Living with the mother in-law

robin180806

Hi I am a new on here and this is my 1st post so please be nice.
I am thinking about buying a new house and building an anex on the side for my mother in law to move into. She lives on her own in a council house at the moment and is near retirement, she has a bit of savings and we are worried that if she stays where she is all her savings will go on her rent when she retires.
What we were thinking was to use her savings to help build the annex, but we were not sure if she was intitled to any help when she moves in? I know she would get her pension, but would she be intitled too anything else?
Thank you for any help you can give

dmg24

As she would be living with you, she would not be entitled to HB. The only other possibility if her pension is not sufficient would be Pension Credits.

Penny-Pincher!!

Well done to your MIL for having savings behind her. Aren't savings to use when you retire?

Does she want to live with you after having her own house? She would still receive a pension through work and a council house would be subsidised rent too.

PP

Newly_retired

It all depends on the amount of her savings and whether she will get any income other than state pension when she is of retirement age. Will that be 60 or later? If she hasn't paid ienough NI to get full SRP she should be entitled to Pension Credit which would automatically entitle her to Housing Benefit if she is renting. So it may not be as hard as she thinks to stay in her own home. 60 is a young age to live with family, unless that is what you all really want. So leaving the money aspect aside, are there other reasons which have made you come up with this idea?

robin180806

I think our main worry was that they would not give her anything because she has put some money aside, and then they would want her to use her savings to pay for her rent. Then she would be left with nothing and just rely on her state pension
So we were thinking if she used her savings to pay for the anix then at least she would not need to worry about rent, and elec/gas etc we could take care of for her, but we were not sure if she would be able to claim for anything

Jowo_2

I know that you are enquiring about unknown entitlements but I do wonder if you could inadvertently affect other future entitlements with your plan.

Probably worth you checking if your plans won't fall foul of 'deprivation of capital' rules in case MiL ever needs to go into a care home. These rules are very complex but mean that the authorities can treat applicants for means tested benefits and social care services as if they still have their money (notional capital) if they are considered to have spent in on things other than ordinary living expenses. This includes gifting the money in some way to others.

The reason why these rules are in place are to stop people with means from deliberately minimising their capital in order to better qualify for benefits. I know this isn't your intention.

I don't know how it would stand with a person spending their capital to pay for a relative's house extension but it's worth finding out the actual risks and issues before she gives up her secure tenancy.

Run your proposal past an expert. Perhaps there's an organisation similar to 'help the aged' who'd be able to provide advice on this very complex area.

Jowo_2

robin180806 wrote: »

I think our main worry was that they would not give her anything because she has put some money aside, and then they would want her to use her savings to pay for her rent. Then she would be left with nothing and just rely on her state pension
...

Is her state pension sufficient to live on or do you think she is worried that she will have to choose between heating or eating?

How high are her savings? I believe that savings below 6k don't impact means tested benefits, savings between 6 and 16k do have some impact, and savings over 16k usually prevent the receipt of all means tested benefits.

Therefore, even if she paid her rent for some period of time from her savings, she can have rainy day savings left and qualify for benefits.

There are certain legitimate ways she can spend some of her savings on herself without falling foul of deprivation of capital rules.

pink_princess

What does your mil want to do ? Does she want to use her savings to extend your home ? Id personally prefer to stay independant.

Indie_Kid

Jowo wrote: »

How high are her savings? I believe that savings below 6k don't impact means tested benefits, savings between 6 and 16k do have some impact, and savings over 16k usually prevent the receipt of all means tested benefits.

The OP states that MIl is near retirement age. For people over 60, it's savings under £10k don't count and for every £500 over, £1 is deducted.

Incyder

You sound like a nice bloke Robin.
BUT really think hard, she could linger on for another 30yrs, ruining your life, privacy and end up being a demanding hideous tyrant in a rocking chair waiting to undermine eveything you do or say.
Your life could become a living hell.

Do you want that Robin, really? Have a good think about it.

Also, what if you and the wife split up. How are you going to get the old girl out so you can sell the house?
It could get messy Robin, messy with a capital M.

Have a chat with your mates and see what they say.

shikoku

What are you more concerned about, your MIL or her money?