020 · 16/03/2022 18:00

I lived in a council property for 16 years and worked 2 jobs. I've always worked so why others now begrudge me raising my own children rather than paying a stranger absolutely baffles me!!

OP posts:
Cocomarine · 16/03/2022 18:13

@babyt2020

I lived in a council property for 16 years and worked 2 jobs. I've always worked so why others now begrudge me raising my own children rather than paying a stranger absolutely baffles me!!
No-one begrudges you raising your children whichever way you want. I personally begrudge a system that allows you to afford your choice through benefits, when 6 months ago you wealthy enough to buy a house outright. I’d claim exactly what you’re claiming - it’s not personal. You didn’t create the fucked up system yourself 🤷🏻‍♀️
RetireReady · 16/03/2022 19:11

Tell you what I would be pissed off to fuck if I lost my job and just because I owned my own house I was refused benefits after paying into the system for 30 bloody years

Babyroobs · 16/03/2022 19:57

@RetireReady

Tell you what I would be pissed off to fuck if I lost my job and just because I owned my own house I was refused benefits after paying into the system for 30 bloody years
That's a little bit different to ploughing everything into buying a house outright then claiming benefits to live off six months later.
RetireReady · 16/03/2022 20:36

How? The OP said she has worked and has two very young kids with her partner. Her partner pays into the system, she has paid into the system, why shouldn't they benefit if their standard of living is deemed below criteria for getting benefits. The value of their house is irrelevant, they receive no benefits for that part. When the OP gets old she will have to sell the house or raise enough cash to pay towards assisted living if needed...and yet you want her to be penalised twice?
There are lots of people who don't work and claim benefits for life...they never pay in.
There are plenty of people who work, are subsidised by universal credit have a mortgage (however small) and get child maintenance from ex partners as well..which is not taken into account.

There are also plenty of high earners who shove lots of their money into pensions to reduce their tax liability/child maintenance and to still enable them to receive child benefit.

There are lots of people who get/have extras.

babyt2020 · 17/03/2022 11:19

I would also like to point out that we bought our house following me having horrendous postnatal depression, so bad that I was sectioned and put on a mum and baby unit. This was triggered by the area we lived in becoming really rough and I was terrified of raising a baby there. We sold my partners house and used the money to buy in a nice area where our children are safe. Puts a very different slant on it that

OP posts:
newbiename · 20/03/2022 09:20

@babyt2020

I lived in a council property for 16 years and worked 2 jobs. I've always worked so why others now begrudge me raising my own children rather than paying a stranger absolutely baffles me!!
No one begrudges you raising your children. It just grates a bit you want other people to pay

Many people will never be able to buy their own house.

HeyBlaby · 20/03/2022 09:22

Get a job. HTH.

gamerchick · 20/03/2022 09:25

@babyt2020

I would also like to point out that we bought our house following me having horrendous postnatal depression, so bad that I was sectioned and put on a mum and baby unit. This was triggered by the area we lived in becoming really rough and I was terrified of raising a baby there. We sold my partners house and used the money to buy in a nice area where our children are safe. Puts a very different slant on it that
You don't have to justify anything to the people on here OP. There are some strange posts, makes me wonder what kind of crap is going on on their lives.

You've done nothing wrong, claim what you're entitled to.

HalfShrunkMoreToGo · 20/03/2022 09:35

@babyt2020

I lived in a council property for 16 years and worked 2 jobs. I've always worked so why others now begrudge me raising my own children rather than paying a stranger absolutely baffles me!!
The implication here being that those of us who worked to earn our own money rather than expecting it to be given to us didn't raise our children.