Savings for UC, does this count?

[beautifulsun]

Are they counted if in child's name?

My daughter (3) has a savings account. It currently holds about £4000

My monthly payment of UC is 1350. DLA about £650 (part is automatically paying for motability car). Carer's about £300. Salary of £1910 a month

I don't really have the cash to make premium bonds worthwhile

What would be the best way to put some savings away for her without the impact on UC savings limit?

Obviously I'm thinking very long term. She isn't reaching the 16k limit anytime soon (they only charge for it per £ or so once you're over £5099 in savings)

To be totally transparent, no, it isn't 'secretly' for me. Her current savings Account is an ISA and I cannot touch it. She gets money from family and friends for birthday etc on top of small contributions I make

I’m glad you’ve got an answer OP

I hope you are ok. I have disabled dc too And it’s hard. Everyone piling on saying the taxpayer shouldn’t be finding your dc savings should be ashamed of themselves as you arent doing anything wrong. People in benefits are allowed to think of their dc future as well

*funding

Found this.

It's from 2020, but still applies. Your child's savings WILL affect your UC if it's over £3,000.

Martin Lewis on X: "I was asked "Do kids savings count towards the £16k max limit for universal credit?" I've checked - No if in a Junior ISA - No if under £3k in other kids savings Yet if u deliberately stuff cash in kids accounts for this purpose its "deprivation of capital” and does count." / X (twitter.com)

What a sad comment underneath

'My kids were left over 16k each by their dad (RIP), it's meant to get them through uni, driving lessons etc. Not been touched or added to at all for 6 years. But when I get changed to UC we will have to live on it. They lost their dad, now they lose the future he took care of'

It doesn't really count though, as it's not accurate. Tax credit rules are very different to UC

OP, a bit off topic, but if you add £80 a month, and your family are putting in 90% of the contributions surely there will be quite a large sum very quickly? (i.e multiple hundreds every month).

If you're struggling, is it not worth asking your family to see if they could either assist you more directly or be more thoughtful/strategic about their gift? It'll be an awfully large sum in your daughter's account by the time she's 18, and she may not be entirely sensible at that age to be responsible. Perhaps a trust fund that she can access slightly older may be better?

@DeedlessIndeed I will look into that as the fact she will be able to access it at 18 is a bit iffy to me. That's very young to have access to so much

I'm not struggling though and think putting that money in is worth while

That is a bit of a shame isn't it @beautifulsun ?

I guess the DWP aren't going to fund someone's lifestyle with benefits, rent paid, council tax paid, etc, when there is £32K sitting in the accounts of the children who live at home. Sad for the people on the benefits. But you can see the point of the DWP. Where do we draw the line? It's a tough one!

I was under the impression inheritances should not affect anything. Maybe someone else can shine a light on that???

I knew that about PIP. But I - and this woman I know - thought that ANY ESA would be affected by over £6000 in savings! Is that true then, that no matter how much your savings, you can still claim contribution based ESA? So she doesn't need to put 1000s of £££ under her bed?!

I'm not sure about this poor lady but in my circumstances, it's sod all to do with any choice I've made so yes, I do think my daughter should get her money as hers and hers alone without my finances being taken into consideration

It's hers. Not mine. And she's spending her childhood in a lot of sacrifice and upset, needs always coming second because they're not as urgent, with limited 1-1 with me. Risk of being seriously injured if she were not constantly supervised around her own brother.

Life is bloody miserable for her sometimes. It's her cash. Not mind

Well if you aren’t entitled to top up benefits then you are likely on a higher wage than op, so if you can’t save for your children and she can then you have different priorities spending wise.
Why do people have such issues with people receiving (often working) benefits being able to save? Why does it make you feel better if they spend all their money instead of living frugally and managing a little savings? They aren’t being given extra to do this.

Thinking longer term, you will need to make sure she doesn't have savings of more than 16k when she leaves education. If her disabilities are such that she is unlikely to work and will need to claim UC ( or the future equivalent) later in life then significant savings will rule her out of any means tested benefits. She is only 3 and already has 4k.

A Junior ISA that can't be accessed until the child turns 18 should be fine, but best check with Citizens' Advice or similar to be sure.

(Obviously lots of people here don't grasp that people on universal credit are taxpayers too, that it isn't ok to deny children savings simply because their parents aren't well off, or that the whole idea of a decent society is that we distribute resources in such a way to lessen inequality. But that's Mumsnet for you.)

Savings which are in your child's name and are inaccessible by you, aren't counted towards the savings amount for UC purposes.

The threshold for other savings, such as those in your own name, is £6000 before they start deducting £4.35 from your UC payment for every £250 you have in savings. If your savings go above £16,000 then your UC would stop completely. There are slightly different rules/timescales if the savings are from house purchases or personal injury compensation but general savings are counted from when you get them.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having savings while you're on UC. I do. Lots of people do. Just because somebody has a little extra left over to put in a savings pot at the end of the month, doesn't mean that person shouldn't be getting any benefits at all.

There's some very vile and small minded people out there.

She isn't disabled

How are people supposed to be able to move off universal credit if they can't save?

Surely being able to save to better ones circumstances either through training, learning to drive so you can have a greater choice of jobs, saving for a deposit for a house so there is no longer rental payments etc is better long term than never being able to save or make changes so you can move towards living without benefits.

When she is 18 she can move the money to her own S&S or Help2Buy ISA or whatever tax free savings scheme Government make available in 10+ years time.

They can have up to 16k in savings.

CAB will be able to advise you. Ignore everyone saying you’re taking tax payers money. Raising a disabled child is hard work and you’re getting the high rate DLA which you can’t fake, mould or rig- so everyone should jog on

My post was a reply to a previous post saying people on UC shouldn't have savings. I don't think there is a limit on UC the 16k is the old tax credits savings limit. There is none on UC I believe the aim is to actually encourage people to save larger amounts and thus be able to use those saving to improve their circumstances.

The limit on UC is 16k.
There was no savings limit on tax credits
You have things mixed up..
On Uc the first 6k of savings are disregarded then anything between 6k and 16k means a deduction on your monthly Uc amount.

But OP doesn't have a savings pot. It's her daughter's savings, gifted to her by other people. It's not OPs money and it sounds like it doesn't come from her either.
OP I don't know the answer, DD had a savings account but it's linked to me and DH and I can withdraw from it so I don't think it's the same (and actually still don't know if it would affect UC as I don't have a claim).
I just don't like the pile on accusing you of stealing from the tax payer to save for your daughter - especially as you have stated more than once that it's not you saving!

Stop being a benefits basher and re-read the OP's comments.

@zaffa thank you

I'm not sure on the savings, but do you really have a salary of nearly 2 grand and still get £1350 a month in UC ? That doesn't seem correct..

It likely is. People who have disabled children get extra elements on the claim ( child disability element on higher rate alone is worth over £400 a month) plus carers element etc. A couple with no disabled children would not get this much. A Uc claim depends on lots of factors - whether you pay rent, have childcare costs, ill health that means you can't work, disabled children etc. Some people get very large amounts especially if multiple disabilities in the family and / or high rent & childcare costs.