Child Benefit Laws

This could become very interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18068168

This could go on and on!

It doesn't affect me cause neither of us earns more than £50k and anyway, my son will be 20 this year & my daughter is 18 next month. I don't have long left to claim anyway!

So wrong!!! It doesn't affect me either though as we don't earn anywhere near that a year. But this is the only little bit of help those that work hard to get £50K a year will get from the Government and they are clawing it back. They want people back in work yet they are making it an easier option for people to sit on the dole and do nothing yet still get money in each week. They should be taking it away from those that don't work not those that work their butts off! Gets me so angry, they go on about the rate of unemployment yet some, and I don't mean all of those unemployed at all, but some of them just take the p**s.

Im on the fence with this one. I mean i agree if there is no NEED to claim it due to a high earning family (i mean does what,..£20 a week make a difference to them?) they should be able to opt out or whatever, as for lower earners £20 can mean the difference between eating or not that week.

Equi wrote:Im on the fence with this one. I mean i agree if there is no NEED to claim it due to a high earning family (i mean does what,..£20 a week make a difference to them?) they should be able to opt out or whatever, as for lower earners £20 can mean the difference between eating or not that week.

But you can opt out now! You don't HAVE to claim it. And if you start to earn a good amount you can contact the Child Benefit Office & ask them to stop it. Mind you, very few people actually do that. Did you know that Princess Anne used to claim Child Benefit?

i kindda agree with it to be honest.....
50k is alot of money over double what my family has to live on......

Caryll wrote:

Equi wrote:Im on the fence with this one. I mean i agree if there is no NEED to claim it due to a high earning family (i mean does what,..£20 a week make a difference to them?) they should be able to opt out or whatever, as for lower earners £20 can mean the difference between eating or not that week.

But you can opt out now! You don't HAVE to claim it. And if you start to earn a good amount you can contact the Child Benefit Office & ask them to stop it. Mind you, very few people actually do that. Did you know that Princess Anne used to claim Child Benefit?

Not going to talk about the royals cause i know you hate them lol

I didnt know you can opt out now. Well they should do like a yearly review or something then? It will be hard to police though, i mean if someone sold a house theyre parents left them and got 60K then technically thy have earned 50k+ that year and wont get the benefits even if they really need it. im sure it would be easy enough to get it stopped but then very difficult to get it started again!

nobody should get child benefit after your third child, regardless of how much you earn or dont

we have now got a culture that live off benefits and so will their children, if you cant afford to have more then 3 children then dont

blaze wrote: i kindda agree with it to be honest.....
50k is alot of money over double what my family has to live on......

I do too. That is double what we have, and we hardly get any help off benefits people so I don't understand how they can be entitled to it anyway!

The whole benefit system is a joke tbh. I have friends who private rent, they dont work (their OH's do though) and they get money paid to them, AND most of their rent. We brought our house and we can't get any help, we get less money, and I went back at work 4 weeks after having my eldest, and less than two weeks after my youngest because we cannot afford for me to not work. We don't have credit cards or anything to pay off, we have worked hard for everything we have, but it makes me think whats the point when some get it handed to them on a plate. I would much rather stay home with my boys and play, but we can't do it.

I also agree that if you get that much then you shouldn't get benefits like that but I also agree that there is way more incentive not to work than there is to work now. Its swings and roundabouts.

Equi wrote:Not going to talk about the royals cause i know you hate them lol

I didnt know you can opt out now. Well they should do like a yearly review or something then? It will be hard to police though, i mean if someone sold a house theyre parents left them and got 60K then technically thy have earned 50k+ that year and wont get the benefits even if they really need it. im sure it would be easy enough to get it stopped but then very difficult to get it started again!

I didn't mention Princess Anne cause I don't like her, it was just to show that there are people out there who really don't need to claim it.

You've always been able to opt out. All you ever had to do was write to them & tell them.

Well I totally disagree with all of you so I used to earn 50K plus every year , but only because I worked over 100 hours a month overtime. Why should I have my Child Benefit reduced when I've worked damn hard for what I earn , just so that the scroungers can have their cut, it is totally disgusting. If people want to opt out that is their choice but TBH I pay that much in tax and from hard work , not because daddy owns a company, why the bloody hell should I

Calm down! I never said that it should stop when you earn £50k. I think it really depends on the circumstances. All I said was that there are plenty of people out there who don't need to claim it but do!

i think anybody who earn over 40k a year shouldn't be allow to get it you should have a great life on that type of money if people struggle to live on that they need

Caryll wrote:Calm down! I never said that it should stop when you earn £50k. I think it really depends on the circumstances. All I said was that there are plenty of people out there who don't need to claim it but do!

I am calm Caryll you ain't seen me when I'm angry

davemck3834 wrote:

Caryll wrote:Calm down! I never said that it should stop when you earn £50k. I think it really depends on the circumstances. All I said was that there are plenty of people out there who don't need to claim it but do!

I am calm Caryll you ain't seen me when I'm angry

And I don't want to!

actually I'm not very convincing , the on;ly person I can really fall out with is the wife

Very interesting as I thought.

Due to our circumstances me and my hubby dont have children. Firstly we cannot afford to have any so we have been responsible and not had any (children that is you saucy lot).

My hubby heard yesterday that his 17 year old neice is pregnant, why would a 17 year old child want a baby? I know I shouldn't think for all the wrong reasons but I dont think she is even in a stable relationship or if she knows what one is. This is going somewhat off topic now very sorry.

It is a fact that some young girls see Child benefit as a source of income (not saying your niece does) , same as some people choose to live life without jobs because it's not worth them working and this is why I get angry sometimes. I'm not bragging but I do get well paid as I've worked hard to get where I am now and also a lot of hours. My taxes go no ends to paying benefits for people that keep spitting kids out left right and centre (and normally end up as a feature in the Sun Newspaper or on the Jeremy Kyle Show) so why should anybody penalise me for this. If I wanted to I wouldn't opt out , I would still take the money and give it to charity rather than it go back into the system.

davemck3834 wrote:It is a fact that some young girls see Child benefit as a source of income (not saying your niece does) , same as some people choose to live life without jobs because it's not worth them working and this is why I get angry sometimes. I'm not bragging but I do get well paid as I've worked hard to get where I am now and also a lot of hours. My taxes go no ends to paying benefits for people that keep spitting kids out left right and centre (and normally end up as a feature in the Sun Newspaper or on the Jeremy Kyle Show) so why should anybody penalise me for this. If I wanted to I wouldn't opt out , I would still take the money and give it to charity rather than it go back into the system.

I'm with Dave on this one. Punishing people or reducing benefits for people who worked hard and sacrificed to get where they are is just plain wrong. There are alot of people who could work and simply don't because they are getting the same amount of money from benefits for doing nothing.

well its like the pension thing, my dads worked from he was 15, owned a business since 18ish, had a good run, ended up bailing it out by...a lot of thousands...but all the while paid many thousands into a private pension.

That pension pays him 100 a week.

If he were living alone he would be totally screwed. thankfully he had a bit saved and owns a house that he can get the rent money on. if he didnt have that he would literally be living on 100 a week, which is sick for someoen who has worked and paid taxes for 50years.

Equi wrote:well its like the pension thing, my dads worked from he was 15, owned a business since 18ish, had a good run, ended up bailing it out by...a lot of thousands...but all the while paid many thousands into a private pension.

That pension pays him 100 a week.

If he were living alone he would be totally screwed. thankfully he had a bit saved and owns a house that he can get the rent money on. if he didnt have that he would literally be living on 100 a week, which is sick for someoen who has worked and paid taxes for 50years.

davemck3834 wrote:actually I'm not very convincing , the on;ly person I can really fall out with is the wife

That's not sensible, though - she puts the food on your plate, I'd guess, & you don't know what she'd do to it if you p*ssed her off!

kathytake2 wrote:My hubby heard yesterday that his 17 year old neice is pregnant, why would a 17 year old child want a baby? I know I shouldn't think for all the wrong reasons but I dont think she is even in a stable relationship or if she knows what one is. This is going somewhat off topic now very sorry.

My 17 year old daughter would look on that with absolute horror!

BUT. So many young girls want kids nowadays - it's an escape, a way out of the system. They think that they'll get everything handed to them on a plate & they'll have this cute, pink faced little bubba to cuddle & have people "Awwwww" over. The reality is totally different, of course, and they soon get disillusioned with the squalling baby that needs its mum 24/7. The nappies that need changing, the feeds that need preparing, the missed oportunities when mates are going out for a good night out.

why do we have it nowadays, there are enough benefits out there to cover the cost, but if the did not give to people with more than 3 kids, they might stop having bigger familes and rely on it.

lynne wrote:why do we have it nowadays, there are enough benefits out there to cover the cost, but if the did not give to people with more than 3 kids, they might stop having bigger familes and rely on it.

I partly agree with you, but not everyone who has more than 3 kids is irresponsible. Maybe they do have to stretch their finances, but with the help of Child Benefit they muddle along & bring their kids up well.

As usual, it's the lazy-bugger few that spoil it for the rest.

I totally agree that it is the lazy few messing it up for the rest. If people are not working then they should be made to do work to get their benefits, unless there is a good reason why not. Unfortunatly if this happened (which it wont because the government is too soft and worries too much about the human rights people) then more people would be going to the doctors with bad backs and depression, things that you can get signed off work for but are hard to prove.

Round here alot of young girls have babies. All of which have their own places from the council, are dressed in nice clothes, have all the best makes of push chairs and are always out in town having coffee's with friends, and always seem to be going out because their parents have the babies. I can't remember the last time I brought new clothes, most of the things my boys have has been second hand, I never have spare money to go drinking coffee in town, and I haven't been on a night out for over a year now. I hate having help from people, I like knowing that what we do have has been worked hard for, but some days I do wonder why when they have everything handed to them. But that is where I feel the country is going down hill. It used to be if you couldn't afford it yourself, you went without, now people expect things handed to them, and they expect to live the same or better than those of us that work hard.

Buster's_Mum wrote:I totally agree that it is the lazy few messing it up for the rest. If people are not working then they should be made to do work to get their benefits, unless there is a good reason why not. Unfortunatly if this happened (which it wont because the government is too soft and worries too much about the human rights people) then more people would be going to the doctors with bad backs and depression, things that you can get signed off work for but are hard to prove.

Round here alot of young girls have babies. All of which have their own places from the council, are dressed in nice clothes, have all the best makes of push chairs and are always out in town having coffee's with friends, and always seem to be going out because their parents have the babies. I can't remember the last time I brought new clothes, most of the things my boys have has been second hand, I never have spare money to go drinking coffee in town, and I haven't been on a night out for over a year now. I hate having help from people, I like knowing that what we do have has been worked hard for, but some days I do wonder why when they have everything handed to them. But that is where I feel the country is going down hill. It used to be if you couldn't afford it yourself, you went without, now people expect things handed to them, and they expect to live the same or better than those of us that work hard.

Hmmmm well ive kindda been through the mill a bit and experienced all sides of the beneift system. I got pregnant at 16 and was by myself, i was on the full benefit (income support) and my god did i struggle for money.....This was 8/9 years ago now. Yes i got a council house and yes my rent was payed and my daughter was well cared for but how ppl live like that 4 any amount of time i dodnt know. I started working 2 jobs when leonie was 8 weeks old and my god the difference it made was unbelievable + i still got some help from benefits. Now my hubby works as do i and we get nxt to no help but i think we are better off now than i ever was before. I know people have different opinions on the benefit system but having sort of of been through it at different stages i feel you are defo better off working, yes u get less help but then u earn more.....

You earn more depending on what job you can get. One of my friends hasn't got any qualifications, besides GCSE's. She has worked it out, and if she was to get a job aswell (her OH works) then they would be worse off because she would only be on a basic wage, which would be roughly the same as her benefits, and then she would have to pay all her rent too. She hates not working, but they would be worse off.

When you have a baby now if you are under a certain age, or claiming benefits you can get £500 cash to spend on whatever you want - it doesn't even have to be baby things! My mum had me when she was very young, back in the days when you were supposed to be married before having kids. She was single. She had a house to live in, and benefits too, but she still worked. It used to be that benefits were enough to live on, but now they have gone over the top and some benefits are more than the basic wage. I notice my child benefits go up every year. I haven't had a pay rise in 3 or 4 years due to the recession, and neither have alot of other people I know.

Buster's_Mum wrote: I haven't had a pay rise in 3 or 4 years due to the recession, and neither have alot of other people I know.

Same here, but I love my job so I don't complain.

Caryll wrote:

Buster's_Mum wrote: I haven't had a pay rise in 3 or 4 years due to the recession, and neither have alot of other people I know.

Same here, but I love my job so I don't complain.

same here

I've gotten raises but very small the last few years.

I had to speak to the child benefit people today because my daughter's coming up to 18 & I had been told that they will stop the payments at the end of the August after her 18th birthday - as they did with my son.

However, the lady I spoke to said that was wrong. As both mine are still in the 6th form at school they both still qualify for child benefit; I should have been receiveing benefit for my son from last september until next august (his stopped at the end of last august) and I should still get benefit for my daughter until august 2013. BUT. She didn't know if they'd back date the payments, even if it was their fault that I didn't know!

some people just cant work if you make them do thing they cant do it then you get a huge homeless problem like what happen before when the Tories was in control, then people will be saying why isn't the government helping these people. there only a say around 15% of people on benefits who should be working.

the problem is all rich people avoiding paying tax and these people shouldn't need child benefits or any other benefits

I seriously hate it when people go on about young mums. I had my eldest when I was 18. I did not live in a council house and get my rent paid for me. I struggled for money to raise my daughter but I did it. I went without constantly so that she would get what she needed. I didn't go out drinking every weekend and leave her with my mum or anything like that. Yes, I was too young to be a mum, but I loved my daughter and was a good mum. I was in a good relationship and better prepared when I had my twins four years later, but I was the same kind of mum to them as I had been to my daughter, despite being a young mum.

shontelle wrote:I seriously hate it when people go on about young mums. I had my eldest when I was 18. I did not live in a council house and get my rent paid for me. I struggled for money to raise my daughter but I did it. I went without constantly so that she would get what she needed. I didn't go out drinking every weekend and leave her with my mum or anything like that. Yes, I was too young to be a mum, but I loved my daughter and was a good mum. I was in a good relationship and better prepared when I had my twins four years later, but I was the same kind of mum to them as I had been to my daughter, despite being a young mum.

Well said, and I applaud you for being that way!

Having said that, though, there are young girls (16 years plus) who deliberately have babies so that they can not only get out of the rut they are in, but nilk the benefits for all they're worth. They give the good, honest young mums (like yourself) a bad name, I'm afraid - people see the bad ones & assume they are all like that.

I know that feeling. I endured a lot of comments when I was younger because I had a baby. It didn't help because I don't look my age. At 18, I looked about 15-16, and a lot of people thought that gave them the right to have a go. There are girls out there who milk it for all its worth, but there's just as many who aren't like that and are sick of being stereotyped and lumped in with the rest.

shontelle wrote:I know that feeling. I endured a lot of comments when I was younger because I had a baby. It didn't help because I don't look my age. At 18, I looked about 15-16, and a lot of people thought that gave them the right to have a go. There are girls out there who milk it for all its worth, but there's just as many who aren't like that and are sick of being stereotyped and lumped in with the rest.

True. My sister's friend had a baby when she was just 17. She was a fantastic mum who worked hard & took nothing from anybody. She had to be bullied into going out once in a while & leaving the baby with her parents. And this was a time when it really was still frowned on to have a baby outside marriage - back in the late 60s.

It must have been even harder back then, having to deal with the stigma of having an illegitimate child.

People were really nasty - called her sl*t/wh0re/bitch etc. But she rose above it & brought up a really lovely daughter.

Steve wrote:some people just cant work if you make them do thing they cant do it then you get a huge homeless problem like what happen before when the Tories was in control, then people will be saying why isn't the government helping these people. there only a say around 15% of people on benefits who should be working.

the problem is all rich people avoiding paying tax and these people shouldn't need child benefits or any other benefits

I'm not sure about England but in the US there are very few people who can't work. Unless you have an extremely serious medical condition you can do something. The problem lies in the fact that people think why should I work 40 hours a week or go to school to better myself when I can just collect benefits. Or they think they are to good to work at a minimum wage job and want to start at $50,000 a year.

When you tax people that are well of at increasingly higher rates of course they are going to try to avoid paying taxes. For the most part they have worked hard and sacrificed to get where they are and don't want to pay half of their money right back to the government.

everyone should pay tax IMO don't matter what u earn. There a lot of people who just cant work for number reasons it's doesn't have to be a physical problem also and everyone should help these less fortunate then the rest even the highest paid earners.

Steve wrote:everyone should pay tax IMO don't matter what u earn. There a lot of people who just cant work for number reasons it's doesn't have to be a physical problem also and everyone should help these less fortunate then the rest even the highest paid earners.

I agree. As long as measures are taken to make people who can work get out there and do a job! What I can't stand is seeing all these young layabouts gathering outside job centres for their weekly meetings, knowing that they have no intention of getting a job!

that a society problems.... and you know what i would like to change to fix that

kids who don't get a job or go to collage for so long should be sent to some type of national service for 5 years or so to keep them off the street and out of crime....

I'm starting to sound like a Republican but I favor a flat tax where everyone pays the same percentage. I don't know a thing about tax law in England but in the US the more you earn the more you pay.

I believe that just about everyone can and should work. Other than physically being unable to do so, being mentally ill or unstable or being a senior citizen I can't think of a reason why not.

Steve wrote:kids who don't get a job or go to collage for so long should be sent to some type of national service for 5 years or so to keep them off the street and out of crime....

Agreed for the most part as long as the service isn't in the military. Instead of giving benefits the government could pay for education or training after a number of years of civil service. It would ease unemployment as well as provide a service to citizens