£16k savings reductions

ever

This is hypothetical as I could only wish that I had this much in savings, but I'm hoping to aggressively save after I get my debts paid off and I'm just curious. If someone has £16,000 in savings, how is the deduction done? I receive lone parent income support (£71/week), child benefit (£33/week), child tax credit (£114/week), and full LHA (£95/week).

I think it's true that for every £250 in savings above £6000, you're reduced by £1. Is this a weekly reduction? Is it only reduced from your IS or is LHA also reduced?

So if I had £16,000 in savings, it would be a £40/week reduction (£16,000-£6000= £10000/£250= £40).

a) Is that accurate?
b) Is that amount deducted from both IS and LHA per week?

I'm sure I'll never get there, but I have rather grand delusions for my money and tend to overthink!

tomtom256

If you had £16k you wouldn't be entitled.

You need below £16k to be eligible. As long as you receive IS your HB/CTB will not be affected.

ever

Ah, I see, so if it was £15,000 then (since it's hypothetical). That means that the IS would be reduced from £71/week to £35/week and that's all that would be affected? I thought surely HB would be reduced as well!

tomtom256

No IS is passported so you would still get your normal rate of HB. Same with any other passported means tested benefit.

ever

Thank you for the info! It's surprising that it's reduced by such a relatively small amount then. Maybe one day I'll get there! :whistle:

ever

I'm only actually on income support for another year, then I'll be looking for work (at that point I will also have finished my bachelor's degree). Hence why I called the entire post hypothetical and a grand delusion ...

And as far as my debts, it's £300 on a credit card from an emergency this summer. It's not as if I have payday loans out the yin yang for thousands of pounds.

princessdon

ever wrote: »

I'm only actually on income support for another year, then I'll be looking for work (at that point I will also have finished my bachelor's degree). Hence why I called the entire post hypothetical and a grand delusion ...

And as far as my debts, it's £300 on a credit card from an emergency this summer. It's not as if I have payday loans out the yin yang for thousands of pounds.

But then you are working and if you can save £16000 chances are you won't be on benefits so can save far more as it will never matter. I don't get your assumption that you can save so much and be on benefits. Either you support that benefits are far too generous and given out to those not in need, or if you have that, you are not claiming benefits.

It will be far lower soon anyway IMO

ever

But then you are working and if you can save £16000 chances are you won't be on benefits so can save far more as it will never matter.

Well yes, that's my point. There's no use in people getting wound up over this post because it's completely hypothetical. It was curiosity, not reality.

[Deleted User]

Let's not forget someone on benefits could quite legitimately be getting say £500 CSA each month and still get IS, HB etc etc.
My friend was saying the other day he thinks it's disgusting, he divorced his Wife, signed over a house to her bought and paid for worth £320'000 split their savings giving her £80'000 yet she legitimately works only 16 hours a week and claims working tax credit! He also has his son 5 nights out of 14 and gives her £50pw child support! A good example of why the system needs to change.

FBaby

It's not so hypothetical if in addition to all these benefits, you get very nice maintenance payments each month that you get to keep....

A mum of one of my DD's friends told me last week (having met at an exclusive gym to which you have to be members...) that in addition to claiming all single parents benefits, she gets over £1,000 in child maintenance (she has three children from two different men, both doing very well financially). She proudly announced that she thought parents who took their kids out of school during term time were selfish and that she made sacrifices to take her kids abroad during the school holidays... grrrrr.....

FBaby

Oh just read your post JoanneNotts!!! I think with all the publicity about deadbeat dads who don't support their kids, it is forgotten that a large number of dads do contribute vastly and many single mums got a really nice deal when it was decided that maintenance would not be counted when assessing benefits....

Where is the incentive to work when you are already living very comfortably and enjoying the luxury of being a stay at home mum...