Money left in will to pensioner

gill01

My aunty receives pension credit and housing beneit . Shes been left about £35000 by a friend in her will . Can she leave this to her children and grandchildren and how will it affect her benefits ?

bengal-stripe

If your aunt has been granted an Assessed Income Period

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/pc10s-guide-to-pension-credit/assessed-income-period/

the inheritance will not affect her payments at all, until the time for the next assessment comes round. (Up to five years at age 65, 70, 75; after that the assessment lasts for life.

Check on her benefit notification letter (send out in March) whether an AIP exists.

Dunroamin

She can leave it to whoever she likes when she dies, what she cannot do is just give it away whilst on benefits, without taking account of the circumstances around her claim, as mentioned above.

sleepless_saver

gill01 wrote: »

My aunty receives pension credit and housing beneit . Shes been left about £35000 by a friend in her will . Can she leave this to her children and grandchildren and how will it affect her benefits ?

Does she receive guarantee pension credit or only savings pension credit? If it's only savings pension credit then her housing benefit would be affected and she would need to notify the council now.

bengal-stripe

sleepless_saver wrote: »

.......she would need to notify the council now.

If your aunt has only been advised, that she is the beneficiary of someone's will, there is no need to inform anyone now, until the money has actually been released to her (which might well take several months).

Pollycat

My Mum & Dad were in receipt of Guaranteed Pension Credit and had an Assessed Income Period on their notification letter.

When they sold their house, I rang DWP to tell them their savings had increased and was told 'Even if they have won the lottery, any increase in savings won't make any difference until the end of the AIP'.

I'd tell DWP as soon as she gets the money, just to be on the safe side.

Mojisola

Pollycat wrote: »

My Mum & Dad were in receipt of Guaranteed Pension Credit and had an Assessed Income Period on their notification letter.

When they sold their house, I rang DWP to tell them their savings had increased and was told 'Even if they have won the lottery, any increase in savings won't make any difference until the end of the AIP'.

I'd tell DWP as soon as she gets the money, just to be on the safe side.

This is what I did when Mum had a small inheritance and was convinced that all their benefits would stop. After I phoned them and the nice advisor spoke to Mum and gave her the "lottery win" speech, he also put it in writing so that she could read it whenever she started worrying!

st999

If I inherited £35,000 the first thing I would do was go to the benefit office or where ever and tell them to stuff their benefit up their !!!!.

In fact that is what I did when an endowment paid out and I got a lump sum from a pension.

Freedom to do what I want and never have to tell some nosy !!! in an office how much money I have and what I spend it on.

Mojisola

st999 wrote: »

If I inherited £35,000 the first thing I would do was go to the benefit office or where ever and tell them to stuff their benefit up their !!!!.

In fact that is what I did when an endowment paid out and I got a lump sum from a pension.

Freedom to do what I want and never have to tell some nosy !!! in an office how much money I have and what I spend it on.

If you are on guaranteed pension credit, you don't have to explain what you're spending the money on.

st999

If you are on guaranteed pension credit, you don't have to explain what you're spending the money on.

I know that but they still want to see bank statements.

I don't want some stuck up cow in a council office knowing what I have in the bank.

Pollycat

st999 wrote: »

I know that but they still want to see bank statements.

I don't want some stuck up cow in a council office knowing what I have in the bank.

As previously discussed, if you are in receipt of Guaranteed Pension Credit and have an Assessed Income Period, even if you win £10,000,000 on the lottery it will not affect your benefits until the end of the AIP so nobody will ask to see your bank statements.