benefit free 30 April 2012 at 6:32PM in Benefits & tax credits 4 replies 952 views

st999

Don't know if I should celebrate or drown my sorrows but I am now benefit claiming free.

I was made redundant and only got £3,500 redundancy and lived on my savings and my wife's income and benefits then I got a part time job and got pension credit and council tax benefit.

When I got my OAP on reaching 65 my pension credit stopped but as I had less than £16,000 in savings I still got council tax benefit.

Then my mortgage ended and I had some money left from an endowment and I have managed to increase my savings to £16,000.

I told the council tax benefit office and I am now paying full council tax.:rotfl:

So no more nosy council benefit person nosing through my bank statements that I no longer need to keep.

Freedom.:j

Anubis_2

Well done

krisskross

I find myself in 2 minds about this.

We. as pensioners, claim no means tested benefits because we made provision for our retirement during our working lives.

However we know from conversations with our friends on pension credit with all the associated benefits that brings that their monthly disposable income is very close to our own. Sometimes I think that all the financial sacrifices we made and scrimping we did was fairly pointless.

However no one investigates our bank/savings accounts, we do not worry about benefits being withdrawn or changed. Plus we have the satisfaction of knowing we have managed to be pretty well self sufficient all our lives.

st999

And I/we don't have to worry about any of this deprivation of capital nonsense.

We can spend our money on what we want.

I might be going to replace my heating and windows next year and I am sure I will end up with less than £16,000 in savings, I wonder if I should re-apply for council tax benefit :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

No I don't think I'll bother. Too much hassle:(:(

Anubis_2

Same for my mother and father in law, their pensions are private and no pension credit etc.