Unspent money and UC

calcotti

lhead123 said:.....and hoping that one day LISA's stop being counted for UC.

That’ll never happen.

poppy12345

lhead123 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

It's hard to get out of a frugal mindset when you no longer need it if you've lived that way for a while already, so I know what you mean about not being able to just go out and buy random or expensive stuff. 

When you need to replace or upgrade things, you could go for things in the price range above budget/basic. How about days out to outdoor places like gardens or a railway or farms or whatever your kids might enjoy? They all cost money and it does add up, especially if you buy your lunch out rather than taking your own

I'll be honest though, if your UC eventually stops for a while, will it be a problem? If your monthly payment is about the same amount that you save each month, will it matter? If you need to redecorate, or upgrade or replace things like furniture, mattresses, clothing/bedding, appliances, then coming back down below £16000 will enable you to apply again. 

[Unless you meant you receive UC and £400 of that is left over every month, but that's not what your post said.]

  When the oldest reaches 18 we will likely lose our UC anyway

You will only continue to receive the child element if they remain in full time non advanced education. For UC this can continue until the 1st September after their 19th birthday providing they started the education or training or been enrolled on or accepted for it before reaching that age. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/child-over-16

jimpwarsop

You could of course just stop claiming.

Wild idea I know.

swingaloo2

I thought benefits were there to help those who needed them to make ends meet. £400 of taxpayers money going into a savings account to buy a house does not seem right morally. Once you get to the level of savings which mean you are no longer eligible to claim why not simply stop claiming.

Spoonie_Turtle

swingaloo2 said:

I thought benefits were there to help those who needed them to make ends meet. £400 of taxpayers money going into a savings account to buy a house does not seem right morally. Once you get to the level of savings which mean you are no longer eligible to claim why not simply stop claiming.

They won't have much choice, the claim will close once they declare over the £16000 mark.

(I can't imagine undeclared savings would go undiscovered for very long, in case anyone thinks people might try that as an option!)

[Deleted User]

You need to spend as you go along or the benefit will stop when you hit the 16k point. 

poppy12345

swingaloo2 said:

I thought benefits were there to help those who needed them to make ends meet. £400 of taxpayers money going into a savings account to buy a house does not seem right morally.

If they're entitled to them there's nothing stopping anyone from claiming them. Whether they choose to spend it is entirely their decision.

strawb_shortcake

Can you pay it into your children's bank accounts without it affecting your benefits?

lhead123

annabanana82 said:

Can you pay it into your children's bank accounts without it affecting your benefits?

Into their ISA's yes, as it's locked away until they're 18. Not into regular savings accounts as we could take the money out at any point, so UC see it as our money, not theirs.

WillowCat

Pay it into a pension.  I put £400 a month into my SIPP, HMRC adds another £100, and UC then gives me another £252 as my earnings have reduced by the £400.  I do it outside of my workplace scheme so have to report it each month, if you do it via your employer it's much easier.