Please can you settle a discussion for me??

notlongnow_2

Hi, I was talking to my friend today and her mum who is registered disabled and claims DLA and IB is below retirement age but lives in her own private house but she also owns another property, one house is owned outright and one is mortgaged.

I was under the impression that all assets were to be disclosed to the DWP and benefits were awarded accordingly.

I know that if you have more than £16,000 savings than you are not entitled to IS and I thought it would be the same for disability benefits.

Anyhow...I say it should be declared as it could be sold and she could live off the money from the house. My friend says it doesnt have too.

Neither of us are really 'up' on benefits and so we are both puzzled as to who is right.

Can anyone help? thanks.

shazrobo

i don't know about IB, but dla isnt means tested
if there where questions regarding assets on the form, they should have been declared

hanny83_2

DLA and IB are not means tested benefits so she could own a whole street if she wanted to. But yes, IS and JSA (Income based) are means tested and there is a threshold.

hamstercheeks_2

hanny83 wrote: »

DLA and IB are not means tested benefits so she could own a whole street if she wanted to. But yes, IS and JSA (Income based) are means tested and there is a threshold.

so basically the queen or Richard Branson could claim DLA? if they qualified?

hamstercheeks_2

Apparently so..

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a benefit for people who need help with mobility or personal care or both.
DLA is tax-free and can be paid irrespective of income, wages or savings. You must be under 65 when you first make your claim but you can carry on getting DLA from age 65.

hamstercheeks_2

also are exempt fromcar road tax if applicable

Road Tax Exemption

If you get the higher-rate mobility component you, or your appointee or nominee, can apply for exemption from vehicle excise duty (road tax). For further information, you can get leaflet V188 “Exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty for disabled people” from main Post Offices® branches.

hanny83_2

Yes, get a blue badge for the Rolls. Always handy when you need to get to Harrods on a Saturday afternoon. No but seriously, yes anyone (providing they qualify) can claim. To claim IB (not sure about ESA) you would have had to have paid enough NI conts then you can claim IB for an unlimited period until you have gone back to work. If your period of work was for under a year you can go straight back to your IB claim but if you work more than a year then want to go back on IB it will depend on your NI conts again as to whether you will qualify. Need to check all this info about ESA to check whether it's similar.

hamstercheeks_2

well i think that's ridiculous that even people with unlimited capital can claim- where the logic in that?

hamstercheeks_2

no wonder so many people want it and take the p*ss it comes with so many 'benefits'

hanny83_2

Yep! Let's just hope that they're declaring all their capital to the tax man.

hamstercheeks_2

hanny83 wrote: »

Yep! Let's just hope that they're declaring all their capital to the tax man.

i don't know much about this but yes i agree

crazy system tho