Universal Credit and Savings? Advice needed
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Rebeccakristy
Posts: 10 Forumite
Can anyone help me? I have been saving for a deposit on a home for 20 years. I have a tidy sum (above the threshold) and I am starting uni in September. I currently live (complete with family) with my mother.
We have been searching for a house for ages and finally a ray of hope- a housing association development nearby. Yes the rent is high (we live in a nice area) but we suddenly saw hope that we could have independence. The snag? Apparently if I move house now I will be put onto the Universal Credit, and my deposit that I have saved means I will have ALL my benefits stopped. ALL!
Now we can all see how unfair it is that someone with nothing can't save a deposit but someone who owns their own house can get Universal Credit. I can't move- (as I am self employed so I would've had a #200 a week drop in credits anyway after the move) but if I just use my savings to supplement my income at uni then when I qualify I will have huge debt, no savings and being an OT doesn't pay too high.
So is there something I can do with my savings so that when I can finally buy my own house (in about 10 years). Thinking potentially buying a holiday chalet locally to let out? Or buy something collectable? What are the rules?
And before I get abuse can I just point out that preserving my savings will lead to my being able to become self sufficient and will mean less money in benefits being paid in the long run. Plus I have saved this money by going without and my children going without for years and that was what I was told would eventually lead to my being able to have a home.
We have been searching for a house for ages and finally a ray of hope- a housing association development nearby. Yes the rent is high (we live in a nice area) but we suddenly saw hope that we could have independence. The snag? Apparently if I move house now I will be put onto the Universal Credit, and my deposit that I have saved means I will have ALL my benefits stopped. ALL!
Now we can all see how unfair it is that someone with nothing can't save a deposit but someone who owns their own house can get Universal Credit. I can't move- (as I am self employed so I would've had a #200 a week drop in credits anyway after the move) but if I just use my savings to supplement my income at uni then when I qualify I will have huge debt, no savings and being an OT doesn't pay too high.
So is there something I can do with my savings so that when I can finally buy my own house (in about 10 years). Thinking potentially buying a holiday chalet locally to let out? Or buy something collectable? What are the rules?
And before I get abuse can I just point out that preserving my savings will lead to my being able to become self sufficient and will mean less money in benefits being paid in the long run. Plus I have saved this money by going without and my children going without for years and that was what I was told would eventually lead to my being able to have a home.
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Comments
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Your post is very confusing. Which benefits are you claiming now? Where are your children living?
In answer to your question, intentionally depriving yourself of capital will result in you being treated as if you still had the money and your benefits adjusted accordingly. I'm not understanding why you expect the state to subsidise you when you have money to look after yourself.0 -
Little confused too... because savings also would typically affect alternatives to UC... so yes what are you getting now?
Agree with above... likely would be considered deprivation of capital although I agree with you that ultimately if you took the path you suggest you'd end up potentially saving the state a small fortune in benefit payments. If you fail to get any good advice and the official guidance for decision makers at DWP which I've lost the link for and someone else may provide... then as last resort you could write to DWP with your proposition and ask them for a decision on if they would consider it deprivation of capital given that ultimately you intend to seek less support from the state as a result. But before you do I'd consider your current situation... because obviously you've got significant savings and people advising you here are going to want to understand whether that's affecting your current claims.
Slightly different situation because I had some savings but not vast (less than £6k)... I already had bought a house with mortgage while in work... I asked DWP to take a ruling on whether paying off the last few thousand of my mortgage to kill it off would be considered deprivation and they approved my intended actions and asked me to provide documentation to show it occur as I'd indicated. I argued my benefits would immediately decrease (and they did) as I'd lose entitlement to SMI (support for mortgage interest) and thus my actions were not with aim to gain benefits.
Essentially that is the rule in a nutshell without going into all technical details the handbook provides.. 'is the person attempting to gain benefits by depriving themselves of funds'.
Buying something collectable or a holiday home while claiming income related benefits would as good as certainly be considered deprivation of capital (or considered still as capital in the form of investment or property other than home lived in)."Do not attribute to conspiracy what can adequately be explained by incompetence" - rogerblack0 -
the only "benefits" I get at the moment are working tax credits and Child tax credits and they aren't dependant on savings. And we all live in my mum's house with her and my step father who is terminally ill.
I find your comment Boris that I should use my savings as thoughtless. If I owned my own home would you expect me to sell it before I qualified for tax credits? I don't even have a car as I have saved so hard- would I be expected to sell that if I had one? My wedding ring? Just because I have kept savings so that I can get myself out of this sinking sand rather than spending and going on holidays does that mean I need to lose everything?
If I buy a holiday chalet I can rent it out which would count as income and reduce my tax credit claim. When I was in a job then I could buy a home and free up a social house for someone else needing one. If I am forced to spend my savings I will be in that social house forever and I would have less income and increased benefit claim. Also if I get no UC then I would have to give up my place at Uni which would mean I will not earn above minimum wage ever and the NHS will have one less OT qualifying and working to look after people.0 -
Ah I understand the problem yes... not an expert in this area but there are others I suspect will be able to help. So basically you want to move with family to new rental home but that'd trigger claim for Universal Credit with you currently receiving WTC and CTC. Universal credit rules on savings therefore come into play. You have saved monies with a view to buying a house years down the line and want to protect that money somehow. Correct I hope... be interesting to see the advice... it may turn out to be don't move or move to a different area without UC implemented yet.. the irony is if you had owned your own home you probably wouldn't have been able to be transferred to UC as I don't think yet home owners are considered as the roll out continues. Anyway I'm out of my depth here so will learn from the replies."Do not attribute to conspiracy what can adequately be explained by incompetence" - rogerblack0
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I'm not clear why moving into a nearby HA property would trigger a change that would move you from TC onto UC.
https://www.welfare-benefits-unit.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/What-triggers-a-claim-for-Universal-Credit-in-a-full-service-area.pdf
Who has told you "Apparently if I move house now I will be put onto the Universal Credit", and on what grounds have they told you this?
Because of your savings you would certainty not get help with rent or council tax.
But this would apply to both Housing Benefit (the pre uc benefit) and UC.
Therefore IMO you would elect not to apply for UC and remain in receipt of TC.
I suggest you get further advice on this.
Possibly your local CAB could help. Does the HA have a welfare adviser?
You maybe need to sit down calmly and see if you can afford the rent, CT, etc on your current income and TC's.
How many are in your family?
Are you in a UC full service area?
Will moving change you employment status / hours of work for WTC?Alice Holt Forest situated some 4 miles south of Farnham forms the most northerly gateway to the South Downs National Park.0 -
Hi, there are 4 in my family 2 adults and 2 children. Not a full UC area but will be for all new claims by December. Moving doesn't change my work, i and self employed but do not earn enough for the new rules for UC which state you must earn minimum wage.0
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Rebeccakristy wrote: »Hi, there are 4 in my family 2 adults and 2 children. Not a full UC area but will be for all new claims by December. Moving doesn't change my work, i and self employed but do not earn enough for the new rules for UC which state you must earn minimum wage.
If you are an existing tax credit claimant and don't need to claim HB or other things (your capital is too high anyway) then you won't be affected by UC until 2019 - 2022. And even then, you should get transitional protection with regards to your capital although we don't the detail of that yet.
IQ0
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