Full benefits

BigAunty

Around £200 per week in her hand, plus no council tax to pay and the majority or all of their rent paid through housing benefit (depends on LHA limit for the size of property the lone parent is entitled to and some may have to pay towards their rent from their benefits if it is greater than their entitlement). Also assumes the lone doesn't have capital, such as savings, above 6k.

This £200 is composed approximately of £100 tax credits, £67 income support and 33 child benefit. Lone parents currently receive income support until their youngest child reaches 7 when it switches to Job Seekers Allowance but there are plans to reduce this to when they start school.

Any maintenance paid by the non-resident parent is simply on top of this and won't reduce them.

You can perform research on benefit calculators, such as the Turn2us website, plus identify LHA/housing benefit allowances for private and public sector tenancies on local council websites.

The_Write_Girl

Thanks for the reply!

BigAunty

janninew wrote: »

Wow!! £19,000 p/a approx without working! That is amazing!

Yeah, there's an article in a few newspapers about a lone parent with a single child who faces eviction because the rent on her private flat in London was raised to £1100 per month and she fears eviction. It's not quite clear how much she has to pay towards the rent out of her existing benefits and how much is covered by housing benefit.

A couple of readers have calculated that it takes 23 people working full time on the National Minimum wage to generate the taxes to pay her benefits and that the lone parent receives the equivalent of a 29k taxable salary.

Also that the way that a lone parent can escape being put on JSA when their youngest child reachers 7 is to enter education because they will continue to receive income support, tax credits and housing benefit if they become students.

However, the high rents of London will always skew things.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24000058-pound-120000-a-year-tory-tells-desperate-mother-to-live-in-real-world.do

kingfisherblue

Also, some single mums are not in rented accommodation and get only a small amount of their mortgage interest paid. So not everyone will receive the same amount - my mortgage interest payment is less than £100 a month and I make up the rest, plus the remaining amount of the mortgage, and the endowments as well. If I was in rented accommodation, I would get all my rent paid.

Having said that, I will have half a house at the end of my mortgage (my ex will still own the other half). I just mean to point out that what you receive as a single mum can depend on circumstances.

pompeyrich

janninew wrote: »

Wow!! £19,000 p/a approx without working! That is amazing!

It's nearer a salary of £24,500, which would reduce to the £19k when taxed NI etc. is taken into account.

[Deleted User]

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Also, some single mums are not in rented accommodation and get only a small amount of their mortgage interest paid. So not everyone will receive the same amount - my mortgage interest payment is less than £100 a month and I make up the rest, plus the remaining amount of the mortgage, and the endowments as well. If I was in rented accommodation, I would get all my rent paid.

Having said that, I will have half a house at the end of my mortgage (my ex will still own the other half). I just mean to point out that what you receive as a single mum can depend on circumstances.

Very true. I am a single Mum of 1 and so is my collegue at work and we job share. So we work the same hours and get the same pay, Child Benefit and Tax Credits. I rent my house but she has a mortgage, it's quite a small mortgage and she is 10 Years older than me and bought her house cheap. However her income is £400 per Month less than mine as I get housing benefit and Child Maintenence.
Her ex partner is Turkish and gone back there so she's hasn't got a chance of getting a penny, seems really unfair

jojo_2012_2

Thats far more than I have in my hand working £38hrs a week. Shame I have morals.

[Deleted User]

jojo_2012 wrote: »

Thats far more than I have in my hand working £38hrs a week. Shame I have morals.

I never said I had it in my hand? Just extra income?

You must be being paid well below the minimum wage then?

And quite who are you suggesting has no morals?

I never chose to be a Single Parent and I have worked since I was 12 Years old and never in my life been unemployed! :mad:

janninew

I've never believed or bought into single parents getting lots of money, but seeing it all itemised and being told having 2 children and not working you can be entitled to handouts that equal a £24,000 salary!

Having 2 children isn't even usual, I dread how much single parents get if they have 4 or 5 children!

£24,000 is a very good income when you consider what young folk on min wage bring home who aren't entitled to tax credits etc.

I will always take threads I read from now on from single parents saying how much they struggle with a slight pinch of salt. My sympathy shall be saved for people struggling on min wage with no help!

mazza111

Don't worry, those who take the high moral ground will have further to fall. I too found myself a single parent, through no fault of my own, have always worked since leaving school, and now find myself medically retired, no doubt I'll have to go get a job too.

Are prescriptions free in NI as they are in Scotland? Wasn't sure on that one, but i sure as hell don't get anywhere near £19,000. More like £12,000 to £13,000 when everything is totted up, not that I'm complaining about it, I'm glad I'm getting anything for being unemployed and unemployable. As I live in Scotland, I have discounted the prescription charges as they are free for everyone.


I so wish I was able to go out to work and earn my money as I have done for the past 25 years, unfortunately due to a medical condition I can't. I wish I didn't wake up in pain every day, but I do. Just hate coming on these forums and seeing people getting run down for being single parents and/or on benefits. So by all means call me a benefits scrounger or whatever, just remember it could come to you at some point in your life too.

Remember not all people who are on benefits are there through choice.