Disability Benefit and Income Support Question

Ed_Zep

Hi. Hope someone can help.

A friend of mine is on these benefits and has an endowment policy that she may want to sell or surrender.

She's adamant that if she did it would count as income and her benefits would stop. Is that how it works? Are people not allowed to have any savings?

She basically has almost nothing to live on. She's not a scrounger. She would work if she could but the system seems set up to not let people get out of this trap.

Also, who is the best organisation to talk to about a dispute?

She's spoken to her MP, the DWP (of course and they were hopeless), Citizens' Advice Bureau. No one seems able to help.

Thanks very much.
Ed.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Is this endowment to cover a mortgage?

Indie_Kid

What disability benefits? Disability living allowance (DLA) won't change; regardless of savings and income.

Ed_Zep

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Is this endowment to cover a mortgage?

Originally it was but the Halifax said no way will it cover the outstanding term (8 years) so they switched it to repayment. They pay the interest, she pays the capital.

Ed_Zep

sh1305 wrote: »

What disability benefits? Disability living allowance (DLA) won't change; regardless of savings and income.

Sorry, I'll have to find that out. She has M.E. and is medically retired from the police.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Ed_Zep wrote: »

Originally it was but the Halifax said no way will it cover the outstanding term (8 years) so they switched it to repayment. They pay the interest, she pays the capital.

Then the endowment is already an asset and should have been declared. If she cashes it in, it will count as savings and, if over £6k, will impact on her IS and HB (although I'm guessing that isn't being claimed).

Ed_Zep

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Then the endowment is already an asset and should have been declared. If she cashes it in, it will count as savings and, if over £6k, will impact on her IS and HB (although I'm guessing that isn't being claimed).

Is the £6000 limit absolutely definite as she has it in her head than ANY income is counted?

For instance, somehow the mortgage was overpaid. She's applied for a refund and thinks that as soon as it goes into her account the DWP will stop/limit her benefits.

Indie_Kid

For every £250 over £6000k, £1 is taken off. So, if she has over £6000, she will get some benefits - as long as it's less than £16000.

Wee_Willy_Harris

As long as her savings/assets are below £6k, she should be OK. Even over £6k, they don't deduct it pound for pound.

dmg24

Ed_Zep wrote: »

Is the £6000 limit absolutely definite as she has it in her head than ANY income is counted?

For instance, somehow the mortgage was overpaid. She's applied for a refund and thinks that as soon as it goes into her account the DWP will stop/limit her benefits.

If the mortgage was overpaid by the DWP, she is not entitled to claim this money back. She needs to be careful to establish that any refund is of her own payments.