Wondering if we’re missing out on benefits?

[Callingallskeletons]

Myself & DH both work FT, 2 DC but currently on Mat Leave so no childcare costs currently (will be £180 per week when I return to work) our house hold income is around £42K

As far as we’ve known we’ve never been eligible for any benefits or credits other than the child benefit everyone gets, however even before the new ridiculous cost of living increases we’ve never really had “enough” money and generally have to resort to CC to pay for things by the end of the month (not a great solution I know but it’s how we’ve kept our heads above water so needs must) anyway now the world has gone mad we’re finding things much more of a struggle and I’m looking at anything and everything

I’ve checked the Gov website and honestly found it all a little confusing and wasn’t really sure how to check the calculator due to me being on maternity pay and my wages currently not being consistent, I’ve never applied for any benefits or anything (have always worked FT) and honestly I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing/what I should be looking for - could anyone point me in the right direction?

Can we apply for anything whilst I’m on mat leave?

It's impossible to tell with the little bit of info you have given here.

Is 42K your income now or after you go back to work?

Is 42K take home pay after tax, NI and pension?

Do you rent or own your home?

It is possible you will get some money towards your childcare once the baby is born and you go back to work.

When it comes to means tested benefits , your outgoings matter as much as your incomings . So if you’re renting in London and you’re paying £2000 a month then there’s a chance you’ll be entitled to something. If you own your home then probably not. If you use entitledto.com use your normal pay first and get a calculation , then do it again for your poorest month and see if it says you are able to get anything.
It’s worth claiming even if you’ll only get a bit some months because over the year that could well add up to your council tax covered or a new toilet cistern or whatever.

Is there not also a savings limit. If you have over £16k you get nothing. Between £6k and £16k your benefits are curtailed.

Caveat. That might not be correct.

You are right Lizzie. For every £250 in savings you have over £6000 up to £16,000 you are deducted £4.35p from your UC award.

Best advice is to make a claim for UC as it is a real time benefit so will adjust depending on what you earn during each assessment period even when on mat leave. Also it maybe that when you return to work it helps with childcare.

It really won't do any harm to make a claim even if they declare nill award at this time.

There is a charity online, universal credit essentials. The website shows you how to work your award out accurately. Also admin around to give a hand if you get stuck.

If you have over 16k savings you won't be able to claim.
As above it will largely depend whether you rent or have a mortgage.
Also childcare costs are considered when you go back to work.

On an income of £42,000 I highly doubt it. On £12,000 yes definitely.

Try entitledto’s calculator.

You may be eligible for UC, but in order for anyone here to confirm either way you need to post more information - how old are you/DH, was DC1 born before 6/4/17, do you rent, monthly income.

You need to use your current income because universal credit is 'real time' income based, not 'annual income' based like tax credits was.

Sorry everyone I’ve been solo parenting all day as DH at work and am just getting chance to sit down now

We own our own home, both early 30’s
DH is on around 24K and I’m on 18K this is before tax/pension/NI etc (and during this period of mat leave I’ll only actually “earn” 9.5K)

DC are primary school age and baby

DC1 was born just after April 2017

No savings at all

I think that’s all the info requested

@LargeLegoHaul @Saladd0dger thank you both for the suggestions I’ll definitely look at both

I expect you would be entitled to help with childcare costs once you return to work. Your household income is the same as mine and although I don't have childcare costs I rent at a similar cost to your childcare bill and I get universal credit.

Google benefits calculator and punch your numbers in.

I think whether you will be eligible for UC or not will be close depending on your exact earnings.

At the minute the calculation would look like:
Standard allowance £525.72
2 child elements £244.58 x2
Total = £1014.88

Earnings per month. £1650 + 750 =2400 (very rough guess, you will need to work out exact values depending on how much you pay into a pension)

Work allowance £573
Earnings minus work allowance
£2400 - £573 = £1827

Deduction
Earnings x 0.55 =
£1827 x 0.55 = £1004.85

Total allowed - earnings deductions = total UC for month
£1014.88 - £1004.85 = £10.03

If you aren’t eligible now you will be when you are paying childcare fees as you will have a childcare element - 85% of childcare costs up to £1108.04 for 2 DC.

My calculation is slightly different due to slightly lower earnings. I get £33.07/month UC.

Max UC £1014.88 (as above)

Monthly earnings:
Partner £1679.25 (net) NB actual figure might differ
OP £678.86 (I've assumed you're on SMP?)
Total £2358.11

UC calculation:
Work allowance £573
Earnings minus work allowance £1785.11
55% excess earnings £981.81

UC award (Max UC 1014.88 minus excess earnings 981.81) £33.07

OP, I advise you to contact Citizens Advice Help to Claim service and ask them to do a calculation for you. Make sure you have payslips to hand with the actual figures.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/helptoclaim/

Note that if you're only entitled to a small amount of UC it's still worth applying because you'll get a load of "passported benefits"; things like free school meals, free prescriptions etc.

Ignore this, you wouldn't be entitled - sorry.

Do you have a childcare account? You can get the tax free element for wrap around care and baby

I don’t know much about SMP but I thought it was lower than £9.5k?

Even if only eligible for a small amount of Uc it may be worth claiming in case the government decide to give out more cost of living payments to those on means tested benefits.

If it's all too confusing to work out you could always pop in to a citizens advice bureau and ask them. Always worth checking to see if you're entitled to anything :) x

@LargeLegoHaul
After the first 6 weeks, SMP is £156.66/week which works out as £678.86/month.

@Babyroobs
The government hasn't yet announced the qualifying dates for the second cost of living
payment, and it's definitely possible that if someone claimed UC now they'd get it.

@EllieRosesMammy
Unfortunately it's rarely possible to just pop in any more, some Citizens Advice branches have stopped all drop-ins and some have drop-in but only limited days/times. Most advice is now done by phone or online (email or web chat), with F2F advice by appointment only.

What I meant was SMP is less than £9.5k and the OP posted during maternity leave she will receive £9.5k, so she can’t be on SMP.