Universal Credit Savings

JoyfulPeapod

I'm new to Universal Credit. Just starting divorce proceedings, I have initially come away with £5k which I and my two teens started living off. I am unemployed, we have 1 teen home educated, through necessity, and previously could afford for me not to work. Obviously now not the case. When I opened a claim, I included the joint bank account because it has my name on, and I wrote a note in the journal saying it wasn't my money but I included it because my name was on the account and I didn't want them thinking I was doing anything dodgy!

Anyway, first payment was delayed by 3 weeks whilst they went back and forth with me providing evidence etc meaning we were living off the £5K for about 6 weeks until the first payment came through. I have just had to update all the figures for the new month as it were and have been told that because my savings have changed by more than about £250 (because we lived off them for 6 weeks) I now need to provide evidence again. This will mean another two week wait for an appointment and then decision which means these savings will significantly drop again….

I must be doing this wrong, I can't possibly have to do this every month?! The monthly payment they have issued me is about £1080 and our outgoings (mortgage, car, food etc) are a lot more than this so I will be reducing those savings more than £250 each month (until they're gone! or I get a job, or child maintenance kicks in etc)

any advice please?!

SpurRoadTraveler

Hi JoyfulPeapod,

Try not to worry—you can easily fix this cycle! You do not need to report your savings dropping every single month.

Under Universal Credit rules, savings and capital only affect your payments if they are above £6,000. Since your total capital is £5,000 and decreasing, it has absolutely no effect on your benefit entitlement.

Every time you manually update the system with your new, lower savings figure, the automated computer system assumes a major change of circumstances has occurred and pauses things for manual verification.

If you stop updating the savings section every month, the system will stop freezing your account, and your regular monthly payments should finally settle down. Wishing you and your teens the best during a difficult time.

Just a quick heads-up: I'm not a benefits expert or a lawyer, just sharing how the standard system rules work, so it's always worth double-checking with an official source or an advisor at Citizens Advice if you're unsure!

huckster

Don't think that is the normal process. Once UC/Job Centre have verified accounts, when you report reduction in those savings they don't normally ask for copies of statements again.

Suggest you query this in journal, as otherwise they will have you doing this every month

Some Job Centres are severely understaffed and it may be someone that does not usually deal with these reported changes that has asked for evidence again.

JoyfulPeapod

thanks @SpurRoadTraveler in fairness it didn't ask me update the savings section (just earnings) but the new statement listed the same amount of savings and since I knew this wasn't correct any longer I thought I should update it - I'm so worried about getting it wrong, you do hear some horror stories.

JoyfulPeapod

Thanks @huckster I did leave a note when I added the change just saying that we've haven't done any big spending but there hasn't been any income so that's been our living expenses. I also replied to the comment telling me that I would need an appointment - last time I waited two weeks for the appointment at my local office who only collect evidence, not make decisions, where I presented the statements, they scanned and uploaded them but then the office that was actually dealing with it couldn't find everything they needed so I had to upload everything straight to the UC site anyway which seems like a much more efficient system!