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thought government were going to make it easier to get off benefits and back to work. I have had to give up work and return to being full time mum. It was going to cost me £30 for the privilege of working. Earn £140 a week, housing benefit is reduced costing me an extra £50 a week, council tax goes up £150 a month, tax credits go down £150 a month and of course extra petrol and parking = £30 down a month :(
The present system is the making of the former govt. You need to give the new govt a chance to put things in place :thumbsup:
Your example is exactly what's wrong with the current system.... well, that and the complexity of it.
husky03
22-11-10, 06:15 PM
its not right-brings the question forward of why the government encourage people to have kids who without benefits can't afford them-society is fecked up
its not right-brings the question forward of why the government encourage people to have kids who without benefits can't afford them-society is fecked up
the children I can afford, the housing is another matter :(
its not right-brings the question forward of why the government encourage people to have kids who without benefits can't afford them-society is fecked up
See my comments above re: the last govt :thumbsup:
husky03
22-11-10, 06:26 PM
I don't do o/t if i can help it because the following year the wifes tax credits get reduced to about £2 a month if i go beyond a certain level(which is only about an extra 2-3 grand)-it seems that your not allowed to go beyond a certain level of living , which is so bloody unfair.How are you meant to improve your future and that of your kids if your not allowed to work for it?.
I don't do o/t if i can help it because the following year the wifes tax credits get reduced to about £2 a month if i go beyond a certain level(which is only about an extra 2-3 grand)-it seems that your not allowed to go beyond a certain level of living , which is so bloody unfair.How are you meant to improve your future and that of your kids if your not allowed to work for it?.
exactly. I have worked for about 25 years. paid tax etc. Dont like sitting at home doing nothing and not earning but when you try and help your family you get stomped on. youngest is nearly 2 and when she goes to school I will go back to work but until then I will just need to be content with working on a sunday.
Fizzy Fish
23-11-10, 08:18 AM
Soon to be a mum myself, I'm also beginning to see how frustrating some aspects of the system are.
So many of my mum friends seem to be in the same situation as you Hazel - their salary just won't cover the costs of working. Childcare seems to be the main issue, but as you say then there's all the extra costs of council tax, etc.
For me it's still just about worth me going back to work next year, though helped a lot by the fact that I'm lucky enough to have an employer who is willing to take me back with flexibility around childcare, etc.
What is particularly annoying though is how the current set up seems to reward long-term apathy, and disproportionately penalises those who have tried to get on in life, own their own home, etc
A single mum friend of mine earns £40K pa, but has taken some time off to have her daughter. During this time she gets less than £500/mth maternity pay - that doesn't even covers the mortgage on her modest 2 bed flat. £40K is a decent enough wage, but she's not some high-flying wealthy type, and is struggling to cover her living costs to the extent that she's already going back to work after just 4 mths.
However if you have always lived on benefits, there is little impact on you if you have a child - you have never had higher outgoings so don't feel the same impact of the loss of earnings (e.g potentially having to move house). Essentially you just switch from one benefit to another, your housing costs are covered, and you also get money to buy the baby stuff, etc. And you get to spend 24/7 with your child. In that situation, why would people choose to go out to work? It's completely understandable - yet it's the working people (including mums like my friend) who pay extra tax to allow someone else to do what they would love to do themselves.
The wider problem seems to be general cost of living (in particular housing) that means these days generally both partners need to work/claim benefits to get by. Would be nice if people had the choice to bring up their child without having to work (esp FT), and probably better for the child as well.
That's not exactly an easy fix, but the current situation would be helped a lot if childcare were cheaper, and it would be fairer on working people if the tax/benefits system were stacked more in their favour.
Rant over!
timwilky
23-11-10, 09:47 AM
Benefits are for poor people.
Those in work shouldn't need/get benefits.
http://www.gtouk.org.uk/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_dummy.gifOK, it is not fair, why should you lot get free money and I can't? http://forums.sv650.org/javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:emoticon%28%27:dummy:%27%29
Dicky Ticker
23-11-10, 10:57 AM
I would just like to add that it is not worth saving for your retirement.You end up paying tax on the money you have saved when it is added to the state pension and the better off you are the less you get.
EXAMPLE= For every £500 of savings you have over £6000 they reduce the pension credits by £1 per week. Obviously decided when you got a reasonable rate of interest on savings but where can you invest money today and get a 10+% return.
I had to finish work 5 years early due to medical grounds and had worked out that things would be comfortable if a little tight but by the time I pay tax and government deductions on my pension I am about £50 per week down..OK £50 per week may not seem a lot of money when you are earning decent money but when you end up on a fixed income you feel the pinch.
This government like any other will rob you till the day you die and still want more.
timwilky
23-11-10, 11:04 AM
DT, if the current governments plans come to fruition there should be no such thing as pension credits, everybody would get a universal pension entitlement. The current system did/does little to encourage people to fund their retirements and as such penalised those who saved over those who peed it against the wall.
Soon to be a mum myself,
ooh another org baby. when are you due? Hope the pregnancy has been smooth. congratulations x
Fizzy Fish
23-11-10, 04:03 PM
ooh another org baby. when are you due? Hope the pregnancy has been smooth. congratulations x
Cheers :D Am due on 6 Jan, and all seems to be going well so far. Just finished work - hence the increase in loitering on the forum ;)
ooh day before my "baby's" birthday - she will be 18 years old lol. hope it all goes well, look forward to seeing pics of the new arrival. all the best x
Luckypants
24-11-10, 10:46 AM
thought government were going to make it easier to get off benefits and back to work. I have had to give up work and return to being full time mum. It was going to cost me £30 for the privilege of working. Earn £140 a week, housing benefit is reduced costing me an extra £50 a week, council tax goes up £150 a month, tax credits go down £150 a month and of course extra petrol and parking = £30 down a month :(
My lad has been told the same thing, pretty much. He was told he would be £30 a week better off on benefits. He wants to work so managed to get some more hours at another branch, but the extra fuel costs means its still a break even situation. I understand how this is such a trap. :(
ooh day before my "baby's" birthday - she will be 18 years old lol. hope it all goes well, look forward to seeing pics of the new arrival. all the best x
Pics of your 'baby; Kitkat? ;)
j/k by the way :D
KK i know how you feel Wayne and I are not entitled to any benefit whether i work or not my child tax credit is 12 quid a month whether i work or not. The problem I have at the moment my company is moving further into london we lose our free parking privalige so ontop of the 50 quid a week petrol I will now have to fork out 50 parking too.
I am going to see about temping in the new year as the agencies don't seem to have any part-time/job share jobs going in my area.
Fizzy fish - good luck i hope all goes well and can't wait to see pics xx
timwilky
24-11-10, 11:17 AM
There was a woman locally, who was complaining that she needed a job that paid out £60,000 just to match what she got by way of benefits. (http://www.lep.co.uk/news/regional/single_mother_criticises_benefits_trap_1_2365969) Benefits are a trap, I know the government is now saying that work should pay. But as a country we need more than rhetoric, otherwise benefits do become a trap.
slark01
24-11-10, 11:20 AM
Been in the same situation for the past 4 years. Now that I think I could afford to work, I find out that the agencies do not want me, due to the fact I cannot prove what I have been doing.
Such is life in the UK.
PS- At least i've been able to see my my daughter grow and I get to see all the little milestones. So overall, still happy :-)
Ste.
working sucks anyway, most jobs these days seem designed to grind you down.
SoulKiss
24-11-10, 12:45 PM
working sucks anyway, most jobs these days seem designed to grind you down.
Well get a job you like then - mine is great :)
As for benefits - well the bill would be lower if some bright sparks hadn't sold off all the social housing in the 80's and left us taxpayers having to pay market rate to house people who need it.
Was a real eye-opener being unemployed for 4 months of this year, the main thing being that the only people who benefit from the system are those that know how to game the system.
For example, not getting an unemployment benefits claim backdated for 6 weeks because I mistakenly thought that you had to be unemployed for that amount of time before you could claim - ignorance of the system was not a valid reason. What was particularly annoying was that in the time I HAD worked this year I had paid more than that amount INTO the system in NI contributions...
Maybe the "Social Wage" concept needs to be looked at - EVERYONE get an amount from the State, say £750/month to live on, thats food, clothing, rent, travel (£9k/year), then when you get a job the paid out amount is taken straight back as tax - if you earn less than £9k then you still pay it back, with what isn't paid back being a top-up on your wages.
Very simple to adminster - everyone gets it so no form filling required, just provide them with bank details t have the money paid to, and the tax-man can sort out reclaiming it from people who are earning.
Remarkable absence of 'workshy' and 'scrounger' comments:confused:
SoulKiss
24-11-10, 02:30 PM
Remarkable absence of 'workshy' and 'scrounger' comments:confused:
Thats because I think that we all know someone personally (not just off the .org) who has lost a job in the last year or so.
So not everyone on benefits is a workshy scrounger these days.
However I have a little less sympathy for those that chose to leave work for whatever reason and then bemoan that the system doesn't keep them in the style they were accustomed to.
DaveW_42
24-11-10, 03:18 PM
if someone would be say, £30 a week worse off working would it not be best for the governement to top up their wages to say £20 above what they'd be on if they were on benefits? That way the person has a job, feels more involved, contributes to the system, etc. etc. and instead of paying out £200 in complete benefits or whatever, they pay about £50?
if someone would be say, £30 a week worse off working would it not be best for the governement to top up their wages to say £20 above what they'd be on if they were on benefits? That way the person has a job, feels more involved, contributes to the system, etc. etc. and instead of paying out £200 in complete benefits or whatever, they pay about £50?
But then is that a reward for having been on the dole? What about Luckypants lad who is in a job that pays about the same as benefits? He has chosen not to go on the dole. Would it be reasonable that someone should get paid more than Luckypants lad for the same job just because they previously made a different decision?
If not working pays better than working then benefits are too high or wages are too low.
Bluefish
24-11-10, 05:58 PM
If you can work and have been offered a job then you should not get any benifts if you choose not to take it.
well done to luckypants lad for not taking the easy route out, i'm sure it will benifit him in the end.
However I have a little less sympathy for those that chose to leave work for whatever reason and then bemoan that the system doesn't keep them in the style they were accustomed to.
:(
if someone would be say, £30 a week worse off working would it not be best for the governement to top up their wages to say £20 above what they'd be on if they were on benefits? That way the person has a job, feels more involved, contributes to the system, etc. etc. and instead of paying out £200 in complete benefits or whatever, they pay about £50?
:thumleft:
If you can work and have been offered a job then you should not get any benifts if you choose not to take it.
:(
It seems a pragmatic choice, and I don't think that it reflects badly on you KK- it reflects badly on the system in place.
:)
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