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.

This lady could move to an area she could buy a house for £125k and live in it. She sounds obsessed with wanting to be on benefits. She could buy a house outright and work part time and get UC top up.

Of course you can own property as long as its your own home. You just can't own property that you don't live in.

OP they will stop her benefits anyway, she would be better off putting splitting it between her 3 kids in child savings account (which wouldn’t affect her benefits as it doesn’t belong to her) and then hopefully when the kids are older they can get on the property ladder with the savings.

3 bed house for £125k?
She spends time caring for elderly mum, so can't move out of the area either.

Do savings for children not count towards the £16k savings threshold? And if she does that, doesn't that count against her as deprivation of capital?

Same- former solicitor here.

Course you can own property. Do you think everyone on benefits rents? You just get less, as the housing bit will only pay towards mortgage interest not the capital repayments section. She's either very dim, or deliberately pulling the wool over your eyes so she doesn't have to make responsible, adult decisions.

The most absurdly contorted attempt to concoct government blame that I have read, even among the politibot anti-Labour garbage that populates so much of MN these days.
Since when has there been a binary choice between using £125k on a house deposit and spaffing it away? And since when has the benefits system been under an obligation to increase the good fortune of people who have already had the stonkingly good fortune of winning £125k???

Absolutely, it's bizarre!

What a bullshit post. Taxpayer tops up low income family. Family comes into capital of course she can use this to buy a house with or without a mortgage. Once capital below 16 k she can claim again.

Why doesnt she use the money to retrain and cover her income while she does so? 125k tax free could cover her fees for a course and income for 2 years, more if she worked pt alongside. Her children are primary aged even as a single mum there's no reason why she can't get a ft job after some retraining that will pay much better. Chosing to waste the money and stay on benefits is completely silly, she should look at it as an opportunity to make long term changes to help her family and up her income.

I can't believe anyone genuinely thinks this way, it does seem absurd, I agree.

You better inform your friend she won't get her benefits back if she spaffs it all away as it will be considered deprivation of assets so she better get a more suitable plan.

I feel sick at the thought of someone wasting £125k when theres people who are on the bones of their arse and would take an opportunity like that with both hands and make their family's life better in the long run.

I believe if she uses it solely to buy a house and nothing else she can still claim benefits.

This is grotesque.
When did people become so entitled?
I worked full time (despite grindingly painful disability) as a single mum- and often found ways to work overtime

We have a grim subclass of people who are on the take

Are there really people out there who are this stupid .
She should spend a little of her 125k getting some proper advice.

This is a completely bullshit post designed to encourage the idea the benefits system is easy to cheat and the people claiming from it are greedy and stupid. As previous posters have mentioned, this would come under deprivation of assets. Don't engage with this nonense and get upset over someone wasting £125k - it's not a real situation.

Include the children’s savings in the Claims if you declare them

Savings for children don’t count because that is the childs money not hers, even if the blew the lot on holidays etc they would still stop her benefits, my disabled BIL recently won 18000 on postcode lottery and he rang benefits and told them- he was allowed to pay off debts and that counted as responsible spending so managed to get it below the 16000 but because it was still above 6000 he had his benefits reduced.
edit: he is now below 6000 as he bought new carpet, new bike etc but because those purchases were not necessary his benefits are still reduced.

It’s not her only chance though is it? She could use the money to get some qualifications that would enable her to buy her own house.

it is completely crazy that you think the government should pay for her to be a homeowner just because she had a lottery win. She is already incredibly fortunate that the government is paying for her and her three children to have have a home and a comfortable life. She’s really in no position to resent what the government is willing to provide her with for free when it’s her only means of survival and she’s doing well out of it.

But she could use £100k to deposit and could likely get a mortgage of £100k, depending where you are £200k could get your something. then she'd own and be making the most of this opportunity.

There really is no need to waste it. She really needs financial education, unfortunately this is a typical poverty/poor mindset and makes it very hard to do better financially.

^ this
Use the win to buy the share, then her benefits will contribute towards the rent on the un-owned portion. If her earnings increase when kids are older, she'll have the benefit of reduced rent (as it will only be on the un-owned part). Plus have the stability of ownership rather than renting.

Yes the poor woman, It must be terrible for her

My brief take away:

UK benefits > £125K lottery win.

Off to work now. Will pay for my own lifestyle and offspring.

She could buy a shared ownership and buy the ‘shared bit’ outright, so no mortgage and then lower rent . The rent aspect will still be eligible depending on her earnings

She just needs to buy a part owned property and then will still be eligible for benefits on the rented portion that will likely be quite minimal.