Benefit fraud
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Presumably this letter was from a compliance officer?
If so then you won't be prosecuted but may have an overpayment to pay back.0 -
Prosecution is highly unlikely. There will be questions about why you didn't follow up the letter when your benefit wasn't reduced once you had reported the increase in capital.
When did you receive the payout?
If you paid off debts before you had to that could be classed as deprivation of capital. Essential house repairs won't be, so long as you have receipts, and neither will a holiday be as long as you didn't blow huge amounts of money on it.
Assuming you didn't have a total of over £16k at any time, it's simply an overpayment to be considered. If you did go over £16k there would be no entitlement to Income Related benefit which would make the overpayment a lot higher.
You took a lump sum pension payment, did you also receive a weekly/monthly pension as well?
The final part above is a good point. If you took a lump sum where is the rest of the pension? You might be considered as having access to it depending on where it is now.
If this was a trivial pension and you took it all as a lump sum have you considered the effects it might have on any pension credit claim you might make in future.
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The final part above is a good point. If you took a lump sum where is the rest of the pension? You might be considered as having access to it depending on where it is now.
If this was a trivial pension and you took it all as a lump sum have you considered the effects it might have on any pension credit claim you might make in future.
Darren
This is not correct. The rules are quite clear. Pension funds are ignored for people of working age. If ‘ad hoc’ lump sums are taken these fall to be treated as capital, as in this case. Any remaining pension fund continues to be ignored. If regular payments are taken then they fall to be treated as income.
When a withdrawal is made DWP will frequently want to make further enquiries in order to establish whether the payment should be treated as capital or income.
It is a peculiarity of the rules. If someone with no savings takes £5,999 as an ‘ad hoc’ payment it does not affect their benefits. If they took the same amount in 12 monthly payments that would be taken into account as income of £115/week which reduces all means tested benefits. If you take several lump sum withdrawals DWP are more likely to think that they are being used as a substitute for income - there is no definition of ‘regular’. The government have got tangled up in the consequences of ‘pension freedoms’ and not wanting to create disincentives for pension saving.
As regards impact on future Pension Credit OP has said the money is already spent, in any case a lump sum of £11,000 would have a trivial impact on Pension Credit given that £10,000 is ignored.
AgeUK have a useful fact sheet https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs91_pension_freedom_and_benefits_fcs.pdf
There is also DWP guidance issued in 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-freedoms-and-dwp-benefits/pension-freedoms-and-dwp-benefits. The advice is now incorporated into other guidance documents.Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.0 -
Further to post.I have now recieved a letter from dwp from the Interventions manager saying that my benefit amount will not change and there is no change to my benefit. The lum sum will be treated as savings. I dont know what this means really.can anyone help please.0
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If ‘ad hoc’ lump sums are taken these fall to be treated as capital, as in this case. Any remaining pension fund continues to be ignored. If regular payments are taken then they fall to be treated as income.
As Calcotti has indicated, the lump sum will be treated as if they were savings and will be used to reassess your benefits.I have now recieved a letter from dwp from the Interventions manager saying that my benefit amount will not change and there is no change to my benefit.
Having done that reassessment, there is no change apart from having reduced your future pension by about 25%.
Seems there was no fraudUnlike some here, I am not omniscient. If I am wrong correct me. I won't take offence.
The law is like an ocean - have a swim but don't drown.0 -
Further to post.I have now recieved a letter from dwp from the Interventions manager saying that my benefit amount will not change and there is no change to my benefit. The lum sum will be treated as savings. I dont know what this means really.can anyone help please.
It means that there will no impact on your benefits. The DWP appear to have accepted this as an 'ad hoc' withdrawal which means it must be treated as capital not income and if they have said it will have no impact on your benefit they have also accepted that how you have spent the money was reasonable and not a deliberate attempt to deprive yourself of capital for the purpose of claiming benefits. On the basis of what you posted that is a logical outcome but the DWP do need to check such things.
The matter now appears to be concluded. I recommend you retain all letters etc you have had on this matter just in case you ever need to refer to them again.Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.0 -
Thanks for your reply. I will be sure to save the letter. Thank for your particularly helpful replies.0
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