Permitted Savings

dippy3103

I must admit I do think its unfair that someone on pension credit can come into a huge amount of money and if they are in a AIP they remain entitled to full benefit plus HB/CTRS. Fair enough pensioners have more generous rules but there should be a cut off somewhere

bujin

confuseddaughter wrote: »

I agree with you. If you have enough cash in the bank to buy your own car why can it be right that you are still entitled to DLA and a car? Shouldn't it be a case of making sure that those that can't afford one get one to help with their disability? Am I right in thinking that like what I am sure I heard a while back, someone that wins a few million can still get financial help if they have a disability? I don't understand that logic.

You say this as though they get given the Allowance and a car for free. People use their allowance to which they are entitled, just as people receive Child Benefit because they are entitled, in order to get a car. You can only get a car if you're entitled to the Higher Rate Mobility Allowance, so you have very real problems with getting around.

Most cannot use public transport and the expense and difficulty of either running a car and/or having other transport available, would soon knock a big hole in their savings.

Many people use their cars for work and although you may think they shouldn't have it if they are well off, it's a lifeline for these people that they doubtless could soon ill afford if they were paying themselves.

Oh and I see you've chucked pensioners in there with this undeserving lots of disabled people too.

margaretclare

bujin wrote: »

You say this as though they get given the Allowance and a car for free. People use their allowance to which they are entitled, just as people receive Child Benefit because they are entitled, in order to get a car. You can only get a car if you're entitled to the Higher Rate Mobility Allowance, so you have very real problems with getting around.

Most cannot use public transport and the expense and difficulty of either running a car and/or having other transport available, would soon knock a big hole in their savings.

Many people use their cars for work and although you may think they shouldn't have it if they are well off, it's a lifeline for these people that they doubtless could soon ill afford if they were paying themselves.

Oh and I see you've chucked pensioners in there with this undeserving lots of disabled people too.

Thanks for this.

DH and I use AA to help pay for the running of our car. And before anyone says 'oh but you can apply for a bus pass', there is no bus service which would take us to the places we like to go to. Added to which, actually getting to the bus is not the easiest.

dippy3103

I used to work with a lady who had cerebral palsy. She is reliant on her sticks on a good day and wheelchair on a bad day.

She used her DLA to get her car to get her to work. She could have probably pulled in a small fortune in disability benefits and chosen not to work.

Where would the cut off on disability benefits be?

bujin

dippy3103 wrote: »

I used to work with a lady who had cerebral palsy. She is reliant on her sticks on a good day and wheelchair on a bad day.

She used her DLA to get her car to get her to work. She could have probably pulled in a small fortune in disability benefits and chosen not to work.

Where would the cut off on disability benefits be?

You've just said she claimed DLA so she was on disability benefits!!!???

nannytone_2

while i agree that millionaires dont need to claim AA or DLA ( why any of them would choose to, given the hoops people need to jump through) youre looking at this from the wrong angle.
AA/DLA is intended to be spent on the additional costs of disability.
why should anyone be worse off because they are disabled than they would be if they were not disabled.....
that is the main purpose.
if you have an income of £100 a week or £1,000 a week is irrelevant. its to do with not being worse off than if you had no disability in ANY circumstance

margaretclare

Nannytone, you're absolutely right that it costs more to be disabled than not to be. There are numerous services you have to pay for that other people who are fit, active and healthy can do for themselves and never give it a thought.

confuseddaughter_2

bujin wrote: »

You say this as though they get given the Allowance and a car for free. People use their allowance to which they are entitled, just as people receive Child Benefit because they are entitled, in order to get a car. You can only get a car if you're entitled to the Higher Rate Mobility Allowance, so you have very real problems with getting around.

Most cannot use public transport and the expense and difficulty of either running a car and/or having other transport available, would soon knock a big hole in their savings.

Many people use their cars for work and although you may think they shouldn't have it if they are well off, it's a lifeline for these people that they doubtless could soon ill afford if they were paying themselves.

Oh and I see you've chucked pensioners in there with this undeserving lots of disabled people too.

I am just looking at things from a logical and realistic point of view.
I am all for people with disabilities being given financial help for care and mobility. On the other hand I am not happy that there are millionaires and such like that can afford to buy and run their own cars. They don't need the allowance. Hence why I think that all benefits including disability, sickness and child related ones should be means tested. Let those that have the money look after themselves and those that don't have the money, let society help them. What is so wrong with that?
As I said earlier, if dad with his DLA high mobility did have a motability car and then came into an inheritance or a win on the lottery, I wouldn't be too happy if he didn't hand the car back and bought his own.
I never said that pensioners were an undeserving group. What I did say was that for the past 5 years or so, all of the benefit cuts have affected everybody EXCEPT the pensioners and elderly. Is that fair? What I do know is that there is a growing number of people that when this government changes, they want to apply the same rules across all sectors of society. Why should some pensioners and the elderly receive increases in their pensions and other benefits when they may well be sat on 10's of thousand's of pounds.
I like to be fair with everyone, and I feel that the young of today have had a very raw deal under this government.

dippy3103

bujin wrote: »

You've just said she claimed DLA so she was on disability benefits!!!???

I meant as in not work. I realise everyone copes differently but she could probably have chosen not to work at all

jollyme

This thread has strayed somewhat from the original