Do you feel bad for receiving a ‘high amount’ of UC?

[AnotherNameChange1233]

Last week I went to my local Children’s Centre and attended a Citizen’s Advice group that runs once a week.

As long as you’re registered to the Children Centre, you can turn up for any advice needed. Some people want privacy so they go into a side room with the advisor and some parents may help other parents if they’ve been in a similar situation/can offer the correct advice. It’s also like a social group for parents, hopefully you get the jist of it.

On the table I was sitting on, one parent was trying to get her head around UC as she didn’t quite understand LHA rates, how DLA impacts UC and what elements she would be entitled too. Anyway, I started speaking about my experience with DLA, UC and offered to log into my UC account if it was easier for her to look at the breakdown visually (instead of me talking and complicating things). I also got her postcode to explain how the LHA rates work and etc.

Another parent suddenly spoke up and said, ‘don’t you feel bad for claiming that much money?’ She wasn’t argumentative or anything and we had an interesting conversation but it made me think, are people like me supposed to feel bad when receiving a certain amount?

She also said something like (I’m paraphrasing here as I can’t remember it exactly word for word) if people can’t afford their rent then they should move to a more affordable area. I raised the point of Landlords purchasing properties as part of the Right to Buy scheme, charging extortionate rent which taxpayers then pay through UC. Surely, it’s more a problem that there isn’t affordable rental properties in many areas.

For full transparency, I’m going to mention all of my UC amounts and wonder if people that claim similar, feel bad?

• 292 single person allowance
• 1450 private rent
• 539 for 2 children
• 293 for 2 disabled children
• 589 childcare costs
• 189 carer

£216 is deducted from my entitlement due to my wages. That means my UC amount is £3133. My wages is £771. I receive two amounts of MRC through DLA which is £580 all together.

Now that I’ve written it down, it seems like a whole lot of money but the costs that come with raising one of my disabled children (the other still costs a lot, but not as much as the other) is through the roof due to their issues

I was also hesitant to post this as I know how some benefits thread can go on MN but what she said has really stuck in my mind. I’d really appreciate how others that receive a certain amount of UC feel

Don’t feel bad , I get a similar amount and I don’t feel bad. It’s the rent usually that makes the amount seem so high and that goes straight to the landlord !

I get similar to you. I don’t rent so I don’t get that part but get 2200 a month UC. I am a single parent with 2 disabled children (both on highest rate disability benefits) and I do work but can’t work more than part time, term time due to the children.
I do feel lucky that we have enough. I don’t feel bad though. We are entitled to it. If we didn’t take it then literally no one else would notice except us and our children, who would suffer. It wouldn’t improve anyone else’s lives if I didn’t claim it so I will claim what I’m entitled to and be thankful but not feel bad 🙃

I'm sure your claim is within the rules they've devised, so there's no reason to feel bad about it.

There will be some bitter, angry people on this thread who will say otherwise, but I consider MPs and tax dodgers to be the real benefit scroungers.

The world is a better place because you and your children are in it. It sounds like you are doing your best and are claiming what you are entitled to. It’s also very kind of you to help others in the way that you do. Put the woman’s comments out of your mind.

I mean you are only claiming what you are entitled to sp you shouldnt feel bad, but wow that's a lot of money! Life is expensive.

It is a lot tbh, and I do understand why those working FT and earning less than that would feel annoyed. But, you’re not doing anything wrong.

Why would anyone feel bad about receiving the financial support they are entitled to? That other woman's comment was bitchy and uncalled-for.

I dont think people should feel bad if they claim within the rules.

The housing and childcare situation in this country makes life very difficult and disabilities are expensive.

I mean, if you didn't have disabled kids you wouldn't be claiming half as much and would be able to work more as well. People are almost always poorer if they are on disability benefits as they would be without a family member with a disability. Carers benefit is peanuts and nowhere near in line with the level of work involved, and mean you're limited to how much you can earn so you can't take on any additional work. Disability benefits are not as much as the real costs of the additional money it actual costs. So it's not about being proud of milking the government, it's about not being ashamed of your role as carer, your children's disabilities or claiming what you and they deserve to live. You were also only trying to help somebody else, you weren't trying to flaunt it in somebodies face. I bet they would not think it was so much money if they switched places and realised how difficult it is to stretch that budget with all the additional costs and restrictions on earnings, and how little time you have when you're not working or caring for somebody else. Ignore the person who commented, they obviously lack the social imagination to comprehend circumstances different form their own.

So you get £48,000 per year (approx)? With most of that paid in benefits? Is that right?

Does the father of those four children contribute anything to their care and living arrangements?

I mean, it is an eye watering amount given that if someone was earning that and struggling they would be told by countless Mumsnetters that it was a "high salary" and they should be grateful

But I totally get your point that quite a chunk of that is due to the staggering rental levels so a huge chunk of that goes to some buy to let arsehole in reality.

And I dont feel any envy in the sense it must be tough having disabled children to care for as a single mum and I would hate the vulnerability of being dependent on benefits

It’s not your fault, if you are entitled to everything you claim, but it’s a sad state of affairs when you can get more on benefits than a lot of people get for working full time.

People calming this amount is one of the reasons the country is in a mess, more people claiming than working. It’s just not substantial. I’m not getting at you as I realise you are just claiming what you are entitled to, but it is pretty bad.

What is your motive for this thread?
That rent is rediculous.

You didn’t ought to feel bad about it.

that doesn’t change the fact that is sounds like a lot of money. That said, it like the rent is the main problem here. The rent is just huge.

is someone making a major killing on this rent, at the expense of the taxpayer?

£1300 round here gets you a very small and dingy looking three bed house on an undesirable estate on the private rental market, and we aren't even in an expensive part of the SE

I work full time and don’t even bring that home from my wage and I have two kids to support!!!

The amount you get is crazy!!

Your situation is quite similar to mine. Single parent with two children that are both disabled and unable to work more than part time hours. I wish I could go back to full time as I genuinely enjoyed it but it’s just not possible.

I think you’ve summed up exactly how I feel. I can recognise that I get a lot of support especially due to the children’s disability however I can’t see what it is I’m meant to feel bad about. As you say, if I didn’t claim what I do, the only people that would suffer would be the children and myself. No one else

Basically yes. Private landlords are huge beneficiaries of the sky high benefits and morally that feels deeply uncomfortable

Your take home would equate to a salary for someone without benefits, of around £63-64k which is considerably higher than the national average. Which is probably why people are shocked.

It’s equivalent to a salary of £65,000.
This salary will get you £3,841 per month after tax.

I don’t know what to think about it, really.

I'm sorry but I'm absolutely gobsmacked that someone is getting that much money. I'm sitting here absolutely shattered after a 12 hour day and it makes me want to weep. It's not personal, but I do feel that there is something terribly wrong with why am I working full time and knackered so that people get handed more money than I earn.

So you get £3700 a month? That’s a huge amount of money, that’s more than I get on a £53k salary. How many hours do you work? No wonder there’s going to be an overhaul on benefits.

Agreed.

And I have seen people absolutely hammered on here for claiming they are struggling on that kind of salary

I thought I got a lot at £500 a month. My rent is also capped at £650 even though the actual rent costs me £995!