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

Surely the child maintenance is for your DS too, but you're not saving it for him.

The DD is not getting DLA the DS is but OP won't put any savings in his name. The DD gets it all.

What the heck is wrong with you caringcarer? Stop attacking the OP.

FFS the DD is not disabled or receiving DLA the brother is but no money is ever saved for him.

So you get a higher rate of UC because your son is disabled yet you don't save a penny for him but give £80 to your DD. This is so unfair on your son if anyone needs those savings it is him. The additional money is for him.

I think it’s 600 (and something, like 40) that you can earn in a month now. I work term time 15 hours a week, but as pay is averaged out I can still claim carers. It went up last April….

UC don't count children's savings , I asked them about my oldest child trust fund when I went over to UC , although it was nowhere near the cut off anyway

Maybe she’s protecting her daughter cos when she’s gone the care of her son might fall to her, limiting her in some way financially? Who knows?? But her reasons, are her reasons. And like I said before I’m sure if she could swap her situation and not have to think like she is, in exchange for no disabilities, I’m quite sure she would!!!

Haven’t read the whole thread but if it’s a junior ISA then no it doesn’t count for your UC claim. However, be very careful saving money for your disabled child as it can impact their support as an adult.

@DeathMetalMum People are so short sighted when it comes to benefits. They just see "universal credit" and judge away. Of course making people able to build a future would be better but the government don't want that. They'd much rather their wealthy pals were creaming off the money in housing benefit payments for their "portfolios". As for the poster who referred to the situation where the children's dad had died as "funding someone's lifestyle", there are no words. Divide and conquer is working.

Well, no, if his disability is indeed that severe he'll have everything paid for the rest of his life. Higher rate disability benefit, full-time assisted living, possibly OP caring for him.

The daughter on the other hand cannot be around her brother unsupervised and has had very little parental input due to his needs. £80 a month is a pittance for having to put up with that quite frankly. And as the OP is so occupied with her disabled brother OP's daughter will likely have to make her own way in the world. The money will help.

Even simple things like driving lessons many parents teach their kids for free...

It's absolutely possible. I've noticed that a lot of people seem to believe benefits are only for people who don't work or work very few hours at minimum wage. Many of these people would actually be shocked to find that they themselves could be entitled to even a small amount of UC or other benefits. UC is calculated on individual circumstances/income not according to a set salary scale as such.

Our total household income last month was £3300. Our latest UC payment even after deductions for those wages is in the region of £450. We also receive around £800 in other benefits alongside UC which don't have any deductions for wages. Next month our income will be just over £2000 due to a change in circumstances and our UC payment will be around £1150.

I'm not authoritative, but I'd expect the clue to be in the name: Individual Savings Account (ISA)
Individual meaning individual person.

You can't get a joint one, for example, specifically because of the name and the intent behind it. So I'd be very surprised if they made it count.

So sorry you've had to put up with such horribly judgemental comments. If I were you, I wouldn't waste time justifying yourself, it's doubtful they're really listening, or care

The advice on here is shite to say the least. UC look at who the beneficial owner is as its your daughter you should be fine. The junior isa you refer to is similar to ctf in that you can contribute to it but cannot access it. Only the child when he or she is 18.

All the judgement on here is sickening if you're not well off you shouldn't have savings for your kids?! £80 a month is hardly a fortune! Would you rather she bought a couple of packets of cigs a week instead would that be ok?

100% it won't effect your UC.

Don't explain yourself to anyone!

You are really rude. Op already said she didn't make that clear in her initial post. Sometimes people don't always have time to read through the whole thread.

I'm being short changed by the looks of it. Single working mum to disabled daughter, renting. Take home pay £1350 per month and get £1099 from UC.

1. how much is your rent and what is your LHA?
2. what rate of DLA does your daughter get? You can claim the disabled child element which varies on what rate she gets and the carers element if she gets MRC/HRC

It’s best to look at all the UC elements to see if anything is missing. Alternatively you can use EntitledTo but that isn’t always accurate

It all depends on individual circumstances and the elements you're entitled to.

Are you under or over 25?
Was your daughter born before or after 6th April 2017?
Do you have Carer's Element on your UC? (Not Carer's Allowance, this is different)
Which Disabled Child Element are you getting - £146.31 or £456.89?
Is your rent local authority/Council or private? If private then what is your LHA amount?
Is your rent paid directly to your landlord?
Do you have childcare costs?
Do you have any advances/debt repayments/budgeting loans that you're repaying?

Savings in a child's savings account that is genuinely theirs is NOT considered your capital. See paragraph H1077:

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/648b10585f7bb700127faae7/admh1.pdf

No helpful advice I'm afraid but I hope your daughter can keep her savings. Sounds like she deserves them.

That's really unkind. You don't know OP's full circumstances.

Is this what it has come to? Everyone squabbling for the scraps of UC. What a society we live in....

The OP said she pays £80 a month into the DCs account - that’s from her own money, not from others gifting the money. So the OP is indirectly using the benefits system to amass savings rather than pay living costs. I can see why people would be questioning this.