understanding UK benefits (from an american)

I have never had to use universal credit so may not be 100% but… Single parents who are working getting help from universal credit to support them live like help childcare rent etc but is all dependant on what you earn and if the dad can give money to. With regards to work, all my understanding is if you quit you have to wait I think 6 months before entitled to benefits as you have chosen to leave however if sacked or made redundant you can apply. Again my understanding is you have to be seen applying for jobs etc. I could be wrong and maybe someone with a better knowledge will also respond. But benefits take whole house income into account as well to what you sr entitled to.

There’s always going to be people who fiddle the system but the way I understand it is that working will always leave you financially better off, that’s the idea anyway. Universal credit replaced a lot of individual benefits like job seekers, housing benefit etc. it should be there for those in need and to top up those who are working but need help.

I only know as much about it as relates to my own situation. I didn’t go back to work after mat leave. We’re not entitled to UC, only child benefit which is a monthly payment that most households are entitled to. When you apply for universal credit they assign an amount that you’d be entitled to based on your provided information. Then they take deductions from that amount based on you/your partners earnings above a certain amount, and savings etc are also taken into account. Once all these deductions were taken into account we aren’t eligible. Thankfully we can live on one income but if my partner had a lower paying job/we had no savings I would have absolutely taken advantage of having access to UC to stay home with my daughter. I’m sure some people abuse it but not my problem. The price of nursery is extortionate, and I’ve worked 10 years and paid taxes. And when she’s older (3+) I’ll work again. For me the best example I can set for my child is being home with her because I can.

@Charlotte I agree with you, the best we can do for our children ( when possible) is to stay home with them when they’re so little and not put the little ones through the stress of being left at a nursery etc. I also believe it will benefit the society overall because putting little kids and babies in nusery etc could cos mental health problems later in life.

@Jenny I don’t entirely agree. It’s best for me because I’m one and done, and I won’t get this opportunity to see her grow again. Also financially it’s just about doable. But if it wasn’t, or even I f we had a little spare money I’d absolutely send her to nursery even if it were just a morning or two as I think they can be great places for socialising, play and learning, and I believe she would love it and thrive there. I don’t believe they cause mental health problems later in life.

A lot of people are working and are on universal credit. It is not just for people not working. The people who are topped up are because they are on a low income. For example minimum wage.

It’s not so easy, it’s designed for people who “need” it for different reasons however like someone said, people do abuse the system.

You don't have to work until your youngest child is 3. You can't just get away with not working indefinitely, which used to be the case years ago.

The system is crazy! We got onto uc when I went onto my maternity pay as me and my partners income wouldn’t cover our rent/ bills, as soon as I go back to work it will stop - I think single households can get more help because their income But yes I know several people who have excuses or simply get away with not working and getting all this money, 2 of the people I know got caught on as there was no reason not work and had to work at least 20 hours or there get their money cut, but others still get away with doing nothing it’s actually crazy!!

Universal credit is a state benefit that is awarded to people on low incomes and isn’t easy to get. They take into account your partners income also so the threshold for getting it means you have to be getting very little money into the house. We have a minimum wage in the UK. Also if someone can’t work for some reason or is earning less than the minimum income the universal credit may top them up. It’s not easy to get despite the press at the moment

actually that’s not how it is whatsoever ! when you have a child, the jobcentre sign you off from work search and having work for THREE YEARS, then you have to start work searching again and trying to find a job because your child is then of school age (for preschool). and most of us take that opportunity to be signed off to actually spend time with our children for the first three years of their lives rather than doing what the americans do, which - as far as i can tell - is fucking their kids off to daycare so they can go and “set a good example” for their kids and go back to work🙄do you not WANT to spend time with your kids ? it’s not that we DONT want to work, it’s because we’d rather raise our kids to school age before we do ! and before you say that i have a very stuck up response to your post, i’m only giving back the energy you gave out, because your post was a VERY stuck up view on a life that we’re lucky to have available in the UK because it’s BETTER than how it is in the us

and proof that it’s better is the amount of american friends i have who would do ANYTHING to live in the UK, ESPECIALLY the friends of mine that have a family to raise !

also by the sounds of your post you don’t even live over here so why are you even in this group ?

@Ellen I disagree on them not wanting to spend time with their child, they don’t get SMP over there as we do in the UK as far as I’m aware and they have to use and save their holidays they have earnt to be able to actually not go back to work the day after giving birth. Unless they have around 20k in savings (if not more), a lot of Americans can’t afford to be off with their child for longer than 30 days or so x

I choose to take the 1year maternity leave as I have a great maternity package (thankfully). But I couldn’t stay home for 3years as UC won’t give much due to my husband’s salary however we need 2income for our bills and to live the life we want to live.

@Ellen i’m purely curious how it works, my post wasn’t a dig at people living in the UK not the system. i was asking as i see lots of posts about people leaving their job, who are able to as they can rely on the government benefit - so i curious why people could do this whilst others had to work and didn’t get government money. like @Kiera has said, in the US we have to return back to work as we don’t get a maternity benefit or allowance after we give birth. i’d love spend more time off and with my kids but it’s not possible unless you do have huge savings as we don’t get government help. lastly i’m not in the England group, (and even if i was, it’s none of your business), i just see some of the posts that i mentioned about in my first paragraph in my “for you” page. also, there’s no need to start claiming your country is better than mine, both counties have pros and cons. thanks everyone who has replied to my post, i have a little more understanding on this topic now.

I wish! I can't even get my income topped up as my partner "earns too much" apparently.

The only way I can imagine people are getting their pay topped up is if they aren't claiming as a couple despite living together. None of my business if that's the case but it's impossible to get assistance now even if you're desperate.

@Charleigh you get more ‘allowance’ with more children, disability’s, rent etc also. If you don’t rent and have 1 child in a couple. Your allowance would likely be wiped out by 1 persons wages. Smp is also taken £ for £. Have you done a manual calculation to double check? The online calculators aren’t accurate xx

@Ellen I think that is a little unfair. I don’t think the original post was a dig I think it was genuinely intended to enquire because the US has a very different system. We have much better maternity benefits and as far as I know maternity pay is non existent in the US let alone any state benefits.