Will we be entitled to any more benefits?

falko89

BigAunty wrote: »

£389 per week, then due to the correction with child benefit which are around £47 a week (not 188) so overall that's £1685 per month (not £1556, did you just round down each month to a 4 week period in your calculation?).

No council tax discount, then?

Does the child tax credits include working tax credits or are they not applicable now because it looks like your partner perhaps works 16 hours a week whereas WTC is now going to canned for couples with children who work less than 24 hours. Can she not find another 8 hours in order to qualify for WTC.

Of that, you actually get £284 as disposable income in your hand, with nearly two thirds of that from benefits rather than employment.

You really need to model the impact of future employment income on the Turn2us online benefit calculator rather than just assume that your benefits get completely wiped out if you take a job, though the withdrawal will probably be steep.

Also, transport costs to work are a fact of life (though obviously a deterrent to those who feel their income is broadly similar on benefits when they don't work.).

The move to the Universal Credit system is actually planned to make those in employment much better off than those on benefits compared to nowadays when there is simply no point for households to take a full time job or have the second adult in employment.

While you've pointed out that your standard of living may not be much better in employment despite the loss of JSA (but you really need to calculate this properly), there are lots of households who couldn't bear to be 'idle' or want to set an example to their children, plus loads of households where two adults are in employment because they simply don't know that they could trouser so much in benefits if they reduced their hours significantly, saving transport and childcare costs, too.

I hope, OP, you can see I am also pointing out system flaws, not flaws in the claimants.

We don't get council tax in Northern Ireland, and at the moment we don't get working tax either, I can only presume my £67 and housing benefit put us over, but we where not entitled to it just child tax credit, wouldn't be entitled to it now anyway.

If you've seen my threads on the job seekers board, you'll know being idle is doing my nut in, if I could get a job I'd be off benefits in a flash, but its just sad that its not actually worthwhile, my partner could get 4-5 more hours at work, but whats the point if its taken directly of housing benefit and it would be, yes the system is very much flawed I agree, as you say two thirds of our money comes from benefits and its not right,

falko89

fogartyblue. wrote: »

I find this absolutely shocking!

Here we have a family with one of them working part time earning £468 a month and who used to claim benefits of another £1355 a month!!

Now complaining that their benefits are going down to £1088 a month.

As the poster says - it is embarrassing and shows that working does not pay!!

When I was bringing up our 4 children in the 1980's I had to work every hour God sent, sometimes 3 jobs in order to bring the equivalent amount of money in.

The only benefits we received was the Family Allowance, that went on clothes, shoes and uniforms for the kids.

How times have changed - I would have loved to have worked part time for the same level of income.

Yes it was actually a bit cheeky of me looking back, But I agree, work does not pay at all in my position, but as soon as I can get another job I will be back working even if it is for min wage as I can not live this life, its not me.

falko89

I think another important thing that should be taken into consideration which is very popular in this country is that its not made into a race to the bottom, the cost of living at the moment is very high, cutting benefits won't help any, wages need to go up.

mazy_m

It is crazy me and my other half have been considering having children once we're out of debt. I've always wanted to have been in a house for a few years and have a certtain amount of money in the bank.

Everyone I speak to about it laugh and say well in London that'll never happen on your current salary (which isn't bad I thought)

When I checked what we'd be entitled to I was shocked with two kids and both of us working the same hours we do now we would have got some reasonable help but looking at childcare costs where we are for both of us working full time we would have been much worse off.

So I checked if I was to go part time to 16 hours a week on minimum wage and it was like i'd won the lottery we became entitled to so much!! Although I then did me not working (which I wouldn't be able to do i'd go mad!!) and it wasn't as good so it pays to work part time in this instance .

ALthough I was intrigued to see what we'd be entitled to if neither of us worked and not because of disability etc and I was shocked it was something like £23,500 approx....

That's just madness and I can see how people would think why bother working....I'll get paid just as much or sometimes more to stay at home and not do a single days work or a very small amount of work. I don't think we should blame people really it's the government who allows this to happen.

THe people who decide to not bother working as it doesn't pay obviously don't have the same drive and ambition as others so those who do can't judge people based on what they'd do.

Don't get me wrong I'm very angry about how the system is and it's unfair to those of us who work our butts off, wait to have kids, can't afford to buy a house as we don't get additional help in any shape or form. Sometimes I'm so tired from it all and I think !!!! it why don't I join it instead of feeling the injustice.

But I could never not have a job or contribute for my own living.

But don't get me wrong when I have kids it looks like i'm going to have to go part time as I begrudge working my !!! off to pay for someone else to look after them when I could be bonding with them and doing things with them they'll be my priority and them growing up happy and loved. (However not by being materially spoilt or left to their own devices!)

falko89

mazy_m wrote: »

It is crazy me and my other half have been considering having children once we're out of debt. I've always wanted to have been in a house for a few years and have a certtain amount of money in the bank.

Everyone I speak to about it laugh and say well in London that'll never happen on your current salary (which isn't bad I thought)

When I checked what we'd be entitled to I was shocked with two kids and both of us working the same hours we do now we would have got some reasonable help but looking at childcare costs where we are for both of us working full time we would have been much worse off.

So I checked if I was to go part time to 16 hours a week on minimum wage and it was like i'd won the lottery we became entitled to so much!! Although I then did me not working (which I wouldn't be able to do i'd go mad!!) and it wasn't as good so it pays to work part time in this instance .

ALthough I was intrigued to see what we'd be entitled to if neither of us worked and not because of disability etc and I was shocked it was something like £23,500 approx....

That's just madness and I can see how people would think why bother working....I'll get paid just as much or sometimes more to stay at home and not do a single days work or a very small amount of work. I don't think we should blame people really it's the government who allows this to happen.

THe people who decide to not bother working as it doesn't pay obviously don't have the same drive and ambition as others so those who do can't judge people based on what they'd do.

Don't get me wrong I'm very angry about how the system is and it's unfair to those of us who work our butts off, wait to have kids, can't afford to buy a house as we don't get additional help in any shape or form. Sometimes I'm so tired from it all and I think !!!! it why don't I join it instead of feeling the injustice.

But I could never not have a job or contribute for my own living.

But don't get me wrong when I have kids it looks like i'm going to have to go part time as I begrudge working my !!! off to pay for someone else to look after them when I could be bonding with them and doing things with them they'll be my priority and them growing up happy and loved. (However not by being materially spoilt or left to their own devices!)

I'd forgotten about childcare costs, thats another thing we'd have to pay again if I went back to work full time.

Back in the summer my partner was thinking about jacking it in, she was only getting £100 a week, we dished out £40 a week childcare, £20 for parking etc, it really wasn't worth while her working, but we got a benefits check done and we would be worse of if she left work, my wage still put us over for housing benefits etc, but now I got made redundant, with me not working we are almost as well off.

mazy_m

Oh sorry I didn't mean to add another burden to your concerns! Just read your other post and you're completely right wages do need to go up! The cost of living has gone up and my wages have only gone up a tiny bit in the last two years as i've took more and more duties on!

falko89

mazy_m wrote: »

Oh sorry I didn't mean to add another burden to your concerns! Just read your other post and you're completely right wages do need to go up! The cost of living has gone up and my wages have only gone up a tiny bit in the last two years as i've took more and more duties on!

When I was working up until Jan the only time my wages went up was when the tax code changed, you got an extra £10 a month or something, but employers won't pay a decent wage so hard to know where this is all gonna end.

fogartyblue.

falko89 wrote: »

Yes it was actually a bit cheeky of me looking back, But I agree, work does not pay at all in my position, but as soon as I can get another job I will be back working even if it is for min wage as I can not live this life, its not me.

I am so glad that you can appreciate the situation.

I know jobs are hard to come by at the moment.

I too would have done anything to work if I had have been in your situation. But as you agree, the government don't seem to make it financially viable to work, not when you can be worse off by working more hours!

fogartyblue.

falko89 wrote: »

When I was working up until Jan the only time my wages went up was when the tax code changed, you got an extra £10 a month or something, but employers won't pay a decent wage so hard to know where this is all gonna end.

The NMW is big problem, and employers know and take advantage of the fact that people can get significant top ups via benefits to their wages.

So the employers will pay the min and get away with it.

My view is that the NMW should be scrapped as should the benefits that are used to top up income.

Employers will then be forced into paying proper wages to get people to work for them.

We have gone down the 'benefit top up culture' too far.

People should be paid a wage that values the work they do.

falko89

fogartyblue. wrote: »

The NMW is big problem, and employers know and take advantage of the fact that people can get significant top ups via benefits to their wages.

So the employers will pay the min and get away with it.

My view is that the NMW should be scrapped as should the benefits that are used to top up income.

Employers will then be forced into paying proper wages to get people to work for them.

We have gone down the 'benefit top up culture' too far.

People should be paid a wage that values the work they do.

Yes I agree, wages shouldn't need to be topped up, they are only topped up as they are so low to begin with, Working tax was a bad idea.