JSA & HB, How long does tarif last ?

Goose232

Hi people..
I am on income based JSA and Housing benefit...
I am about to receive inheritance of £10,000 - meaning I'm £4000 over the max threshold of £6000.
For every £250 above £6000, they deduct £1. So: £4000 / 250 = £16

2 questions - and n.o 2 is more important:
If I'm right - this means I'll have £16 deducted of my Housing benefit.
A) But does it ALSO mean I'll get £16 a week deducted of my JSA ?
Both the above are acceptable to me - but........ my MAIN question is.....
How long does this deduction / tarif last ??? How many months / years ?
I was worried that I'll have deductions for like 4 years or something silly. (By which time I would of course have spent that £4000 + )

There was a vague sentence somewhere in google land saying "it is not time limited".
Perhaps they mean - until your savings are back below the £6000 threshold allowance.
In which case - it is down to the discretion of whomever - to decide whether or not the money was spent too quickly..
e.g: the " Deprivation of capitol " rule. Quoted "....when you knowingly reduce or transfer elsewhere your savings and other capital to get, or increase your benefit".

How are they going to decide whether or not I spent the £4000 too quickly ?
Like if I take 6 months to spend it perhaps? Is that "too quickly" ? (For them).:(

( Again - I have not received the money yet - but I'm due to receive it soon )..



.

baza52

if you give the money away or use it to pay debts that are not due then it will be treated a deprivation of capital.

IF you were to buy a car for 4k it would be ok. IF you were to book a modestly priced holiday it would be ok. IF you renew carpets, Bed, Cooker, fridge, sofa etc. it would be ok.

You can spend the 4k in 1 week if you spend it on allowable things.
Just keep receipts in case they request them in the future.

Murphybear

The problem is, there is no list of allowable things. Each Council (for HB) and the DWP (for other benefits) have their own ideas as to what constitutes deprivation of assets.

When my OH was on Pension Credit he cashed in a works pension. He took a lump sum and bought a new washer/dryer, fridge, freezer, dishwasher and laptop. He also replaced his car. All the appliances were Miele, laptop Apple and car was 10 year old Lexus. All of these things were allowed by the Council because he was replacing like for like. The DWP weren't involved as his additional income took him over the PC threshold.

The plan is that he will never have to buy any of these items again as he will expire before they do;)

pmlindyloo

Goose232 wrote: »

Hi people..
I am on income based JSA and Housing benefit...
I am about to receive inheritance of £10,000 - meaning I'm £4000 over the max threshold of £6000.
For every £250 above £6000, they deduct £1. So: £4000 / 250 = £16

2 questions - and n.o 2 is more important:
If I'm right - this means I'll have £16 deducted of my Housing benefit.
A) But does it ALSO mean I'll get £16 a week deducted of my JSA ?
Both the above are acceptable to me - but........ my MAIN question is.....
How long does this deduction / tarif last ??? How many months / years ?
I was worried that I'll have deductions for like 4 years or something silly. (By which time I would of course have spent that £4000 + )

There was a vague sentence somewhere in google land saying "it is not time limited".
Perhaps they mean - until your savings are back below the £6000 threshold allowance.
In which case - it is down to the discretion of whomever - to decide whether or not the money was spent too quickly..
e.g: the " Deprivation of capitol " rule. Quoted "....when you knowingly reduce or transfer elsewhere your savings and other capital to get, or increase your benefit".

How are they going to decide whether or not I spent the £4000 too quickly ?
Like if I take 6 months to spend it perhaps? Is that "too quickly" ? (For them).:(

( Again - I have not received the money yet - but I'm due to receive it soon )..



.

Since you are on income based JSA then the income tariff will applied only to the JSA so they will deduct £16 from this.

As you will still be on income based JSA, albeit at a reduced rate, then you will still have automatic entitlement to the current amount of HB.

However, you should inform the council as well because if you are receiving CT reduction then it will have to be recalculated.

There are no detailed guidelines about deprivation of capital. The over riding consideration is whether it has been done to claim or increase a benefit.

Normal living expenses would be quite acceptable. Any largish items that you buy (a washing machine for example) you should keep the receipts.

You can notify JSA of change of circumstances with your capital at any time but they may query what it has been spent on - hence the need to keep receipts.

If in doubt about your spending, telephone them and ask them about it. Also ask them to send a letter confirming this. At the very minimum take the name of the person you spoke to and the date of the phone call giving you permission. Phone calls are recorded so you would have evidence that you had been told the spending was OK and you could not be accused of deprivation of capital.

Londonsu

Goose232 wrote: »

Hi people..
I am on income based JSA and Housing benefit...
I am about to receive inheritance of £10,000 - meaning I'm £4000 over the max threshold of £6000.
For every £250 above £6000, they deduct £1. So: £4000 / 250 = £16

2 questions - and n.o 2 is more important:
If I'm right - this means I'll have £16 deducted of my Housing benefit.
A) But does it ALSO mean I'll get £16 a week deducted of my JSA ?
Both the above are acceptable to me - but........ my MAIN question is.....
How long does this deduction / tarif last ??? How many months / years ?
I was worried that I'll have deductions for like 4 years or something silly. (By which time I would of course have spent that £4000 + )

There was a vague sentence somewhere in google land saying "it is not time limited".
Perhaps they mean - until your savings are back below the £6000 threshold allowance.
In which case - it is down to the discretion of whomever - to decide whether or not the money was spent too quickly..
e.g: the " Deprivation of capitol " rule. Quoted "....when you knowingly reduce or transfer elsewhere your savings and other capital to get, or increase your benefit".

How are they going to decide whether or not I spent the £4000 too quickly ?
Like if I take 6 months to spend it perhaps? Is that "too quickly" ? (For them).:(

( Again - I have not received the money yet - but I'm due to receive it soon )..



.

I am a bit confused to be honest are you assuming you will still be on IB JSA and HB in 4 years time? HB possibly if you get a job with a low income and are entitled to it but JSA?????

Goose232

Thanks for replying...

I am applying for jobs left, right and centre.
I had an interview at Greggs the bakers several days a go.
It is a part time job - and IF I get the job - the first thing I will do is sign OFF Jsa.
But as it's a part time job - I will carry on claiming Housing benefit - albeit at the reduced rate.

I certainly don't want ot be on the dole for much longer - it is demoralising - and taking me no where.

But I am a little nervous or anxious about the work thing - as in there is no garuantee I will have a job. So until I have a job - I need to know the general rules regarding my situation of receiving inheritance..

Carrieanne

All the do's and dont's good advice has been given in this thread already. As you know, for as long as you're in receipt of any means-tested benefit you'll be docked incrementally for as long as you're in receipt of a means-tested benefit and have above £6K in your bank account. Naturally, you want to spend the excess but not waste it. If you can think of £4,000 worth of stuff or services you need and is reasonable then detail what you plan along with approximate costs to purchase and write prior to the DWP and ask for an opinion. Whatever you spend the dough on, ensure it's done via virtual money so those spends have an electronic paper trail. And don't worry about spending it too quickly as these situations are commonplace with people receiving windfalls. It's the Jack the lad types who don't bother informing the authorities of a change in circumstances and who have no inkling of their data matching sweeps who are the ones who get nailed.