Online calculator entitlement to UC - is this amount correct?

cherrybakewell90

Hello,

I'm currently staying in temp accommodation with my child. I've been told to fill in a HB request directly with the council rather than a UC claim. However I tried two online calculators hypothetically for future reference - entitled.to and turn2us - to see what my entitlement might be, and the amount contradicts what I was told over the phone by the UC advisor.

I earn 2200 p/m, with 900 childcare costs. I put in a hypothetical rent cost of 1200-1400 p/m for a two bed flat - I am assuming that the council will make me a private offer rather than a council offer but as I live and work in central London, these are roughly the costs of rent IF I am lucky (staying in the area is important as I am trying to maintain a civil relationship with my child's father for the sake of co parenting as it is impossible for me to work otherwise).

Both calculators have come back as me being entitled to about 300 p/w in total.

However the UC advisor I spoke to said that as I earn over about 1200 a month and work a full time job, I won't receive anything and the calculators must be outdated, as they expect a person to be able to live on about £300 a month outside of rent, for food and bills.

Any advice or guidance on this or experience with this? I feel like 300 p/w just doesn't make sense - but perhaps I've done something wrong while calculating.

Thank you

poppy12345

You should never get benefits advice from a UC adviser because it's not their job to give anyone such advice. A benefits calculator is only as good as the information you put into them. UC pays up to 85% of childcare costs but you have to pay the charges first and then claim them back from UC.

How much you spend on food and other bills makes no difference to your UC entitlement.

You are correct about help with the rent, in temporary housing this would be through housing benefit (local Authority) not UC.

I don't know which calculator you used but try this one. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=8f502841-7290-4c82-b8d5-d3a9500b655f

Do you have 1 child and are you under or over 25?

cherrybakewell90

Thanks for your reply!

I applied for UC before I was told that I should just apply for HB only. However, I was still curious to see what I MIGHT be entitled to going forward as it will affect what kind of properties I look at for renting purposes. Of course I don't want to be in a situation where I rent a property only to find out that I am *not* entitled to UC, hence why I checked the calculators.

I would be interested in knowing if there are ever any instances of people who earn around my wage being able to claim UC.

cherrybakewell90

poppy12345 said:

You should never get benefits advice from a UC adviser because it's not their job to give anyone such advice. A benefits calculator is only as good as the information you put into them. UC pays up to 85% of childcare costs but you have to pay the charges first and then claim them back from UC.

How much you spend on food and other bills makes no difference to your UC entitlement.

You are correct about help with the rent, in temporary housing this would be through housing benefit (local Authority) not UC.

I don't know which calculator you used but try this one. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=8f502841-7290-4c82-b8d5-d3a9500b655f

Do you have 1 child and are you under or over 25?

Hi, I tried both entitled.to and turn2us. I have just 1 child who is 16 months old and I am over 25. I claim child benefit for my child but apart from that no other benefits or disabilities or such.

Also, as I did it as a hypothetical for future reference - I checked the 'private tenant' option as that is most likely the type of accommodation I will be in once out of the temp accommodation I am currently in.

poppy12345

There are lots of people that have those earnings and claim UC but it all depends on each individual circumstances and everyone will be different.

Are those earnings net or gross? UC is based on net earnings received during your monthly assessment period. It will also depend whether you're under or over 25.

When you used the benefits calculator it should have given you figures for UC and housing benefit separately.

calcotti

Did entitled.to and turn2us both give you (roughly) the same answer. If so then you can have reasonable confidence in the results.

Spoonie_Turtle

cherrybakewell90 said:

Hello,

I'm currently staying in temp accommodation with my child. I've been told to fill in a HB request directly with the council rather than a UC claim. However I tried two online calculators hypothetically for future reference - entitled.to and turn2us - to see what my entitlement might be, and the amount contradicts what I was told over the phone by the UC advisor.

I earn 2200 p/m, with 900 childcare costs. I put in a hypothetical rent cost of 1200-1400 p/m for a two bed flat - I am assuming that the council will make me a private offer rather than a council offer but as I live and work in central London, these are roughly the costs of rent IF I am lucky (staying in the area is important as I am trying to maintain a civil relationship with my child's father for the sake of co parenting as it is impossible for me to work otherwise).

Both calculators have come back as me being entitled to about 300 p/w in total.

However the UC advisor I spoke to said that as I earn over about 1200 a month and work a full time job, I won't receive anything and the calculators must be outdated, as they expect a person to be able to live on about £300 a month outside of rent, for food and bills.

Any advice or guidance on this or experience with this? I feel like 300 p/w just doesn't make sense - but perhaps I've done something wrong while calculating.

Thank you

The work allowance (earnings disregard before they start making deductions) and the taper rate for earnings deductions will be more generous from December.  Also UC pays towards childcare costs.  Rent depends on your area; an expensive area will always have a higher allowance than somewhere cheaper, and Central London is probably the most expensive area you can get.

If both calculators have given roughly the same answers and you've filled them in correctly, not missed out anything about savings (e.g. any locked away in an ISA still count, only a proper pension pot doesn't) then they're probably right. 

On your wage I think it might be the childcare costs and high rent explaining why you still have any entitlement.

This site is a good overview of how UC works https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/new-to-universal-credit/how-much-youll-get/

cherrybakewell90

poppy12345 said:

There are lots of people that have those earnings and claim UC but it all depends on each individual circumstances and everyone will be different.

Are those earnings net or gross? UC is based on net earnings received during your monthly assessment period. It will also depend whether you're under or over 25.

When you used the benefits calculator it should have given you figures for UC and housing benefit separately.

I just checked as I think this was one mistake I was making - my earnings before tax are about 2800. 

Still, I checked the calculator again and it said about 340£ a month when I put in 900£ for childcare and £1400 for private rent. Very confused!

cherrybakewell90

calcotti said:

Did entitled.to and turn2us both give you (roughly) the same answer. If so then you can have reasonable confidence in the results.

Yes they did, so when I do eventually private rent I guess it might be worth making a claim just to see !

Alice_Holt

"However the UC advisor I spoke to said that as I earn over about 1200 a month and work a full time job, I won't receive anything and the calculators must be outdated...."

   It was very foolish of the UC adviser to make such a silly statement without exact knowledge of your circumstances including housing situation, LHA and rent, number of children, whether any of the children are in receipt of a disability benefit, childcare costs, etc,etc.

  Ignore such nonsense, and take confidence in the benefit calculators (assuming both gave similar results and you input all relevant information correctly).

  DWP staff training is very poor, and their employees frequently take it upon themselves to freely dispense incorrect advice to their customers.

   
    

poppy12345

cherrybakewell90 said:

calcotti said:

Did entitled.to and turn2us both give you (roughly) the same answer. If so then you can have reasonable confidence in the results.

Yes they did, so when I do eventually private rent I guess it might be worth making a claim just to see !

If you prviately rent then you'll be entitled to the 2 bedroom rate of local housing allowance. (LHA) you can check any area by putting in the postcode here. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ This will be paid in with UC if you rent privately, not housing benefit.