Parents gifting money on benefits

APeacocke

Hi everyone, I’ve joined for some advice.
My parents are retired, on pension credit and housing benefit.
They own a cottage in Ireland which they are selling. They aren’t making a fortune from the sale €35k at most. They were going to give it to me to help towards a deposit but have realised that they are unable to do this as their benefits are being stopped and they are expected to pay for rent and to live on the money from the sale.
Is there any way they can gift me the money? And not have their benefits stopped?
Thanks.

calcotti

Short answer is no.

What is puzzling is that if they owned a property they were not living in this would normally be treated as capital anyway, in which case whether it is property or money shouldn’t make a difference to their benefit entitlement. Had they declared the property when they claimed benefit? Was there some reason why it could not previously be sold meaning that it could be disregarded?

How much Pension Credit do they get? Sale proceeds of £31,000 will reduce their Pension Credit by £42/week. If they get guarantee Pension Credit of more than this they will still get some PC after the sale in which case they will still get maximum HB.

They can give you money but will be treated as if they still have it and their benefit entitlement calculated accordingly.

McKneff

no, they cant have all that money, give it away and expect the tax payers to pay for their housing etc needs.

Did they declare this property when they applied for benefits.

elsien

Bites tongue before saying something incredibly rude.

APeacocke

Yes house was declared. The house is uninhabitable and in Republic of Ireland. Thanks for your help

calcotti

APeacocke wrote: »

Yes house was declared. The house is uninhabitable and in Republic of Ireland. Thanks for your help

Location of property is not relevant. An uninhabitable property would normally only be disregarded for 26 weeks and this disregard is for the express purpose of allowing repairs to be made.

Do your parents have an Assessed Income Period on their PC? If so for how long?
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/assessed-income-period

Alice_Holt

APeacocke wrote: »

My parents are retired, on pension credit and housing benefit.
They own a cottage in Ireland...
...Is there any way they can gift me the money? And not have their benefits stopped?

I wonder if not in a AIP (and these are becoming rare), if the sale may give rise to an investigation by the DWP of any previous capital declarations, and a reassessment of the award with the possibility of an overpayment demand.

This sort of entitled attitude towards benefits "Is there any way they can gift me the money? And not have their benefits stopped?", can become badly unstuck when events catch up.
If the OP hoped that we would give him tips on how to defraud the benefit system, he will be sadly disappointed.

kingfisherblue

Benefits are to help people who need them. They are supposed to be a safety net. Once sold, your parents will have £30,000+ and will no longer need benefits for a period of time - I know that the money will not last forever. Why should they be allowed to gift money to you, so that you can pay a house deposit, when the taxpayers of this country continue to pay towards your parents benefits?

I claim benefits as a carer for my severely disabled son, and I am truly grateful that we have a welfare system in place. If I had £30k, I would be glad to stop claiming for a while.

TELLIT01

Simple answer is No. They can't gift the money to you and continue claiming Income Related benefits. They must declare the capital as soon as the money hits their bank account.

APeacocke

Ok thanks everyone. I asked for some advice in case there was something I was missing as the benefits system is a minefield. I did not come on to be given ideas on how to defraud the system or to be reminded that my parents should be grateful for the money etc. They are well aware.

poppy12345

calcotti wrote: »

Do your parents have an Assessed Income Period on their PC? If so for how long?
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/assessed-income-period

You need to answer this question.