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

Faux naivety? So no OP has ever read a comment on their thread that’s made them see things from a different perspective? Ok. Let me stop responding to the personal attacks because some of these comments are very strange

The revenue was meant for the building of more social housing. What happened to that?

The whole system needs a complete overhaul.
Us full time workers who get a pittance of what the OP is getting have our daily struggles too. Our lives are far from perfect. Yet we are told to 'suck it up'

How can anyone possibly begrudge a single mother of two disabled children (who still works!) this money? I imagine OP's life is very stressful and I imagine there are a lot of extra expenses in having two disabled children. OP, I sincerely hope there is some left over at the end of each month for some treats for you all.

@Mademetoxic

When I want to get angry about people taking taxpayers money they didn't need/ had highly questionable entitlement to, I turn my thoughts to the bounce back loan scheme run during COVID.

The amount defrauded or just taken because it was available will make you weep.

Mothers or children with life long disabilities a pretty low on my list of people to feel resentful of.

I really appreciate your point of view. If we’re being honest, I don’t think some people care that I’m a carer and have disabled children. They’ve seen the amount that I receive and that’s all they see, pound signs. No care or curiosity as to what our day to day life is like.

I used to work full time, I used to have a career that I enjoyed. Is this the life that I actually thought I’d have as a parent? Hell no. I appreciate those that have answered the questions and to those that have shared their views/feelings on the amount received (even though that wasn’t the point of my post) without including personal attacks

Who is telling you to ‘suck it up’?

How will overhauling the benefits system help you to raise your wages?

OP, look into your wages because you shouldn't be paying that much tax on your wages. You shouldn't be paying any tax.
And tbf to you, the majority of your UC goes elsewhere. Ie, your landlord. And you live in London so rents are ridiculous anyway. Plus carers don't get the credit they deserve.

If it’s legal - which it is - to claim UC and get ANY amount of maintenance what is the problem? Why should those on UC feel forced to accept less than they are legally entitled to have just to make others feel better and not hard done by. It’s not up to OP to offset the jealousy of others by making a martyr of herself if that is in fact the situation with her finances ??

How many of you would do the same in any other situation ? Apply it to anything you like - so you have savings but access nhs care - is that wrong ? So you should be moral and pay privately because you can to free up a space for the next person on the nhs waiting list ??

You can't be very smart if you showed a table of people struggling financially what you receive and you are asking for perspectives? Isn't it kind of obvious what reaction you will get?

The most recent figure I can find is from 2016.

£9.3 billion in housing benefit paid to private landlords.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/20/private-landlords-9bn-housing-benefit-taxpayers-national-housing-federation-report#:~:text=7%2520years%2520old-,Private%2520landlords%2520get%2520%C2%A39.3bn,benefit%2520from%2520taxpayer%252C%2520says%2520report&text=Taxpayers%2520handed%2520over%2520%C2%A39.3,according%2520to%2520a%2520new%2520report.

OP ignore all the ‘Aunt Lydia’s ’.

Nobody needs to know your personal business.

You are claiming what you are entitled to.

You are fighting for your kids future. That’s all anybody needs to know.

That’s not what I meant by comment at all. The comment I responded to made it sound like ‘why should I work full time to pay for you who’s doing fuck all and has much more money than me.’ I responded to say ‘I pay tax too’ as a ‘I also put something into the system (albeit it’s a very small amount in comparison).’

I think that people are allowed to feel resentful. I don’t think people should resort to personal attacks as if I’m the one who has created the system personally. I also think people should consider circumstances and if their circumstances were the exact same as mine, they’d also be able to claim such elements. Everyone has struggles in their lives 100%

Wiki says that the revenue from right to buy:

Firstly local authorities were required to sell at a discount, usually 50%. So the local authority only got half of the value of the house.

Secondly the national government required the money to be spent on the local authority debts not building new housing.

So there was never any intention that the money should be used to build more houses (if Wiki is to be believed)

This country cannot support this anymore.

Why should people who work full time who have their own struggles, issues etc be getting far less than this OP?

It should pay to work full time. Clearly does not.

This happens across the country.

I get no financial help from the government at all.

That figure from 2016 had risen 42% since 2008. Given that it’s now 2024, it could be £13 billion by now.

That’s crazy. You’re not even eligible for UC with savings over 16k!

I am older than you, my children are young adults. When they were young I worked as hard as you are now. Yes it was hard. But I paid off the mortgage, am largely free and can now afford to do what I want (within reason). You’re investing in your future. Not everyone can do this.

And this thread should provide some reassurance that there is a safety net if your child becomes disabled and your partner leaves or dies. The OP is making use of this safety net. Be grateful you don’t need to.

Are you advocating for a society that would see disabled kids going hungry or homeless?

What’s your tax code? Sounds like you’ve been put on the wrong one

Everyone has struggles but there’s a system to recognise those that require certain UC elements - if you don’t meet the threshold for DLA/ PIP and the corresponding disability/severe disability/carer elements then you don’t qualify. That means the system has officially recognised the struggles that meet the criteria and if you don’t then you need to either appeal that or look at other ways to increase your income (and in the absence of disability you should be able to take on more paid employment)

RTB was to buy votes. It worked (short term). Now even many of the original people who did RTB realise the mistake. Their children and grandchildren can't get housing.

Although it was to buy votes, the official reason given was to give people a stake in society. Which was obviously untrue because if that was the case why weren't private tenants also given money to buy somewhere very cheap? Why weren't people who had their homes repossessed when they couldn't pay the mortgage given money to keep their homes?

(I understand that although Thatcher introduced it, the idea was originally a Labour one. Labour also didn't end it (and I think still don't plan to?). I'd say both Tories and Labour are to blame.)

You are in receipt of approximately £48000 per annum and are working part time. While the rules allow you to claim this you are not doing anything wrong at all and should not feel guilty but you should be aware how lucky you are. I know many people in full time hard graft employment who earn less than you.

So we are not allowed to feel resentful that someone who works full time and earns a full time wage, who gets no help from the government comes out with less money?

The system needs a complete overhaul. Everyone who voices this just gets beaten down somehow.

This

Do you care for two disabled children?