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Single parent with 18 year old about to start uni

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  • Elle00
    Elle00 Posts: 775 Forumite
    yvonneem wrote: »
    I would just like to say to the "get a full time job" brigade, I am a community nurse working with life limited children, I have raised four children and always worked part time but never leaving them alone for even a second. I worked whilst they were at school. I claimed absolutely nothing but child benefit but unfortunately through no fault of my own I found myself alone and in a situation that is incredibly hard. But I have survived and am very proud to have done so. Any money that I have claimed over the last two years, yes just two years, does not come close the the amount I and my then husband have paid into the sytem for 35 years. As Martin says don't be ashamed to claim, its my right and yours.

    Actually you've had very pleasant responses. It isn't the "get a full-time job" brigade that have posted at all but those in similar situations offering genuine advice on what your entitlement is.

    Your entitlement is nothing.

    I'm sure you worked a lot in your life but your life isn't over yet and you're presumably a while off retirement.

    The system is able to support those who cannot work because they're home with children, whether they were abandoned or widowed, but it's not there just to support people who don't want to work full-time when their kids are all grown up.

    Just remember that in paying into the system for the rest of your working life you will get your opportunity for paid leisure time when retirement comes the same as everyone else does. I may be on benefits at present but I'm hardly sat around doing nothing when I have a 2yr old to raise and a home-work job besides.

    What really upsets me is that it's posts like this that mean people like me have to put up with all the nasty posts that are really intended for people like you.

    If you're not at home looking after a child then why shouldn't you be at work like everyone else is?
  • LilacPixie
    LilacPixie Posts: 8,052 Forumite
    yvonneem wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. I thought that full time student meant just that and not that it depended on what level they were studying at.


    A full time student is a full time student, however, entitlement to benefits such as child benefit and tax credits are reliant on the student studying at a 'non-advanced' level and therefor still being dependent on you. I think these provisions were put in place so children of low income families could study a-levels and lower banded college courses rather than being forced to go to work at 16 to help support the familly unit.

    Your daughter is now 18 has obviously completed a-levels to gain a place in university she is now an adult in her own right and not your dependent.

    As an adult with no dependents working 16 hours a week you have no 'right' to benefits. If your salary at the moment does not cover your basic essential bills such as rent/council tax/untilities etc them you will have to either increase your salary or lower your outgoings.
    MF aim 10th December 2020 :j:eek:
    MFW 2012 no86 OP 0/2000 :D
  • SmileBeHappy
    SmileBeHappy Posts: 9,124 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You daughter will be able to get a loan and some ungodly huge grant for uni...

    I live off just a loan (most of which i save anyway) and my own money from work.

    If she wants to help you... she could easily afford to give you alot of the cash the governement gives her

    Other than that... a Job might be the order of the day
  • DaisyFlower
    DaisyFlower Posts: 2,677 Forumite
    yvonneem wrote: »
    I would just like to say to the "get a full time job" brigade, I am a community nurse working with life limited children, I have raised four children and always worked part time but never leaving them alone for even a second. I worked whilst they were at school. I claimed absolutely nothing but child benefit but unfortunately through no fault of my own I found myself alone and in a situation that is incredibly hard. But I have survived and am very proud to have done so. Any money that I have claimed over the last two years, yes just two years, does not come close the the amount I and my then husband have paid into the sytem for 35 years. As Martin says don't be ashamed to claim, its my right and yours.

    Money you have paid into the system isnt there for you to draw on as you fancy just working a few hours a week - its not a savings scheme.

    Your children are now adults and probably haven't needed looking after for the last couple of years due to their age.

    People have not been mean on this post at all, just simply stating that you should support yourself and that the state shouldnt.
  • Try income support, or go here: http://www.entitledto.co.uk/
    And youll see what you're entitled to!

    Your daughter should be able to claim student finance, If shes living at home, and your household income is very low, she will get the full maintance grant and loan. These are a total of about £2,500 a year each. This could be a safety net incase the worse happens!

    in addition to this at most unis she will be entitled to a bursary at the maximum amount,it varies from uni to uni but my daughter will get £1500 a year from september in addition to the maintenance grant and student loan,so she should have an income of £130 per week,maybe she could also get a part time job?
    and as others suggest maybe you could work more hours,but thats your business not ours.
  • Ive just had a thought(!) whilst the ctc will end in july the family allowance wont end until the last monday in august,im not sure how that affects housing benefit,but i`d have thought that the daughter would still be a dependant whilst family allowance was in place,i know when kids were on I/S claims that payment continued whilst family allowance was being paid
    AS i said just a thought.
  • clairec79
    clairec79 Posts: 2,512 Forumite
    If she is living at home while at uni, you'll get a 25% discount on your council tax (assumign you are the only two living there - but you should have been getting that anyway)
  • space_rider
    space_rider Posts: 1,741 Forumite
    I phoned tax credits a week ago to tell them that my 18 year old has finished college and will be going to uni in October. My tax credits for her will stop too. I anticipated that and increased my working hours so that I would be earning the amount that I get for her. I have a chronically ill 8 year old so I could have done without increasing my hours as I struggle to work the extra hours when she is ill. Thankfully my employer is understanding and will let me work in the evenings when I have someone to look after her. Can you not increase your hours or even do bank nursing? I have a friend who has a child with Cystic Fibrosis and she is a nurse too, she has had to take on extra hours as her 18 year old finished A levels.
  • sjaypink
    sjaypink Posts: 6,740 Forumite
    I phoned tax credits a week ago to tell them that my 18 year old has finished college and will be going to uni in October. My tax credits for her will stop too. I anticipated that and increased my working hours so that I would be earning the amount that I get for her. I have a chronically ill 8 year old so I could have done without increasing my hours as I struggle to work the extra hours when she is ill. Thankfully my employer is understanding and will let me work in the evenings when I have someone to look after her. Can you not increase your hours or even do bank nursing? I have a friend who has a child with Cystic Fibrosis and she is a nurse too, she has had to take on extra hours as her 18 year old finished A levels.
    but in your case you have a younger child so you should still be getting tax credits? with cases such as yours i would have thought that the money you lose is nearly equivilent to what you spend out on your daughter- which you will no longer have to now?
    this doesn't read very well does it :o - im not making much sense! im trying to say it seems wrong that you have to work more hours with an ill child to look after :confused: i think!
    We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses. Carl Jung

  • sjaypink
    sjaypink Posts: 6,740 Forumite
    yvonneem wrote: »
    I would just like to say to the "get a full time job" brigade, I am a community nurse working with life limited children, I have raised four children and always worked part time but never leaving them alone for even a second. I worked whilst they were at school. I claimed absolutely nothing but child benefit but unfortunately through no fault of my own I found myself alone and in a situation that is incredibly hard. But I have survived and am very proud to have done so. Any money that I have claimed over the last two years, yes just two years, does not come close the the amount I and my then husband have paid into the sytem for 35 years. As Martin says don't be ashamed to claim, its my right and yours.

    btw, maybe this was not a reference to those that replied, but a kind of forewarning (<- whats wrong with me im usually far more coherent than this:confused: :rotfl: ) to anyone who was going to jump in and start critisising.....
    as i have noticed happens fairly often on this board :D
    We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses. Carl Jung

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