Savings a couple can have before it affects benefits?

keaton

I'd like to save up for mine and my partners future, but we receive a amount of housing benefit.

I know you can save 6k before it affects benefits, and while I'm no where near that, is that 6k per person or per household?

HappyMJ

keaton wrote: »

I'd like to save up for mine and my partners future, but we receive a amount of housing benefit.

I know you can save 6k before it affects benefits, and while I'm no where near that, is that 6k per person or per household?

£6,000 shared between the couple claiming.

You can save into a pension and the value of your pension is not counted.

baza52

once you hit 6k you will lose £1 for every £250 over 6k.
If you hit 16k housing benefit will stop.

barbedhook

I don't know if it makes any difference how would this work if you were saving in one of the new isa's for a deposit on a house. Probably wouldn't affect anybody on benefits but you never know.just being curious

HappyMJ

barbedhook wrote: »

I don't know if it makes any difference how would this work if you were saving in one of the new isa's for a deposit on a house. Probably wouldn't affect anybody on benefits but you never know.just being curious

The money saved in an ISA counts towards the capital limit.

tazwhoever

If a person has 8K, would that mean £8 reduction in HB and ESA? This would mean £16 reduction (£8 in HB and £8 ESA)

tomtontom

tazwhoever wrote: »

If a person has 8K, would that mean £8 reduction in HB and ESA? This would mean £16 reduction (£8 in HB and £8 ESA)

If you are in receipt of HB by virtue of your entitlement to IB ESA, you will receive the full HB rate with no reduction.

HappyMJ

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

I assume if you get housing benefit you can't afford to pay your rent yourself, yet you can save to buy yourself a house in the future? Don't you think that is a little cheeky, just a thought.

We're not supposed to be judgemental.

If they do save for a house then they can come off ESA and HB saving the taxpayer money so it should be encouraged instead of discouraged.

They would get at least £151 a week in ESA, the rent paid and the council tax paid plus any possible PIP's. It's about £15,000/year. If you exclude your rent and council tax could you live in £151 a week? What would do with what is left over? Personally, I'd go out more and spend it rather than save it up but the OP wants to buy a house with it and I don't see why not. The increased level of savings will gradually reduce benefits until they save up more than £16,000 when both income related ESA and housing benefit both stop. £16,000 would then be a good deposit on a small property worth around £80,000 which they can use to buy a house if they can secure a mortgage or funds from elsewhere then they don't need to claim housing benefit ever again.

So I would say well done to the OP for trying to rely less on the taxpayer and trying to look after themselves in the long term.

Poppie68

HappyMJ wrote: »

We're not supposed to be judgemental.

If they do save for a house then they can come off ESA and HB saving the taxpayer money so it should be encouraged instead of discouraged.

They would get at least £151 a week in ESA, the rent paid and the council tax paid plus any possible PIP's. It's about £15,000/year. If you exclude your rent and council tax could you live in £151 a week? What would do with what is left over? Personally, I'd go out more and spend it rather than save it up but the OP wants to buy a house with it and I don't see why not. The increased level of savings will gradually reduce benefits until they save up more than £16,000 when both income related ESA and housing benefit both stop. £16,000 would then be a good deposit on a small property worth around £80,000 which they can use to buy a house if they can secure a mortgage or funds from elsewhere then they don't need to claim housing benefit ever again.

So I would say well done to the OP for trying to rely less on the taxpayer and trying to look after themselves in the long term.

The op said to save for the future, nothing about buying a house!

miserableindebt

tomtontom wrote: »

If you are in receipt of HB by virtue of your entitlement to IB ESA, you will receive the full HB rate with no reduction.

I thought you got reduction in housing benefit as well?

HappyMJ

Poppie68 wrote: »

The op said to save for the future, nothing about buying a house!

Sorry it was implied from a previous posting to get a right to buy discount on their own house.