ESA and Savings

venomx

I read on citizens advice that if you have over a certain amount of savings it can affect ESA.

However on the ESA forms I have received previously it never asks about savings, so i'm confused ?

It says between £6k and £16k can have upto £40 deducted each week. Would I be right in saying the more you have saved, the more they will deduct ?

poppy12345

venomx said:

I read on citizens advice that if you have over a certain amount of savings it can affect ESA.

However on the ESA forms I have received previously it never asks about savings, so i'm confused ?

It says between £6k and £16k can have upto £40 deducted each week. Would I be right in saying the more you have saved, the more they will deduct ?

This only applies to Income Related ESA. Saving of more than £6,000 will see a reduction of £1 for every £250 or part there of over than amount. Savings of more than £16,000 will mean you're not entitled to any means tested benefits.

If you're claiming Contributions based or New style ESA then savings do not affect this.

venomx

poppy12345 said:

venomx said:

I read on citizens advice that if you have over a certain amount of savings it can affect ESA.

However on the ESA forms I have received previously it never asks about savings, so i'm confused ?

It says between £6k and £16k can have upto £40 deducted each week. Would I be right in saying the more you have saved, the more they will deduct ?

This only applies to Income Related ESA. Saving of more than £6,000 will see a reduction of £1 for every £250 or part there of over than amount. Savings of more than £16,000 will mean you're not entitled to any means tested benefits.

If you're claiming Contributions based or New style ESA then savings do not affect this.

I'm in the support group and  not employed, does that count as income related ?

poppy12345

It can be a mixture of Contributions based and Income Related, or all Contributions based. If your ESA amount per week is more than £113.55 then at least part of it is Income Related. This means if you have savings of more than £6,000 you'll need to ring DWP to report the changes. Any overpayment will need to be repaid back.

Also if you have savings of more than £6,000 and you're claiming council tax reduction then you'll need to contact your local council because all councils have their own criteria for savings and some have a £6,000 maximum threshold.

Spoonie_Turtle

poppy12345 said:

It can be a mixture of Contributions based and Income Related, or all Contributions based. If your ESA amount per week is more than £113.55 then at least part of it is Income Related. This means if you have savings of more than £6,000 you'll need to ring DWP to report the changes. Any overpayment will need to be repaid back.

Also if you have savings of more than £6,000 and you're claiming council tax reduction then you'll need to contact your local council because all councils have their own criteria for savings and some have a £6,000 maximum threshold.

Am I right in thinking that applies to Housing Benefit as well?

venomx

Spoonie_Turtle said:

poppy12345 said:

It can be a mixture of Contributions based and Income Related, or all Contributions based. If your ESA amount per week is more than £113.55 then at least part of it is Income Related. This means if you have savings of more than £6,000 you'll need to ring DWP to report the changes. Any overpayment will need to be repaid back.

Also if you have savings of more than £6,000 and you're claiming council tax reduction then you'll need to contact your local council because all councils have their own criteria for savings and some have a £6,000 maximum threshold.

Am I right in thinking that applies to Housing Benefit as well?

I think it does. I had to fill out a form recently reviewing my housing benefit and council tax.

As I'm only just over the threshold of £6,000 ( i declared this on the form ) Does that mean i'd have to pay more council tax and housing benefit now ?

Does it depend how much over the threshold you are or not, which would dictate how much i'd now  have to pay ?

What I mean is, would I still be eligble for some discount still ?

calcotti

venomx said: As I'm only just over the threshold of £6,000 ( i declared this on the form ) Does that mean i'd have to pay more council tax and housing benefit now ? 

Does it depend how much over the threshold you are or not, which would dictate how much i'd now  have to pay ? 

There is a reduction in benefit entitlement for savings over £6000. The reduction increases as savings increase. You should therefore expect to see a slight fall in your ESA and a small increase in your rent payments and Council Tax payments. You should tell the various agencies every time your savings cross a £250 threshold (whether going up or down).

siobeau63

I am in receipt of ESA and middle rate DLA, and I have just received a damage settlement of £13,876.
I have debts totaling £5200 (which I have paid off today.) 
I Have a schedule of loss and damage (i.e. Medication and treatment, traveling expenses, other expenses, care and assistance and future medical treatment) that amounts to, £6,787, however an interim payment of £3,000 was forwarded to the solicitor last year from the defendant's insurers to pay for treatment and expenses that had already occurred.
Could you please advise me if I will have deductions made from my benefits?

calcotti

Am not clear from your post how much money you actually expect to have.

As explained in this thread income based benefits are reduced by capital in excess of £6000. However injuries compensation payments, if that is what you have received, are ignored for 52 weeks. If you think that by the end of that time you will still have more than £6000 left then you can put the money into a trust and it will be ignored indefinitely. If you will only have slightly over £6000 then it may not be worth the bother (and I assume there are some costs involved with a trust). See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/932378/dmgch52.pdf#page54
Paragraphs 52415 and 52504-52505.

DLA is not means tested and some of your ESA may be contribution based and that part would not be means tested.

venomx

I've looked on  some council websites and it says if you receive ESA ( income related ) you'll get the full amount...

https://www.eden.gov.uk/council-tax-and-housing-benefit/council-tax-reduction/how-we-calculate-a-council-tax-reduction/

I will contact my local council later for confirmation

I'm sure on the form I filled out regarding council tax reduction it said they could share the info with the DWP so i'm assuming they will now reduce my ESA ?

poppy12345

venomx said:

I've looked on  some council websites and it says if you receive ESA ( income related ) you'll get the full amount...

https://www.eden.gov.uk/council-tax-and-housing-benefit/council-tax-reduction/how-we-calculate-a-council-tax-reduction/

I will contact my local council later for confirmation

I'm sure on the form I filled out regarding council tax reduction it said they could share the info with the DWP so i'm assuming they will now reduce my ESA ?

That's correct but savings of more than £6,000 will reduce that amount, as advised. Yes they do sometimes share information but you still need to report the changes. All local councils have their own criteria for CTR and some put a savings maximum amount of £6,000, not £16,000.