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

That’s why we need more of the social housing that everyone hates because the private rents are taking the piss but oh no, not in my back yard.

@DeeCeeCherry I absolutely agree- but under the current rules the OP would be getting that 'on top' - as well - ---not instead of

I've mentioned before someone I know who gets £800 a month maintenance- still gets £2.2k from UC (£640 of which is rent) - so effectively gets £3.2k a month including child benefit and does 6 hours a week work- she says it's not worth her while to do more. She's open about this and nor is she hassled! Personally I think that £800 from the father should be factored into the claim and UC reduced accordingly.

I don't get the Tory's- tight Asa ducks arse on so many aspects of life and get in some cases giving UC out Willy nilly in cases of able bodied women with school aged kids who simply can't be f**d .

The situation with the OP here is totally different due to disabled children -

Op do you have 4 children or 2?

Another great idea ! Let’s institutionalise very young SEN children so that their exhausted parents can be forced to work and then collect them and have a sleepless night just to repeat it all day after day. That is a great idea because otherwise unknown pain and long term suffering might affect taxpayers who think they are supporting these carers and that’s not fair !

We’d all be entitled to that though? Clearly people are choosing to build a pension pot a savings pot and pay off a mortgage because we want a more comfortable life.

All the people moaning here are being ridiculous. If you think it’s so much better claiming benefits then quit your job, spend your savings, move into private rented accommodation, and then come back here and tell us how much better life is.

nobody wants to blame the greedy landlords though do they ….

I won’t say their ages as this thread is already outing as it is.

One child definitely won’t be able to live independently. The other may possibly be able too however they’ll still need a huge input from social care. I honestly don’t have a plan for the future as I just about make it to the end of the day to be honest! It’s something that I definitely need to think about.

Carers save the government a whole load of money but I think that some people like to ignore that point. Thank you for acknowledging that

Right To Buy means the council sold off the flat to its tenants at up to 33% off with a guaranteed 100% mortgage from the same council. Now the council is paying £1,450 a month to rent the same flat while an identical flat that’s still council owned is renting for £425. That’s what the Tories did.

So… it’s a huge amount. As has been pointed out - it’s a £65k salary.

That makes you a ‘high earner’ in the UK. Attracting tax rates of >50% if you have a student loan.

Should you feel bad for claiming what the government is willing to give you? No - anyone would claim what they could.

Is it an unsustainable situation? Yes.

We have created an issue in the UK that the gap between working full time and part-time and claiming maximum benefits is increasingly small.

But - at the same time - if that’s the money you need for rent, for childcare etc… what hope do you have to survive as a single parent family without the income? Particularly with disabled children?

The bit I find grating is actually the paying of rent for a former council house, when you could be paying a mortgage off and have long-term security for your children / be paying far lower rents in social housing. What a monumentally stupid policy from the government over recent decades.

It really emphasises how poor salaries are in the UK IMO.

Yes. This is the system a small but very vocal group on here want. For work to be financially meaningless yet somehow enough people still wanting to do it to support people who don’t want to, or can’t.

If you are willing to swap your health for more money there are clinical trials you could do? Or pathways like sexwork

Also why are people up in arms at landlords? They made sacrifices to buy houses now they either have little or no mortgage or an increasing mortgage and therefore tenants paying for this. Landlords or ladies worked hard to secure property and are now running it as a business and for some sole income. They actually worked to get the property yet somehow are the enemy?! But people taking £3k of benefits is ok and the government isn’t a problem. Private landlords are. No it’s the government the anger should be aimed at, not landlords/ landlady’s

@Fourgreycats Greedy landlords are ripping the piss in a housing crisis because they can. That’s where the bulk of benefits money is going

Please don’t feel you need to justify anything or give any details about your dc. This thread is awful and I’m shocked at some of the attitudes. You’re doing he absolute best you can and I’m sickened that some people are so ignorant and judgemental

Dont forget you need to adopt twi disabled children if you cant produce your own.

Not pension credit we wouldn’t be.

Most people won’t do that because we’re sensible enough to realise it would topple the economy.

It doesn't matter whether the dad pays for the kids because guess what? UC completely disregards it so dad could pay £5 or £5k a month and OP would still get the same amount of benefits so what difference does it make?

No, you shouldn't feel bad. You are claiming what you are entitled to. If others were living your exact circumstances then they would also be entitled to the same. You aren't getting preferential treatment, just support with your specific circumstances.

Really? I just checked my payslip it says, PAYE: £199. So my earnings is £995, deductions of £218 and net pay is £777. Gosh if that’s wrong then I seriously need to look into this

People who are entitled to nothing from the government cannot live on benefits if they 'quit their job' because they pay too much into the system.

She earns 3x my amount and I work full time.

It's just so variable. You have some single people on an absolute pittance barely able to survive then you have some getting thousands.
This is an example of a couple I helped to claim pension credit recently. Couple both just turned pension age both on higher rates of PIP- him for anxiety ( unable to leave the house etc ) and him for Lung disease, heavy smoker etc. These PIP claims are likely never to be reviewed now as they will be ' light touch 'cases. The PIP alone came to over £1500 a month, they had 2 x state pensions total of around £1200 a month combined. They got all rent and council tax paid. the Pension credit calculation I sorted for them meant they then got £149 a week in pension credit too- claiming carers premiums for each other and disability premiums. Total income of around £3400 after all rent and council tax paid. Even they were astounded at the amounts. They don't need to pay for carers, wife was physically able and looked after husband although he was fairly mobile within the house. They rarely went out, they didn't need a cleaner as she was physically able to do the cleaning.
I see this again and again. I know people will come on and say well the PIP is for the extra costs of disability etc and that is correct but 3.4 k a month with no rent to pay is madness.
I honestly don't think the vast majority of people realize how much some get. This may be an extreme example. I did have another couple in a similar situation who refused to claim the pension credit as they said they already had quite enough.
Fully expect to be told I am in the wrong job but I genuinely love helping the very needy ones who get nothing to maximize their benefits income. It doesn't stop me being shocked at some of the amounts.

Oh I think it matters to a lot of people on here who clearly begrudge the OP and others like her the support they need

If she was getting 5k a month from father of the year then she really should be ashamed of claiming that much in benefits

Yes everyone saying ‘don’t feel bad, you’re just doing what you’re entitled to do’. Well so are landlords who mostly earn less than 60k a year from letting?

Leave off. They’re lining their pockets with the government’s money. How do you know if someone worked hard to buy a house to rent out at an inflated rate? The house could have been inherited