Universal credit 2 child limit question

[Buttons659]

i have a 19yo and a 9yo. I no longer get the child element of UC for my older child because she is classed as an adult now. I’ve just found out that I am pregnant again and I’m trying to work out my finances. Does anyone know if I will get UC for this 3rd child as I’ll only be claiming for 2 children, or will I not get it because I’ve claimed for 2 children previously?
I hope this makes sense.

For info, myself and my husband both work. Our UC is just to top up our wages.

You will get the child element for the new baby.

Yes you will get it for third child for the next 18 odd years.

You can get the Child Element for two children at any one time.

Oh my gosh really?! That is such a relief! I thought it might have been a “only 2 children EVER!” Kind of deal!

Well yes that is the rule for most people

Ouch.

You can only claim for 2 children of any of them were born after April 2017. You will only be claiming for your DC2 and DC3, so that's fine.

I wasn't meaning to be funny. The rule for most is that they can't have more than two kids on the claim if born after April 2017. Most people therefore will not get more than 2 kids paid for from April 2017 unless as with op you have a 20 year gap between kids in which case you can get paid for three. This must be a very small number of people that this situation applies to, not for most. It does kind of defeat the point of the rule, in that the two child ruling tries to discourage families from having more than 2 kids but like I said it's going to apply to a very small number of people.

It's worth pointing out that no matter how many children someone has, if they have disabilities, the disability element is still payable. Also the childcare element is payable for any children you have (up to the limit specified). There are also other limited circumstances where a third or subsequent child can have the child element, such as multiple births.

Ahh I see. Thank you for clearing that up. I think I’m just feeling abit emotional at the minute and taking things to heart.
Claiming benefits is always a touchy situation for some, but if we were paid fairly we wouldn’t need to! (I’m a nurse and DH works for the railways so talk of unfair pay is a big topic in our lives)
It does seem a very unfair policy though, regardless of when your child was born. No child should be raised in poverty.

Yes it is an really does penalize larger families. the labour government have said they are not changing the rule sadly.

Yes good points and child benefit can be paid for more than 2 children.

Usual misinformation on this topic, to be clear all children born before 05/04/2017 are paid for under UC. So plenty of people with children aged seven and over are getting the child element for all of them. Children born before that date are counted towards the two child limit though, so say you have four children aged seven and over and two under seven you will get four times the childcare elements. So plenty of people are getting substantial amounts of UC. As older children drop off the claim, younger ones can move up onto it

The two child policy, though not really working as there are ways to defraud the system which are being eagerly practiced, is fair in principle. Study after study has shown that children born into large impoverished families have poorer life outcomes and a high propensity to emulate their parents lifestyle. Nothing sad or unfair about it

Save your pity for those under 25 receiving £100 a month less due to their age if without children or disabilities, people under 35 only getting the shared room amount of housing costs ditto and disabled people being constantly refused PIP. Some people are doing extremely well under UC whilst others, like students and those with mortgages, are not

@Blackbyrd there is no misinformation on this thread. The question was whether the OP will get the child element for her newborn. The answer is yes. @Babyroobs was just pointing out that most people who have a child after April 2017 wouldn't get the child element if they are the third born.

The system sucks for everyone, it’s not a competition.
I do have pity for the groups you mentioned, but that doesn’t take away from the situation families are facing too.
I wish there was an answer. I wanna say “Tory’s out” but i don’t think the red tories will be much better. We’re just all screwed.

Not really you could have a 12 month age gap and still qualify for a 17/18 year old once the second oldest ages out.

Where have Labour said this can you link please.

Labour would keep two-child benefit cap, says Keir Starmer | Labour | The Guardian

Thanks that's as likely to happen as the Tory's winning the next election. Far too much own party opposition.