Sad for my friends £125k lottery win.

[Sogfree]

£125k win on the postcode lottery.

Single mum to 3 children (all primary age). Works as a TA, so receiving benefits to top up her income.

She would like to use her winnings for a deposit on a house. But due to the benefits rules not being allowed to pay a mortgage, she can't buy a property.

So she's going to spaff the entire lot as quick as she can, and the government will continue to pay rent to a multi property owner and make them richer.

The only asset she'll get to keep is a newer car - not anything fancy as she knows she won't be able to afford the insurance/fuel once the winnings run out.

Her one chance of breaking free of a life on benefits and she's got to throw it away. It feels wrong.

I'm pretty sure she would not be able to get benefits anyway (legally) as you aren't allowed to have more than 8K in savings and retain benefits I believe.

Why the hell did she play the lottery if she wanted to stay on benefits. She will have to tell the benefits office she has this money, otherwise she is committing fraud. She could part buy/rent a house as others have suggested, then invest in her future by doing some sort of job training to better herself. God knows why you feel sorry for her, the whole story is very weird to me

Exactly, me neither, but good for her having a substantial lottery win. She will need to declare this win also for her benefit entitlement is she doesn’t there could be a good chance they find out or someone reports it, if she splurges it they may treat it a depreciation of Capital. She could also get some of it disregarded if she wanted to use it as a deposit for a house for a certain amount of time, honestly this post baffles me.

NRTWT but there's no rule when on benefits about the claimant not being allowed to have a mortgage, it's just that they won't pay any of it.
I was buying my house when I was working, before I ended up on benefits, and I had to continue to pay my mortgage out of my benefits, but there's nothing at all which says you can't do it, it's just finding a mortgage company that will take on someone who's on benefits.

Yep, if DWP find out she hasn't declared it, she's going to be in serious trouble. Not only will all her benefits stop, there will be legal recourse.

This! And she’ll happily get the tax payers to pay her rent for the rest of her life!
shame she can invest in the 3 children she has!!!! Ahhhh no she won’t because no doubt they will too claim benefits when older! What a joke!

She doesn’t deserve to win that money! What a joke!

You can own a property and get benefits.

She can't. She will be instantly taken off benefits.

Or you’d think she’d invest in some ISA’s for her children! Some people wind me up.

Good!

she will lose the benefits with any money over £16k so that makes absolutely no sense. She should buy a house and in some places with that amount she can buy outright.

Jesus, please tell her to get some proper financial advice.

If she 'spaffs it all on stuff' now, DWP will look at what she bought and if its not legit - ie, she's given money to friends, bought stuff she doesn't need (two washing machines, two microwaves etc) or spent cash she cannot account for, they are likely to view her as having got rid of assets in order to claim benefits and she will have her claim denied.

It is NOT true that you cannot buy a house whilst on benefits - if you have a large chunk and a mortgage lender believes you can make the repayments on the benefits you would get when no longer getting your rent paid, then you can. Again, this means proper financial advice.

She needs to speak to DWP/UC and explain that she won the money and is looking at property purchase, they should give her a grace period to do that.

She's doesn't have to stay on benefits though!!! She could buy a house and then get a job? Use some of the money to help pay for childcare if there are children that are nursery age? If school age - why not work?

That seems mad. She doesnt need to use all for a deposit on a house. She could use 50k deposit and get a decent house.
She then has 75k left to top up income. Come off benefits for a bit as its making her not make best choices.
I am single parent. No maintenance. Work 2 jobs. I used to get a small amoint of top up UC each month.
I git gifted a deposit so have bought a house..Come off benefits as they wont pay towards a mortgage. Its tight but im not paying rent to someone else's house etc its mine.
She doesn't need to stay on benefits ans curtail improving her position. That seems bonkers.
Surely even having it in her account will mean she cant claim now?! Come off the benefits and buy.
Shared ownership is an option but more freedom if can buy open market.

Read the OP. She works as a TA and has her wages topped up by UC because her pay is so low, like many other working people.

Yes she cant claim since money went to her...so she might as well do something sensible. She needs to update her UC account to say she won 125k or will be clawed back/fined

The primary function of benefits is to keep you an obedient slave to the state and to maintain a loyal set of voters. They do not want you to break free.

Instead of giving benefits, solve the problems that require people to live on benefits. Inflation is the biggest cause of that.

Yes, if she ‘spaffs it away’ on trivial stuff it will be seen as deprivation of capital and she’ll be penalised. If part-ownership isn’t possible she needs to invest the maximum allowed and then use the rest wisely, a decent car, a holiday for her and the kids, and then accept that she has to live off some of it until it’s reduced to the level where she’s eligible for benefits again. £125k could last her 2-3 years if she’s reasonably careful. But if she fritters it away on nonsense she’ll be sanctioned. She needs to discuss it with a benefits advisor who can help her maximise the money.

She absolutely can buy a property. I work part time, UC top up, and have a mortgage. She has 100k deposit, allowing for a new car etc. She just wont get "housing element" of UC for her mortgage. Unless she buys shared ownership, then she uses the money to buy her share and continues to claim uc to help with the rent part.

What is the postcode lottery? She won money?

I thought postcode lottery meant something else… As in you had access to services, schools etc depending on your address. No?

Or it's a realist's view. Can't get onto the shared ownership schemes with a TA's pay because it's too low to get mortgage and pay rent on the majority of the flat and all repairs/maintenance - and could get stung for more than a mortgage payment in service charges - can't get a mortgage on a standard property, can't save it, won't make any significant difference to a pension's weekly payments n TA pay. What's left?

Interesting you used the word 'underclass', though.

No. It's a lottery

Also some people who don’t have money have limited experience with it. Obviously!

They don’t understand how money works. BIL blew a massive inheritance & said the money was “the worst thing that happened to me”. Lotto winners have said similar…

Thanks. I’ve never heard of it. I’m not in the UK.