To be gutted at losing my benefit

[Clappingforjoy]

I am going to inherit some money from sale of parents house and have told universal credit to close my claim but I'm gutted about it.
I have always struggled never had 2 Penny's to rub together and it just so happens I will go over the 16000 mark with this money and know i must sound greedy but my income is very low and i am scared this money will all go on living costs.

My age is against me as well which makes things more depressing.

@Brieminewine

So lovely to sit with a nest egg in the bank and claim benefits for your living expenses whilst others can’t save as their wages need to pay rent etc. Of course YABU and ridiculous, mind blowing.

Why are you angry at the people who are broke instead of the people not paying a higher wage??

@AlternativePerspective sorry what does VI mean ?

What's VI alternative

Benefits should never be a lifestyle choice. Ever.

Please tell me what choice disabled people unable to work have, then. What should I do with all of my wonderful free time I spend in pain in bed from a disease there's no cure for? Should I be homeless because I can't work?

Try and find the positives. You've got maybe a year, maybe more, of not having to worry about Universal Credit. No capricious sanctions, no getting it stopped because two paydays in one "assessment period", no demands from your "work coach", no annoying appointments.

The deprivation of capital rules are an unclear minefield I admit. The basic principle is simple, if your aim is to get rid of your cash in order to claim benefits again, that's not allowed. But assessing intent comes down to tribunal decisions.

The most important thing is don't give it away unless you can really demonstrate doing so was reasonable, and don't try any kind of tricks or schemes aimed at getting it disregarded.

@LokiOdinson people on benefits due to disability is not choice but if someone inherits large amounts do you think they should still get benefits ?

@LokiOdinson

*Benefits should never be a lifestyle choice. Ever.*

Please tell me what choice disabled people unable to work have, then. What should I do with all of my wonderful free time I spend in pain in bed from a disease there's no cure for? Should I be homeless because I can't work?

If you are disabled then it’s not a “choice” is it? The word choice implies you could work but choose not to. That’s your “choice”. You don’t have the choice not to be disabled therefore the phrase “lifestyle choice” does not apply.

@LokiOdinson

I’m not angry at people who are broke and need to claim benefits to survive, but I think it’s ridiculous someone who isn’t broke and has 26K in the bank thinks the state should pay their living expenses.

Please tell me what choice disabled people unable to work have, then. What should I do with all of my wonderful free time I spend in pain in bed from a disease there's no cure for? Should I be homeless because I can't work? but being disabled is not a choice. there is a difference between not working because you are unable to, or have found yourself unexpectedly between jobs, and not working or having savings because then you’d have to pay your own rent.

VI is visually impaired. I also have a serious heart condition...

@timeforanewstart - visually impaired??

I'd be putting the bulk of it into a pension and keeping a cushion for emergencies. Can you have up to £6k without there being any UC reduction?

You can get tax relief on pension contributions, up to 100% of your salary, but can also carry forward 3 years worth of this allowance if it's not already been used, which I'd guess you haven't done. From the figures you've given about your wages and the inheritance, I think you'd easily be able to put all of it into a pension if you wanted to. You'd get the tax relief to top it up so if, for example, the amount was £20,000, tax relief would make that up to £25,000.

@Mycastle - I am not against landlords. But the changes in the rules on social housing etc has effectively meant that the government is subsidizing private landlords' investments. Now that I find more irritating than the OP's case

The choice of not building social housing is the government's choice. The decision of giving money to private landlords rather than providing secure and long term tenancies in social housing is for me the problem as a tax payer.

Similarly, the UK's low wage economy means that in practice the government is subsidizing large companies who pay such low wages but still have such high revenues.

In the past, people claiming benefits were unemployed but today most of the people claiming benefits are in work but get paid so little that they cant live on it. However, rather than increasing the minimum wage i.e. forcing companies to share out their profits, the government tops it up i.e. effectively giving large companies a free pass to pay people little but get large profits. That's what am against

Sounds tough alternative

I am so sorry about your bereavement. Its unfortunate how benifits change after a significant loss (parents) yes you have been left money, but you have also been left without the help and support your parent(s) gave you. Hope you get sorted

@Clappingforjoy

What would you prefer to do with the money, if the benefits issue wasn't there? How would you use it to secure your future?

If you have £26k then you live on that. Appropriate it into your living costs to make it last longer, and when it runs out, then go back on UC

^^
This. And the OP can start claiming again as soon as she is down to £16k. So she can still have a very healthy £16k nest egg put away for a rainy day AND receive benefits.

She hasn't got to blow through the whole 26k before she's entitled to benefits again, just PART of it. Why is that so bad?

There have been good suggestions here on how best to use that 10k - perhaps some on retraining or counselling to assist her with work. Maybe part could pay for something like new white goods, TV or laptop if any of those are coming to the end of their useful life. And part to cover the loss of UC.
.
I don't think it's particularly unfair. It would be absolutely unfair if you lost benefits if you had ANY savings at all. But a cut off of 16k is more than many people who work and don't receive benefits will ever have.

My personal take is buy a good reliable car for £5-6 k that will last you ten years of motoring. Maybe put the other £4k into something you really need that will last for years, or spend some on a holiday or buy something you can resale for the same value.

Then you will be below the £16k again .

I would not have advised this a few years ago, but the way Rishi Dubai has wasted/printed money recently I can really be bothered to tell people to be prudent any more.

*Rishi Sunak (predictive text problem)

PS £26k isn't that much compared to what some people inherent (like some people on hear highlighting their massive inheritances), that is why I think it is a shame you can't make use of the money, without it going on day to day living expenses.

Op, apologies in advance if I sound patronising it’s really not my intention.

This is an opportunity you might not get again so is there anything you could do with the money that could improve your long term prospects? You mention your mental health but not the cause, is it being stuck in the benefit trap that is affecting you? I am just wondering if a new job or small business venture could actually help your mental health. Do you have any skills that you could use? Fixating on that fact you will lose your benefits is wasted energy as you can’t change it. Try and use that energy thinking of plans for your future instead.

I grew up in a family on benefits and it is tough going so you have my sympathy. I really hope this money changes your life for the better and gives you some long-term security.

@AlternativePerspective I totally agree.

People on this thread who have been giving the OP ideas on how to cheat the system to receive benefits should be ashamed of themselves. Someone who has £26,000 has no right to claim benefits, those are the rules, as they well should be.