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

This

I assume you're in another part of the UK to me as your numbers for disability don't add up (higher than the lowest rate in England, lower than the middle rate or middle and lowest since it's for two), and carer's allowance would be much more here.

That aside - I don't agree with what you are receiving at all. I don't blame you in the slightest as you didn't invent the system. But since you started the thread and asked for opinions - I do think it's completely wrong that this is available to you. I don't want to go to work full time and work my arse off (and yes I do have a disabled child too) to pay taxes that support other people to work part time and live off this level of benefits. And I won't vote for any government that plans to allow this to continue.

Geez OP! Didnt know Benefit can be that much. You have the same wages as me. I work full time. Raise 2 autistic boys. Should i just not working and claim benefits?. This is wrong. I feel wronged. I pay soo much tax for giving it some to people like you. Dont ask to other who have benefits aswell because why not take the easier road if there is any. You should ask people who work hard full time. And i feel wronged by people like you. Dont said its because you have disabled child. I have 2 autistic boys and i dont even claim carer allowance because i’m not entitled to. You should feel ashamed.

To take your argument against OP and put it back on yourself (since that seems to be the pits this thread has descended to...!)

Why did you have a child if you and your husband couldn't afford it? If he wasn't able to be around for your child in the early days, then you made a poor choice. He or you should have gotten better jobs before starting your family... BLA BLA BLA

We can all punch down.

Its very apparent to a REASONABLE person that OP isn't sitting over there on a cushion of cash, glass of wine in hand chuckling about the lack of stress in her life single parenting two disabled kids & also working part time!

If her lot in life is so enviable to all you toxic unfeeling bullies, perhaps you'll be lucky enough to swap some of your "hardships" for hers some day.

To OP - please do not feel the need to explain yourself to any of these sorry excuses for humankind. The "chip in the shoulder" mentality runs deep in this place.

She has TWO disabled children. Looking after one disabled child is hard, let alone two. And she is doing some work alongside it. This is actually cheap for the government as otherwise they would have to pay for the care that the OP otherwise provides, and providing care is VERY expensive. Carers get fuck all in comparison. The alternative is what? That we leave this family unable to care properly for their disabled children, homeless, or unable to provide for their needs? I don't think people unable to work, as in this case should be on the breadline. They don't have the choice to better their circumstances, this is it.

It's absolutely fucking ludicrous to be honest.

You are spot on !

Those on benefits her received on average 7% increase that’s pensions maternity allowance etc etc

DH recd 2.4% pay rise and with the tax increase to subsidize the benefits, he now earns less that he did in March - so no pay increase and everything has increased.

I think it's a mad world where firms are allowed to pay such low wages.

Benefits overhaul is much needed!

I’m NOT saying you do get 4 figures in maintenance but IF you did - as you aren’t being clear about that can you not see how if you do that generally it is felt that this should be taken be taken into account by the system - NOT just for you, for everyone.

What you receive in benefits without your pay and your housing, is very nearly what I get after tax full time without bills/mortgage/childcare removed. And by this thread I’m not alone!

I have not made any personal attacks on you, I have supported the benefits system and expressed empathy for your situation. But, you are one of many who receive benefits (rightly) but it is equally hard to spend time constantly wondering how to get to the end of the month financially - especially at this time.

you asked the question, should you feel bad/guilty for receiving so much and people are genuinely shocked. This is not to say you shouldn’t receive this in your situation, but quite rightly people are wondering HOW fathers who aren’t resident are not being made more responsible for their families. As I’ve said this is NOT a personal target at you, it’s the system.

Generosity to the disabled should never be I question and thankfully the safety net is there.

Anyway, I wish you well and a healthy and happy life for your children and hopefully you have the opportunity to share the responsibility for caring with their father.

Sorry but I don't want to pay for you to volunteer.

I think it's a mad world where firms are allowed to pay such low wages

Absolutely. They rely on the benefit system to pay their staff.

We need a new system. Better housing. More incentive to work.

Woman are being stitched up and they don’t even know it.

I think this misses the point of why people are feeling aggrieved by it.

It’s not that she’s being supported to care for her children. I don’t think anyone sees that as an issue - it must be hard.

It’s that the state is providing a sum vastly higher than most people earn, are ever able to earn.

A lot of people are really struggling at the moment, they are probably querying why bother if the government would fund £1,400 a month in rent if they didn’t work. These are big sums!

I have 5 disabled dc and get a bit less than OP does in UC. I would also like to add that when my youngest was born, my dh had a good job and only 2 of our dc were disabled, just in case I get piled on.

It's mostly having severely disabled dc that causes the UC to be high. The disabled child element and you are exempt from the benefit cap.

Those of you who are indignant because you earn £40-50k and don't get any help. Put your details into an online benefit calculator and add a few severely disabled children onto your claim. You will find you are entitled to quite a lot. I put in the details of a fictional couple with a mum claiming carers allowance, dad earning £50k a year and 6 severely disabled children. Childcare was 3k a month and I can't remember how much I said their rent was. My fictional family was entitled to 8000 a month in universal credit. Of course they will never be able to leave the house as a family with 6 severely disabled dc and I dread to think how much a car would cost that would be able to fit 6 children, 6 wheelchairs, mum, dad and at least 2 carers. With 6 dc needing pretty much constant care and supervision day and night, they will either have to pay several night nurses or mum and dad will not get much sleep at all. School time will most likely be spent going to appointments or meetings and fighting for the funding that they need at school. For context my 9 year old has just been refused an assessment for an ehcp by the council. He's very autistic, gets high rate care, low rate mobility dla and he eats non food items and self harms. So these 6 fictional children have higher needs than my son but their parents will still have to fight to get the education they need.

I don't know if anyone wants to swap their lives on 50k for my fictional family's life and an extra 8k a month in UC. I'm guessing probably not.

If the children were severely disabled, the disability benefit would be a lot higher. OP is getting barely above the minimum/lowest rate per child in England (assume she's not in England) but can't be that different.

Sorry its tuff world out there. Don't take it out on the OP. We all get different cards dealt to us in life.

It goes to the landlord because that’s the cost of the rent. So she gets a property to live in. It’s not like it just goes to the landlord with no benefit to op, it’s payment for rent. The landlord has bills to pay too and doesn’t care if the tenant is paying from their own resources or benefits.

Precisely .

I think the ones whinging about it just see the figure and imagine their lives as they are with that income - they don’t have the intelligence to realise it comes at a price - the disability elements on UC reflect extremely difficult circumstances.

Sure thing, yeah. I bet she would have her pick of funded childcare options. I mean, it's not like her kids needs could be THAT great that any of the (apparently now abundant) standard old nurseries or childminders would keep them enough so she could top up her hours to be full-time like you - GEEZ, you really are exceptional.

I am an employer and it’s getting very difficult to provide pay rises which match inflation tbh.

Particularly given high tax rates and frozen thresholds.

I reckon about 50% of what we spend as a business ends up in the pocket of the employee too. Tax, NI (both parties), pension etc.

A team member was complaining their bills had gone up £500 per month (mainly rent increase), it would be almost a £10k pay rise to break even.

I'm sure someone could trade you a disabled child or two, if you feel that hard done by. Life with a child with disabilities is a walk in the park and it's not like they grow into disabled adults or anything. 🙄

Surely this thread is a wind up or designed to cause resentment/hatred? Someone on benefits can't be in the top 10% of earners.

In order to bring home that much money a single person would have to be earning in excess of £60,000. I am gobsmacked. I wonder how many working people are supporting each of these families through their taxes while they themselves have a far from affluent lifestyle. No wonder this country is in such a mess.

@Vampirelovebite OP is getting the rate for MRC.(it's doesn't include mobility so she could be on HRM, we don't know).