Playing the system!!

[Bell501]

Are people really better off on benefits than working?
I hear of people going through hard times. To me they can afford more than me..
Rent paid. Rates paid. free school meals for children. Dentist paid. Free Eye tests.
I could be totally blind to it.. has anyone got thoughts on it

Goady thread.

NHS dentists are rarer than hen's teeth.

Many little children have been plunged into poverty thanks to the Tory government and their ideological benefits caps.

As someone else said, what would you prefer to happen at this point, workhouses?

And how do you know this?

Unless you can see their bank accounts, you literally have no idea how they are doing financially or where their money comes from.

There have been plenty of threads on here where people have said what amounts they are getting from UC and advisors have come on to confirm the amounts are roughly correct. Numeorus threads. Single people get very little in benefits but families getting work allowance and numerous other elements really don't do badly.

What exactly is your point?

The typical experience of someone on UC is that outlined above by @Anonym00se

Disabled people get more because they can’t work. Or their children’s needs mean they can’t or both. Let’s not have another thread bashing the most vulnerable people in society

I know a lot about my colleagues finances because she assumed that as a divorced single parent I must also be entitled to benefits, I'm lucky enough to have savings so I don't

I am on UC (LCWRA). I am not fit to work. I get just shy of £800 to live on.
I live alone (no kids).
Dental costs are a joke as there are no NHS dentists taking on where I live. It pisses me off when it is classed as a benefit.

It's so variable.
If I were just on U/C, I'd be left with £440p/m, after rent and CT for me and 1 teenager. But, if the difference between the housing component and the actual rent was smaller, that would rise to £650. If my ex paid maintenance, it would be double that.
So, yes, some do ok, but others struggle to cover the basics.

It's a real eye opener how unfair the whole system is. Thank you

Im 59 and single. For the first time in my life I have just applied for UC. I expect to be back in paid employment in September. I have lived off a small amount of savings for the last two months.
I will receive £393 a month. That just about covers my Council tax and gas/electric.

If I apply for JSA I think I would get around £280 a month - so I could pay the rest of my bills or eat, but probably not both.
Dont think I will be partying on that. I will manage because I know it will be very short term, long term it would be very bleak so yes I would clearly be better off working.

JSA would be deducted from UC so you wouldn't get that extra on top. Have you applied for council tax support? UC really is awful for single non working people.

Being on benefits is the biggest trap you could find yourself in. I while ago we were on tax credit but dh worked full time. We had £223 every week to cover bills but Dh's salary covered rent and CT. We didn't have spare money for unexpected things.

Fast forward now I work full time and Dh works full time. We both save 1/2 of our income monthly and never have to worry we will not have enough for DD, we can save for DC and our future and to top it all of we will both have a private pension on top of our state pension.

Being on benefit you are always waiting for the next payment even though you know it's not going to cover your expenses for that week.

I would never begrudge a disable person or child any help they get but if I could scream from the roof tops I would say to everyone on benefits but healthy get a job and set yourself free.

@Miley1967

I'm not going to bother with anything else.
I'm a foster carer but no child in place at the moment. I should have a child in September so will be earning again.
I own my home so am secure in that sense. I have a full freezer and food cupboard. My bills for August are mostly paid. Things are just very tight.
My son is working and is helping out.
It just wouldn't be sustainable for more than a few months.

I think this thread is goady and I think you know that OP.

I've never known anyone on benefits living a great life and certainly don't envy them having to do it.

There will be some who 'play the system', but they've got issues to do that, so nothing to be envious of really.

I have 3 autistic children on high rate care and low rate mobility. The 2 at school are high needs with full time classroom assistants at school. The youngest was born after 2017 and not yet at school and doesn't receive uc however receives the disabled premium along with 2 older siblings.
The people saying that uc is lots of money for disabled people are correct. I don't receive any cm as ex pays the mortgage (house jointly owned) and he says I get enough which I do.
I have lots of worries that people with no children with additional needs don't have times 3. One example that breaks my heart atm is seeing all the children on our street out playing lovely with each other and knowing that mine can't do that. Also seeing children from my child's class out and about independently and knowing that is so far from my children's reality.
The highlight of my life is being ble to afford a takeaway delivery when I feel like it. My children are all restricted eaters and no time or point in making something just for me.
It's a very isolating life.

Students whose parents are on a low income get a bigger loan, not a grant so it's not a great win. There may be the odd bursary also available but it isn't worth living on benefits for.

Overall though, yes there are some people living on benefits who are better off than some working people. The order probably goes:
1 Working people with decent income
2 non working people with children with extra needs and receiving child maintenance payments
3 Working people on low incomes
4 non working people without children

Having disabled children is very expensive for all sorts of reasons.

What does child maintenance have to do with this though? It's not a benefit. Or do you mean that some people on benefits appear to be better off because the child's father pays for the child like they are supposed to?

It seems to be different here in Northern Ireland they do get a grant on top of their loan and fairly good burserys. Plus the fees are cheaper than anywhere else in the UK thank Yiu for your input

Thank you
yes I can imagine that at x

Is it being used as childcare so they can work though?

I’ve used sports camps during school holidays that are ofsted registered, but their sole purpose was childcare. A regular training session after school or at a weekend would be on very shaky ground. Same as you can’t claim for tutoring, even if they are ofsted registered.

Some seriously perverse thinking going on in this thread. No one claims DLA or ADP for shits & giggles. I have two children claiming disability benefits, both related to autism. The other two don't claim any benefits at all. No one is enjoying the cards they are dealt, with hospital appointments, counselling, etc. It's not fun for the parents. We are not rolling in it, although CAMHS have recommended DS apply for Independent Living Fund, it's a grant you can apply for (up to £4k) to spend on something which can change your life in a positive way. He hopes if he us successful to use the grant money on new sports equipment and driving lessons.

That is terrible. Have you worked and paid taxes? Is this still all You get if you then need to go on benefits shocking

The LHA doesn't change, even if the benefit cap doesn't apply to a claim so they still won't be getting high rents paid in full. They only pay LHA rate for any rent claim

I don’t think it’s a great life on benefits. I do claim a bit of UC, I work full time. There is probably a sweet spot working for so many hours, so they don’t hassle you/ getting full work allowance/ low childcare costs but still getting a decent amount. These jobs are often pretty shitty (I’ve done them!) housekeeper in care home/ hotel hard physical graft for minimum wage but can be done in school hours.

I don’t think I’m much better off doing 36 hours than I was doing 25 hours although on paper I earn about 1k a month more. Once you pay tax/NI/ pension then apply taper minus student loan only take home about 20p for every additional pound earned. This is easily eaten up by additional child care costs/ petrol (work is further away).

Obviously kids are only kids for so long though and its hard to get back to work after a big gap or find a better paid job after years of doing poorly paid stuff. Better to work more/ earn more/ claim less in the long run.