Commencement lump sum pension

nina_simone

My sister is about to receive £7300 from her private pension. She has no savings, but is in receipt of ESA. She needs to spend money on her home. I know she is allowed to have £6000 in savings. Can she use the other £1300 on carpets etc or will this automatically be deducted from her benefits?

xylophone

My sister is about to receive £7300 from her private pension.

Will she also be receiving a regular pension?

https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/eligibility

She needs to spend money on her home. I know she is allowed to have £6000 in savings. Can she use the other £1300 on carpets etc or will this automatically be deducted from her benefits?

This would seem to depend on whether this can be regarded as normal expenditure or deliberate deprivation of capital to receive/continue to receive/increase entitlement to means tested benefits?

nina_simone

She will receive a private pension which will automatically be deducted from her means tested benefits. She just wondered if she should take the extra £1300 which would go a long way to sort her home out, or just take the £6000, and put up with her living conditions.

gadgetmind

I think you'd get more informed answers on one of the benefits boards. Sorry.

atush

I agree, but if the home was in a state, and the carpets many years old it could fly I think.