child giving parent cash each month

POPPYOSCAR

andyandflo wrote: »

And so it appears!! a ridiculous situation. It seems there are two choices. 1. Stand by and watch your children struggle on benefit or 2. help to reduce the welfare bill by making voluntary contributions to my children to enable the State to reduce their benefit payments.

For me the 1st will never happen and from now on, neither will the 2nd option!!
And thanks for the warning, I will certainly change the way I make the payments - cash and not to be banked in my daughter's account. In future I will pay bills for her.

Fraud indeed!!!

I understand your frustration but that is just the perverse nature of the benefits system.

Teahfc

andyandflo wrote: »

You may be right but to be honest it is a bit rich for the government to reduce the benefit because child is paying Mum some money every week. The idea of this is to help out the relative to have a better standard of life not reduce the welfare bill!!

I didn't know that it would affect those benefits, but looking at it again - yes I can see that it would.

I used to give my single parent daughter until she got married last year, £300 every month to help out with the rent she was paying. It used to be a Standing Order from my account to hers. I would not have been happy if they had reduced her benefits by £300pm!! (IS, CTB, HB)


You have me thinking now, I am in the process of building two bungalows, one for us and the other for my other daughter. She & her partner are in rented accomodation and being on benefit, are having to find the extra over the HB payments every month which is a struggle. I pay her the same as I did for her sister £300pm which they use to buy the little extras, clothes for my two grandchildren, school trips, car tax, etc.

I was thinking of just giving them the property (losing capital for Inheritance purposes), but I now wonder if the DWP would see it as capital (property is worth about £325,000 ish - cost me a lot less to build of course!) Maybe it would be better to retain ownership but allow them to stay for free for life - it will be hers when I have gone anyhow!

I just don't see that it is fair that mum's, dad's, children etc can't help out each other without the worry of them losing benefit because of it. It's my money and they are gifts.

I would like you do the same, but if your daughter is now married is she not in a position to find herself a little job !!!!!!!
How much better would she feel if she had a job rather than claiming state handouts ? You could them top her up without all the worry !

real1314

2 pages of speculative comments and barely any facts.

really folks, if someone asks "how much is a loaf of bread?" would you reply with "I don't think it's free" , "Somewhere between 10p and £10" and "Ooh not sure, might be a lot".

If you don't know the answer, either research it, tell the OP to go to the body that pays them, or even say nothing.

Anyway, rant over. Disability Alliance says this:-

http://www.disabilityalliance.org/f12.htm

"Fully disregarded income includes:

• attendance allowance, disability living allowance, constant attendance allowance and war pensioner’s mobility supplement
• housing benefit and council tax benefit
• Christmas bonus
• social fund payments including the winter fuel payment
• bereavement payment
• child benefit, child tax credit, guardian’s allowance and child special allowance
• increases for dependent children paid with certain other benefits
• exceptionally severe disablement allowance (paid in the war pensions and Industrial Injuries schemes) and war pensions’ severe disablement occupational allowance
• war widow’s/widower’/surviving civil partner’s supplementary pension
• payments, other than social security benefits or war pensions, paid as a result of a personal injury that you or your partner receive
• actual income from capital
• payments from your local authority social services department for personal care
• charitable and voluntary payments (except for voluntary payments from a spouse/civil partner or former spouse/civil partner, which are counted in full)
• any other types of income that are not specified in the legislation as being counted"

See that bit about Voluntary Payments? That's the bit you need. The reason for the spouse/civil partner exclusion is 'cos that would be a form of spousal maintenance.

Meanwhile someone has suggested that it could have been an act of fraud! Crazy.

JC9297

I don't think the comment about fraud was made about pensioners (although they were the subject of the OP's question), it was made regarding a young woman in receipt of regular income from her father claiming benefits to meet basic living costs. Presumably andyandflo you consider it perfectly OK for the offspring of a multi-millionaire to avail themselves of the lifestyle their father's wealth offers and still claim benefits because they are not the ones earning the money?

POPPYOSCAR

JC9297 wrote: »

I don't think the comment about fraud was made about pensioners (although they were the subject of the OP's question), it was made regarding a young woman in receipt of regular income from her father claiming benefits to meet basic living costs. Presumably andyandflo you consider it perfectly OK for the offspring of a multi-millionaire to avail themselves of the lifestyle their father's wealth offers and still claim benefits because they are not the ones earning the money?

That is an interesting question.

Do you see children not becoming independent from their families as adults then unless their parents are poor?

andyandflo

real1314 wrote: »

2 pages of speculative comments and barely any facts.

really folks, if someone asks "how much is a loaf of bread?" would you reply with "I don't think it's free" , "Somewhere between 10p and £10" and "Ooh not sure, might be a lot".

If you don't know the answer, either research it, tell the OP to go to the body that pays them, or even say nothing.

Anyway, rant over. Disability Alliance says this:-

http://www.disabilityalliance.org/f12.htm


"Fully disregarded income includes:

• charitable and voluntary payments (except for voluntary payments from a spouse/civil partner or former spouse/civil partner, which are counted in full)

See that bit about Voluntary Payments? That's the bit you need. The reason for the spouse/civil partner exclusion is 'cos that would be a form of spousal maintenance.

Meanwhile someone has suggested that it could have been an act of fraud! Crazy.

This now changes it a bit. From that, it would seem that any voluntary payments made, however made, are NOT taken into account. That does make a great deal of sense to me. If, as has been said earlier, that the benefit will be reduced £ for £, then I would only see any advantage in making the gifts if they exceeded the total of her means tested benefits - absolutely stupid!!! What would be the point of that??

I think I will clear this through the Council and DWP just to be on the safe side. Many thanks for bringing that point up.

andyandflo

Teahfc wrote: »

I would like you do the same, but if your daughter is now married is she not in a position to find herself a little job !!!!!!!
How much better would she feel if she had a job rather than claiming state handouts ? You could them top her up without all the worry !

Hi thanks, yes maybe, but it is not for me to tell her to do that. They quite rightly claim what they are entitled to, given their circumstances and income.

Until they do get on their feet, I personally don't see anything wrong in helping them along. They are very appreciative and I believe that having children is a life long responsibility that does not end when they marry or reach 18.

andyandflo

JC9297 wrote: »

I don't think the comment about fraud was made about pensioners (although they were the subject of the OP's question), it was made regarding a young woman in receipt of regular income from her father claiming benefits to meet basic living costs. Presumably andyandflo you consider it perfectly OK for the offspring of a multi-millionaire to avail themselves of the lifestyle their father's wealth offers and still claim benefits because they are not the ones earning the money?

First of all I am not a millionaire!

Well yes I do actually. I have worked all my life to be where I am today, paid my taxes etc. What would you have me do then? Leave them to it - we know how hard it is to live on benefits.

Yes I will admit that I have spoiled both of my daughters as I do my grandchildren. I never thought in years gone by that I would have a family - so yes they are very precious and yes they have had a good life, albeit due to my help in the main.

Good grief, should I just sit here and watch them struggle, when I have the means to make their lives a lot better than both my wife and I had? Do you think it wrong that I buy them a car, pay for their annual family holiday? Do you think it wrong that I give one of them a property which is of no use to me as I damn well know they will never be able to afford one themselves?
What should I do with my money? Give it to charity instead? You are talking rubbish. They only claim what they are entitled to - no different to anyone else.

andyandflo

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

That is an interesting question.

Do you see children not becoming independent from their families as adults then unless their parents are poor?

Thanks, yes it is a very interesting question indeed!

The poster seems to be saying that because if parents/grandparents can't afford to help them out, they are only then independent - more so out of social need!

I have already had this argument with my sister who thinks that my children are unable to fend for themselves because unlike her, I didn't kick them out at 16 to fend for themselves! She says that they are social misfits - that they will always have a need to look to me to help out both financially and emotionally. Yes, then they are!!

No child, no matter what age they are at is totally independent.

POPPYOSCAR

andyandflo wrote: »

Thanks, yes it is a very interesting question indeed!

The poster seems to be saying that because if parents/grandparents can't afford to help them out, they are only then independent - more so out of social need!

I have already had this argument with my sister who thinks that my children are unable to fend for themselves because unlike her, I didn't kick them out at 16 to fend for themselves! She says that they are social misfits - that they will always have a need to look to me to help out both financially and emotionally. Yes, then they are!!

No child, no matter what age they are at is totally independent.

IMHO the benefits system penalises those who are prudent and rewards those who squander in some cases.

If your daughter were to lose benefit because you were being a father to her then I personally think it is wrong. Why should someone whose parents have spent all their money(possibly) and therefore not be able to help them out get benefits and not your daughter.What you give her should be a bonus that she has through your hard work and saving.