25% house owner - benefits

calcotti

Spoonie_Turtle said: On the other end of the spectrum we get people not knowing they don't have to use every last penny of their savings before they can claim benefits. 

Sadly that is very true. Some people only turn to benefits when they have exhausted all of their savings which means they have no cushion for the unexpected and it is harder for them to get back on their feet. 

kaMelo

Spoonie_Turtle said:

kaMelo said:

I know this is not a discussion board but frankly it's becoming ridiculous. The number of posts recently about how someone can dispose of assets to keep their benefit entitlement it's clear why strong rules regarding deprivation of assets are needed. Some people are simply taking the !!!!!! and unfortunately for the majority of benefit claimants who don't do so, they get tarred with the same brush.

On the other end of the spectrum we get people not knowing they don't have to use every last penny of their savings before they can claim benefits.  The board is here to ask for advice, and thank goodness it is.  If people went ahead with things that would be DoC they'll get themselves into a much worse situation than simply no longer being able to claim one or more benefits; equally if people wrongfully thought they would lose entitlement to all benefits (people often ask about inheritances or savings affecting their PIP) and never knew to claim them once they became eligible again, they would lose out.  This board is here to help people get what they are legitimately entitled to, and that's all people are asking.  Generally they are not asking how to commit fraud, and (apart from one occasional moron who advocates keeping cash so DWP can't track it - still fraud!) the advice will always be about what people are legally entitled to, that's it.  Hopefully in the process people are reassured that 'losing' benefits will not be the end of the world that they initially feel it will be.

I know and you are right. You highlight many reasons exactly why this is board is to help and inform only rather than discuss policies and judge people. 
  
Someone seeking information or reassurance as they are worried that losing some or all of their benefit entitlement is the end of the world is one thing. They deserve help and/or reassurance.
The posts I'm talking about, which there seems to have been a few lately, are where someone is clearly informed of the rules, they just don't like them and consider spending their inheritance on daily living as a shocking idea.
It just struck a nerve that's all.

baza52

kaMelo said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

kaMelo said:

I know this is not a discussion board but frankly it's becoming ridiculous. The number of posts recently about how someone can dispose of assets to keep their benefit entitlement it's clear why strong rules regarding deprivation of assets are needed. Some people are simply taking the !!!!!! and unfortunately for the majority of benefit claimants who don't do so, they get tarred with the same brush.

On the other end of the spectrum we get people not knowing they don't have to use every last penny of their savings before they can claim benefits.  The board is here to ask for advice, and thank goodness it is.  If people went ahead with things that would be DoC they'll get themselves into a much worse situation than simply no longer being able to claim one or more benefits; equally if people wrongfully thought they would lose entitlement to all benefits (people often ask about inheritances or savings affecting their PIP) and never knew to claim them once they became eligible again, they would lose out.  This board is here to help people get what they are legitimately entitled to, and that's all people are asking.  Generally they are not asking how to commit fraud, and (apart from one occasional moron who advocates keeping cash so DWP can't track it - still fraud!) the advice will always be about what people are legally entitled to, that's it.  Hopefully in the process people are reassured that 'losing' benefits will not be the end of the world that they initially feel it will be.

I know and you are right. You highlight many reasons exactly why this is board is to help and inform only rather than discuss policies and judge people. 
  
Someone seeking information or reassurance as they are worried that losing some or all of their benefit entitlement is the end of the world is one thing. They deserve help and/or reassurance.
The posts I'm talking about, which there seems to have been a few lately, are where someone is clearly informed of the rules, they just don't like them and consider spending their inheritance on daily living as a shocking idea.
It just struck a nerve that's all.

In my mind its no different from someone who asks for legitimate ways to cut their tax bill and pay less into the system.
We are ALL moneysavers

Newly_retired

Mojisola said:

HouseTargaryen said:

I have a friend and their mum died and put a quarter of her house in their name. And a quarter in his brother's name. The other half is in the dad's name and he lives at the property.
However, the dad is getting older and needs a bungalow or some form of assisted living. So he wants to sell the house and move. This would result in around £90k to my friend.
And if there's a way to keep his share in his dad's new house so the arrangement stays the same.

It depends on how the will was written.  When a tenant in common leaves their share of the house to someone other than the spouse, there is usually direction about allowing the spouse to stay in the house as long as they want and also to be able to sell and buy another property using the full capital.

This. I have left my share of my property to my children, but my will is written as above. My husband can live in it or sell it, using the full equity to buy another property, so the children won’t get their share straightaway. Your friend needs to check the will.

HouseTargaryen

Thanks I will share these comments with him.

sammyjammy

I don't think anyone has mentioned it will depend which benefits he is receiving.  He will lose the means tested ones but if he is claiming PIP/DLA then he will still get that and if he is claiming ESA he needs to check if its contribution based.

Newly_retired

The OP said he is on PIP and UC. The PIP won’t be affected.

poppy12345

HouseTargaryen said:

 He gets PIP and universal credit.

Here.......

yksi

DJ13x said:

His benefits would stop if he has £90k in the bank as he would no longet be struggling for money. If he does get that money...defeats the point of him claiming benefits....no?

This is not necessarily correct. If the money is earmarked for the purchase of a home it can be disregarded. And this is what I would suggest the person does.

I also share the disappointment that so many people come into these forums with the attitude that they shouldn't spend their own money on supporting themselves and should instead have the state supporting them. But in the case of buying a home for yourself to live in, this both reduces the taxpayer bill and gives the recipient some housing stability, so it seems to me the right thing to do all round. And 90k is plenty of money to get yourself a ground floor flat plus pay for accessibility modifications, unless you're choosy on location.

calcotti

yksi said:.. 90k is plenty of money to get yourself a ground floor flat plus pay for accessibility modifications, unless you're choosy on location.

Depending on which part of the country OP lives in!

yksi said:  If the money is earmarked for the purchase of a home it can be disregarded. 

I don't think that is correct. 

H2119 Where a person has received an amount within the past 6 months which is to be used to purchase premises that the person intend to occupy as their home, that amount can be disregarded from the calculation of that person’s capital where it

1. is attributable to the proceeds of the sale of premises formerly occupied as their home or 

2. has been deposited with a housing association (see H2045) or

3. is a grant made to the person for the sole purpose of purchasing a home.

In this case it appears proceeds would not be from sale of a property that claimant has lived in as their home so the disregard doesn't apply.