savings and housing benefit

jay11_2

Why is it that when you have struggled to save some money out of low incomes (for a house deposit, to enable my family to have a secure home), the government penalises you by removing your entitlement to housing benefit!!!

It seems so unfair--we work hard, and scrimp to scrape some savings together, only to be told that we should then use that money for living expenses. GRRRR :mad:

Is there any legal way around this, something I'm missing??

michaelvintner

I totally agree. The only way around it is to spend it. Mind you, you are allowed to have £6000 in savings before it affects housing benefit entitlement. Then up to £16000 will affect your entitlement but you will qualify for some. It could be argued that this is a reasonable amount. I have certainly never been lucky enought to have more than £5000 in savings.

Spend it all on cans of super strong lager, give up working and just start living off other peoples hard work. This seems to work forever for the spongers out there. Then you get everything for free and never have to worry about things like buying a house...............cause they give you one. You can then ruin your hard working neighbours lifes because you can stay up untill 4 in the morning because unlike them, you don't have to get up in the morning to go to work.

Sorry, rant over.

Benefits_Blagger

I totally agree, i know the feeling :-(

the most ridicous thing is that they deduct £1 per week for every £250 savings, thus they regard each £250 worth of saving as generating an income of £52 per year.

where the hell does anyone get paid interest at 20% PA

jay11_2

Problems are:

5,000 as a house deposit won't go far, so we have to scrape more together to buy, and they calculate £1 for each £250 cos they expect you to spend the savings to pay your rent--on an insecure, 2 month notice, private rental.

I understand all that, just wondered if there was a legal way to offset some (or all!!!) of the damage?

As such I've no issues with renting, if only it was more secure, as it is in many other European countries.

dmg24

No, there is no legal way to offset savings above the limit. If you were to choose to waste the money it would be seen as intentional deprivation of capital.

Working people have to save to buy a house as well as paying full rent. I'm not sure why you think HB claimants should be any different?

jay11_2

dmg24 wrote: »

No, there is no legal way to offset savings above the limit. If you were to choose to waste the money it would be seen as intentional deprivation of capital.

Working people have to save to buy a house as well as paying full rent. I'm not sure why you think HB claimants should be any different?

I'm not sure why you think we shouldn't be entitled to a little support, when bringing up children, out of the thousands we've paid in tax and NI?

We work hard to support our family, thanks, in low-paid care jobs. We'd only be entitled to a little HB anyway, and would much rather be taxed slightly less (will be worse when the new rules come in). But for some reason this country likes to penalise hardworking, minimum wage earning, families.

Oh and the 'capital' is money we've worked hard to save!

dmg24

I'm not saying that you don't deserve support, or that you haven't worked hard to save the money that you have saved. However you have to appreciate that means tested welfare benefits are for those that are on the poverty line, and at that level you would not have a spare penny to put away as savings.

jay11_2

Yet I know people on full benefits (ie dole) who drink, smoke, eat out (albeit occasionally), all of which we choose not to do--so that we can save. OK everyone has their problems, but it gets ridiculous when I'd be better off doing nothing to better myself--I'd actually be better off if I did nothing and OH worked just over 16 hours a week.

Anyway, it seems we're stuck with having to be penalised for saving. Oh well.

dmg24

jay11 wrote: »

Yet I know people on full benefits (ie dole) who drink, smoke, eat out (albeit occasionally), all of which we choose not to do--so that we can save. OK everyone has their problems, but it gets ridiculous when I'd be better off doing nothing to better myself--I'd actually be better off if I did nothing and OH worked just over 16 hours a week.

Anyway, it seems we're stuck with having to be penalised for saving. Oh well.

I imagine you have a lot more self pride than many of the career dole bludger types. I know it doesn't pay the bills, but I'm sure your example is a much better one to pass on to your children x

Kimberley

It's the same when the hard working work hard to save for a pension, if they have savings then their pension drops but those who have never worked or contributed in tax etc will still get a pension and a top up pension credit also.

Also if you ever have to go into a nursing home in old age and you have a house or savings you will have to pay for it yourself, but if you have never worked before then you will get this free. It's time the government started looking after those who pay their wages.

simon_73

The Housing benifit situation with saving is grossly grossly unfair, consider my situation. My friend nearly owns her 300K london house, is still paying her mortgage, if she looses her job she can claim housing benifit for the interest payments.
she has 250K in assets. me and my partner have scrimped saved and been give by relations 40K, we still rent but are looking for a property if I loose my job I will be expected to "burn" nearly all the money before the state will help.
the moral of the story is seems to be waste your money, or risk it just like everyone else on a over heated housing market gamble. and we wonder why the economy is screwed. and get this, I pay more tax than my friend with the 300K house. I wish I could opt out of the whole system NHS, benifits everything, cetain people the risk averse the savers, the steady eddies will always get screwed by the UK system. , blow it all and make your self dependant on the state and you'll be fine.!!
Simon