Benefit/proceeds of house sale.

Bunji

Unsure where to ask so picked here.
My dad is 82 and gets state pension and some benefits. He is downsizing and selling his house. He is concerned that he will lose his benefits when the sale goes through as he hasn't yet found a new property and all the proceeds will be sitting in his account. It would hopefully be for about 8 weeks max. As it is not actually savings, does he have to declare it, lose the benefits and then reclaim once he buys somewhere new. There will be no profit, both properties will be practically the same price. TIA

Alice_Holt

State pension is unaffected.

Which other benefits is he claiming ?

If Attendance Allowance, that is not affected and he does not need to notify AA. 

If Pension Credit, then he should declare it,  but his savings may be disregarded for a period whilst he purchases a new property.  Can you give us precise details of the benefits he receives.

calcotti

Only means tested benefits could be affected - Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction. As Alice says there’s are rules that allow for the proceeds of the sale of house that has been lived in as the primary residence to be disregarded (normally for up to six months but can be longer in some cases) if those proceeds are being used to purchase another property.