Not entitled to benefits

rosie2894

I’m 23, live in North East England. I work full time, and I also study a degree full time, but because I study with the Open University, it’s classes as part time technically and I’m not entitled to students maintenance loans. 

I have a mortgage, which is cheaper than renting which is great. I down-graded my car, so instead of paying £181 a month, I now pay £80. I budget my food shop, don’t eat out much, I am careful with how I’m spending my money… I am single and live on my own. 

I seen articles on how families may be entitled to benefits even on a wage of £30/40k . I’ve done a few independent benefit calculators, including one from this website but yet I’m still not entitled to anything. My salary is £19,100. I am always very low on money once all the bills are paid, And yet I’m still being turned away for extra support, maybe because I don’t have kids? But how is this fair? Or how do some get benefits, and I’m not entitled to any support. I feel like the system is so messed up, getting worse with rising bills and fuel costs. I’m struggling with money, and have been for a number of years since moving out at 17 years old. 

Anyone know of anything that can be done? Thank you

diggingdude

Unless you have kids a single person on that wage (without disabilities) is unlikely to qualify for anything 

Spoonie_Turtle

Means-tested benefits are completely dependant on circumstances (they don't take actual outgoings into account, except for rent in social housing) and costs are rising for everyone.  

For a little bit of perspective, the standard allowance for a single person under 25 is currently £257.33 per month, or just over £3,000 per year.  If you had a child and/or were renting you would be entitled to a little bit more (not a huge amount and certainly not enough to heat a home and feed/wash/clothe yourself and a child) and most people's rent amount on UC doesn't cover their full rent, unless they are in social housing with no 'spare' bedrooms.  Single people under 35 renting are only entitled to the shared accommodation rate maximum, unless they are disabled or have a child.

The threshold for means-tested benefits is very low, and families claiming UC whilst earning £30k+ usually have at least one disabled person which can increase entitlement.

Edit: I hope none of this sounds judgemental, it's not meant to be.  It was certainly worth you asking to check you weren't missing anything. 

For people who have not claimed benefits it can be difficult to imagine the low amounts the government sets as subsistence levels without actually seeing the figures, contrary to what certain sections of society want us to believe about people trying to survive on benefits.

poppy12345

rosie2894 said:

I seen articles on how families may be entitled to benefits even on a wage of £30/40k .

Anyone know of anything that can be done? Thank you

Indeed the give away there would be "families." As a single person, with no rent and no children there will be no entitlement to any benefits. Unfortunately, they don't take into consideration the bills you have to pay.

theoretica

Children are expensive things to look after!

Is your home big enough to take in a lodger?  That can provide useful extra income and sharing of expenses. 

MalMonroe

Hi, having studied full time for an undergraduate degree myself, I cannot understand how you are managing to work full time and study full time as well. Mine wasn't a distance learning degree but I was also working part time and wouldn't have been able to manage full time work at all as I wanted to graduate with a good degree. 

If you are single and earning £19k p.a. though, it's difficult to understand how you are struggling financially. I've never earned that much (although you may not think it's much). I have struggled financially in the past, which is why I am on this forum now but I am managing to survive on an income that's quite a bit smaller than yours. And run a pretty new car too. 

Have you actually spoken to anyone in the Finance department at the OU? Have you been able to claim any tuition fees?

Not to be rude but if you are struggling to manage financially, you could contact one of the free debt help agencies to see if they can advise you on money management. I like StepChange, since they helped me so much in the past. Not that I'm saying that you are in debt but they do give free financial advice. Which you can either take or ignore.

https://www.stepchange.org/  

With your income you surely won't be entitled to any benefits, particularly as you have no dependants. Please don't envy those people who are on benefits because they are probably not receiving enough to manage on anyway and it's getting more and more difficult for those who really need them to actually get them. 

You said, "I seen articles on how families may be entitled to benefits even on a wage of £30/40k".  Have you really? Families 'may be' entitled. . . . they also may not be.

You also say you are low on money once the bills have been paid.  You're lucky. Some people have no money.

Once you get your degree you will probably have the potential to earn more than you do now. Just hang on a bit longer.

moneymoner

Have you looked into Tax Credits ? Your income is above the threshold for Income Support but not for Tax Credits or Council Tax benefits. You should also apply for a grant if you are with the OU. Being single you will struggle though getting most low income benefits with a £19K salary.

I'm not suggesting you do this but some people are better off financially working part-time with a lower salary and getting top-up benefits.

Torry_Quine

moneymoner said:

Have you looked into Tax Credits ? Your income is above the threshold for Income Support but not for Tax Credits or Council Tax benefits. You should also apply for a grant if you are with the OU. Being single you will struggle though getting most low income benefits with a £19K salary.

I'm not suggesting you do this but some people are better off financially working part-time with a lower salary and getting top-up benefits.

There are no new applications for tax credits.It has to be universal credit 

calcotti

moneymoner said:

Have you looked into Tax Credits ? Your income is above the threshold for Income Support..

It has not been possible to make a new claim for Tax Credits or Income Support since 2018.

GreenCat80

The benefits for families earning £30-40k is probably just child benefit which is only about £20 per week and kids cost way more than that, those people are probably struggling too. Xx

Some people find filling in an SOA is helpful to address their finances- 
https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php
The good people over on the Debt Free Wannabe board are usually really good at looking at these and suggesting where you can cut back or spend smarter if you wanted to post it somewhere ☺️

calcotti

GreenCat80 said:

The benefits for families earning £30-40k is probably just child benefit 

Not necessarily. It depends on their circumstances.