Child Benefit

I’ve just been reading the mirror that states…

You now only start paying back Child Benefit when you earn more than £60,000 a year, at a rate of 1% for every £200 you earn. At £70,000, half the benefit is repaid, and at £80,000, the entire benefit is wiped out.

Why are the Government still paying this benefit to people who earn over 60,000 per year and do the e actually need it?

Am I missing something because the government could save money here if that’s the case?

Unless things have changed, Child Benefit used to be a 'universal' benefit - in the same way retired pensioners used to receive the £300 winter fuel heating allowance - everyone entitled to it is paid it, irrespective of their income.


I've had a little look at the details on the UK Gov website and you might find this a lot more informative.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/what-youll-get

The thing is that when under the universal credit umbrella with both parents on it they can claim a maximum for 2 children and 2 only.

Once over this threshold I believe that child benefit is paid to multiple children of the same family under a certain age.

The question is though, why are those with an income of £60k or more still entitled to child benefit?

karlypants wrote:The thing is that when under the universal credit umbrella with both parents on it they can claim a maximum for 2 children and 2 only.

Once over this threshold I believe that child benefit is paid to multiple children of the same family under a certain age.

The question is though, why are those with an income of £60k or more still entitled to child benefit?

Don't know.

The way I read the link was that you could even be earning £1m per week and your Mrs nothing at all but as long as she claimed the benefit she would receive it in full - the Child Benefit 'tax' being levied on the individuals income who is claiming the benefit - and not the household income.


I guess one reason why it isn't means tested for everyone is that the cost of 'policing' the benefit is more than the savings they would be making.

If you compare it with the recent £300 Winter Fuel Allowance that is easy to apply - everybody on Pension Plus gets it and everyone not on pension plus has it taken away from them.

Sluffy wrote:

karlypants wrote:The thing is that when under the universal credit umbrella with both parents on it they can claim a maximum for 2 children and 2 only.

Once over this threshold I believe that child benefit is paid to multiple children of the same family under a certain age.

The question is though, why are those with an income of £60k or more still entitled to child benefit?

Don't know.

The way I read the link was that you could even be earning £1m per week and your Mrs nothing at all but as long as she claimed the benefit she would receive it in full - the Child Benefit 'tax' being levied on the individuals income who is claiming the benefit - and not the household income.


I guess one reason why it isn't means tested for everyone is that the cost of 'policing' the benefit is more than the savings they would be making.

If you compare it with the recent £300 Winter Fuel Allowance that is easy to apply - everybody on Pension Plus gets it and everyone not on pension plus has it taken away from them.

Yes child benefit is a funny old thing, but as you say, one person can earn a million whilst the other nothing.

As long as it is in the person with no income for example even with her partner earning a million then they are still entitled to it through that person.

I think child benefit should be more means tested if you will. I do feel that those over £60k for example don’t really need it.

karlypants wrote:I think child benefit should be more means tested if you will. I do feel that those over £60k for example don’t really need it.

I agree but I don't know how you could police it - and even if you could it would probably cost more to administrate it than what income you save.

For instance the first thing everyone would do is have the parent earning less than £60k claim it.

Then how do you keep tabs on where everyone is and what they earn - people move houses, split up, are self employed, some probably get paid in bitcoins or such like these days!

Going off at a tangent, some years back when I was working at the Town Halls, every year every council had to update their Register of Electors - who lives, where, in order that they can vote.

I used to find it amazing the number of one parent family's every council had.

(Only one person registered even if a whole adult family lived there, in order to claim the one person Council Tax Rebate).

When I enquired why the Councils Housing Director didn't investigate more, they told me they simple hadn't the staff to do so, that prosecutions were expensive and often courts did not award costs or even the full amount of outstanding Council Tax owing and frequently the benefits cheat simple didn't have the money to pay the sum back, or refused to do so - causing more court action and more costs to the authority.

It's a bit like shoplifting now.

The police aren't bothered for anything under £200 worth of goods stolen, if it goes to court often the shoplifter does not attend, and if they do they might get community service at best - and never attend that either.

Society only works because of those of us who abide by the rules.

If you don't abide by the rules there's nothing much anybody can do about it.

I can understand the likes of W63 wanting to return to how it was 30 or 40 years ago - but those days have gone.

It's not the immigrants or Muslims who are playing the system - its everyone, black or white, young and old.

I saw this video yesterday

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-cambridgeshire-68538480

Young man, pissed at the wheel crashes into car at about a 100 mph, causes it to overturn and set alight.

Could easily have killed someone.

His punishment...

Didn't even go to jail, and banned for driving for just three years (he probably was pissed and out driving the following evening).

That's what the world is now like.

That's the reality of why people didn't wash their hands and stop parting when Covid was killing people.

These are the people who live on social media and believe all the crap they read on it.


Sorry I've moved on a fair bit from Child Benefit but there's simply not the policing of the systems to stop fraud/crime happening, or punishment to make people stop doing it when they are caught.