Having a private pension is NOT a good idea.

lvader

maureen_04 wrote: »

I receive I.S, I.B, DLA & my husband gets carers allowance.

He is 57 and is considering taking his small pension early. The pension will be around £70 per month, plus a £6k lump sum, which is actually the reason for the decision.

Am I right in thinking that my I.S. will reduce by the amount of the pension, I get £54 per fortnight I.S, so will still be entitled to a reduced amount thus still being entitled to housing benefit etc.

Will the lump sum affect my benefits in any way, we don't want to take the pension early if it makes us worse off.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

You and your sister in law have a lot in common.

Turnbull2000

BTL and don't declare the income seems to be the way to go.

dunstonh

Turnbull2000 wrote: »

BTL and don't declare the income seems to be the way to go.

HMRC are only about 4 years behind on catching up on non-declarers at the moment. A lot of newbie landlords have been getting caught out and not only have to pay the back tax but also a penalty on top which can be as much as double again.

Baz_2

bendix wrote: »

Benefits are there to support those who CAN'T take care of themselves. This lady can. She did. Well done.

You can't have both, though.

I don't know what you're moaning about, precisely. There is no crappy outcome - she is supporting herself. That she loses some money is a damning indictment of there being far too many benefits for peoples' own good. That her relative (the OP) is complaining is a damning indictment that some people think it is far better to let other people take care of you, rather than taking responsibility for doing it oneself.

You missed the bit where she said she is £300 worse off and that she cannot afford to live now?

Surely losing £300 per month is a crappy outcome, how can it not be. Crappy benefits system and crappy outcome saving for years and not having any benefit for it, whats the point? Seriously there's no motivation for anyone on this level of income to save into a pension when the result can be you get less income not more because of it. Its ok for you though with your big premiums and large retirement pot that will take you well over the level of pension credit etc etc....

As for patronising, you are very definition of patronising.

bendix

Baz wrote: »

You missed the bit where she said she is £300 worse off and that she cannot afford to live now?

Surely losing £300 per month is a crappy outcome, how can it not be. Crappy benefits system and crappy outcome saving for years and not having any benefit for it, whats the point? Seriously there's no motivation for anyone on this level of income to save into a pension when the result can be you get less income not more because of it. Its ok for you though with your big premiums and large retirement pot that will take you well over the level of pension credit etc etc....

As for patronising, you are very definition of patronising.

You forget one key point. The benefits that she is benefiting from now won't be available in the future.

End of discussion.

notyet

Firstly, may i congratulate the lady in question for having done the wise option and saved for her retirement?
Secondly, I have a BIG problem with the statement made.... she claimed DLA and IB? My mother was disabled and my father her full time carer. When the Benefits Agency (as it was then) representative reviewed the situation, they told my mum she could only receive DLA, IS, Housing Benefit at 60% and Council Tax Benefit at 40% (due to working adults living in the same property.) Dad got nothing. My parent was not allowed to claim IB as well. It was one or the other. How long has she been claiming? Did she get a free car from the DLA? If she wasnt working, how could she afford to pay into a pension? Im wondering if the benefits were overpaid.

seven-day-weekend

You are allowed to claim IB and DLA at the same time. One is if you are too sick to work and the other is if you have care and/or mobility needs because of a disability.

However this may only apply if you are on Contributions-based IB. If you are on Income Support due to Incapacity, then it is means tested and the total household income (not the DLA ) is counted. Therefore you may not be eligible for any Income-related IB if your household income is already deemed high enough.

You can only get a mobility car if you are on HIGH rate mobility DLA and also someone can only claim Carers' Allowance for you if you are on High or Medium rate Care DLA. But again, Carers' Allowance is means-tested so although they might be elegible for it, someone may not get it if the household income is too high

Hoe this clarifies.

margaretclare

Velcro_Hotdog wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong but if I get £X in benefits then fall back on a pension and state pension which is lower than the £X i was getting as benefits then the benefit payment were to high? Seems odd that these benefits should allow people to live a life style that means losing the benefits makes you worse of?

That's my view on the subject but I do not think that implying that one should not put money aside for the future as the state will pay a more generous income is wrong.

How can anyone be certain that the state WILL pay a more generous income in the future?

And why should 'the state' (i.e. the ordinary taxpayer) pay a more generous income to those who have made no provision of their own?

bendix

margaretclare wrote: »

How can anyone be certain that the state WILL pay a more generous income in the future?

And why should 'the state' (i.e. the ordinary taxpayer) pay a more generous income to those who have made no provision of their own?

Precisely. Perhaps I've got this 'living' and 'being a grownup' thing all wrong. I was under the impression that there is a certain innate human pride to take care of ourselves. I didn't realise the default position was actually that we should instead sod everyone else, not bother to save or sacrifice, and let someone else take care of us in the future instead.

Now that I've got that sorted out, i shall spend all my income on wine, women and song and let you suckers pay for my retirement instead. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Jeez, and people have the temerity to call MY stand selfish?

seven-day-weekend

I agree with you Bendix.

However, we must be aware that having a small pension can make someone worse off in real terms than someone who does not have one at all, it happened to my m-i-l. She had worked all her life in a manual job and just did not have enough money to save for a large pension. So despite working for fifty years,(14-64) she ended up worse off then her sister who had never worked because she was not entitled to all the freebies

But that is no reason not to try to save for your own retirement, nor to tell everyone else they are wrong to do so. We all have that responsibility, imho.