How much does a single mum with 2 children receive in benefits per year?

danijenner

Fran wrote: »

One thing I don't think has been mentioned. If you claim Income Support they will automatically contact the Child Support Agency and the father will be expected to contribute. However you will only receive £10 of whatever he pays. If you are on Working Tax Credits you can keep any maintenance that he pays.

Darn csa!

:wall: :wall: Why? I have just had a look on the CSA website and there is no mention of this, do you have a link ot this online somewhere?

Danielle

Conor_3

WHAT CLOW DOESN'T REALISE is that whilst thinking that staying at home on a govt provided income equal or better than what she earns might seem like paradise, it isn't.

I've been there - not out of choice - and trust me, after a while you start climbing the walls from the sheer boredom of it all. IT IS SERIOUSLY SOUL DESTROYING and gives a lot of people depression, even more so for those who are used to working.

msmicawber

I'm still not convinced that it's better not to work. From reading this I realise that the amount of financial support given is much better than when I was briefly a single mum on IS, HB & CTB 15 years ago, and that working brings its own costs (not least childcare), but having now come out the other side with an average paid job (19k pro rata of £23k full-time) and no childcare costs, I'm definitely better off. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to get as good a job as I have now if I hadn't worked all those years, albeit assisted with HB and tax credits.

I also have paid my stamp and my employers and I have paid into a pension for me all those years which hopefully makes my future brighter. Additionally, there's the adult company, the self-esteem, the role model that I've presented to my children, the remaining part of mainstream life. There's a lot more to it than just money.

Fran

danijenner wrote: »

Darn csa!

:wall: :wall: Why? I have just had a look on the CSA website and there is no mention of this, do you have a link ot this online somewhere?

Danielle

There is some info on this CPAG website.

'Good cause'
Under current rules, a parent with care is required to authorise the Secretary of State to recover maintenance from a non-resident parent if she is in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance. She has 'good cause', for not doing so if there is a 'risk of her, or of any children living with her, suffering harm or undue distress as a result.' If she refuses to co-operate without good cause, she is subject to a 'benefit penalty' (a reduction in benefit equal to 40 per cent of her personal allowance – £20.88 2000/01 rates)

.

Also it's being disucussed on the Parentscentre website.

skintbutsmiling01

"But, I don't want to turn into one of those pjyama wearing scrots!" Sadly that is stereotypical of the view of many single parents on IS, but not always true. Have times really changed from the 70s when opinions like that still flourish?

Pipkin xxxx[/quote]

I know were the poster is coming from on this matter. I hope, if I have not read it wrong! Sadly there ARE people like this, I see them as I drive around for my job, praying my car won't run out of petrol before I get to the cheapest petrol station, 3/4pm in the afternoon, still in PJs, or in town barely old enough to legally buy fags & booze pushing a double buggy, still dressed better than me on my "average" wage.

I also know there are a lot of very honorouble single mums out there, who hate the fact their DS or DD is having as long as day as them, breakfast club, school then after school club, in order for them to earn a "decent" wage to buy then new things, when Little Johnny up the road gets everything he wants, and sees his mum all day!

Fran

***Boardguide comment***

Hi,

skintbutsmiling01 wrote:

Sadly there ARE people like this, I see them as I drive around ............

If you would like to discuss the lives of people you see on the street etc. can you do it on the Discussion board. That way this thread can be used for advice on benefits. Thanks.

tsstss7

Hi Clow

Congratulations btw. I sympathise with the way you are feeling right now but I would advise you to delay making such a big change in your life until you are sure how you would cope (either way).

You do not need to give up work once the baby is born as you will be entitled to maternity pay anyway. This is not huge (112/wk statutory) but means you would not go on to IS straight away.

Also once your baby is born provided you have a job to go back to (regardless of whether you do go back) you will be able to claim working tax credit as well as child tax credits which will probably be a big help to you in the first 9 months.

After that you may well decide to go back to work full-time or part time and will get up to 80% of child care paid for (dependant on income).

Try entitled to as a working person to see likely benefits.

x t.

brila

I woudl definately say don't make decisions now, but see how things go. One of the things that really amazed me was how many of expenses WENT DOWN after having baby. And think hard about how you would fill your days if you didn't go back to work. Where I live there are a lot of cheap (50p or less) playgroup type things where I can meet other grownups. If I didn't have those, I would feel very isolated I think. My other big point is that if you rely on benefits for all your income, then you can lose it all or a big chunk of it because of a politician's whim or an administrative ****-up. My child tax credits have been wonky for months now and I expect I will never recover some of that. Living on benefits means you give up a lot of financial control. You can't decide to do overtime or apply for promotion. You are restricted about where you can live and who lives with you (partner-wise).

See how it goes once baby arrives, but part-time working is a useful compromise. I'm self-employed which means I can be flexible with hours etc. around my toddler and I earn more per hour as I pay less tax than I would in a normal PAYE job. Something else to think about.

Finally, you can't always look at the outside of someone's life and judge their financial situation. Your friend could be mired in debt, on the game(!) or just very good with her money. I have a friend whose house is beautiful and all her family are dressed like super-rich people, but they pretty much subsist on a diet of corned beef and mothers pride and never have the heating on. You just can't tell.

Best of luck with the pregnancy and enjoy your baby whatever you decide.

shazrobo

i'm a single mum of twins, who are nearly 13 years of age, and i would dearly love to go out to work, would love to be able to have adult company.
staying at home is no fun and i'm suffering from depression because of it, i would advice anybody who can work to do it, as living my life is no fun, and its very lonely.
the reason i dont work is my sons have severe disabilities, and often get sent home during the day. i have no family or friends to help out, i got a part time job a couple of years ago, with an employer who was so understanding and flexible, that i was able to leave work as and when i needed to, but if either son was off school for more than one day, there was no way i could make up the hours, and wage was drastically reduced. ended up borrowing so much, that i had to go back onto benefits, to be able to feed and clothe my sons

hope that people understand some that live on benefits genuinly have no choice
shaz

skintbutsmiling01

Sorry Fran.
Clow- have you looked into your current employers maternity package? You can put in requests for flexible working, reductio in hours etc and then claim wtc to top up, as well as spend extra time with your child. Its always worth knowing your rights inside out! Best of luck with your pregnancy- try not to get too stressed about money, other peoples lives etc at this time, won't do you or the baby any good, but there are lots of people here you can rant to if you need a shoulder.