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.

and to everyone who brought out the savings thing - those stats are only like that because house ownership isnt counted as savings.....but they are. in practice most people who own an asset that they can sell for higher than the debt on it has savings. let alone people who own their house outright. so thats 65.5 percent of the british population - which am assuming excludes children. So actually the majority of people in the uk have savings

But you'll have money you want to be provided for by the taxpayer but keep all your own money aswell.

You know what, me too. Why does my earnings mean that I dont get benefits. I dont want my money to go on living costs. I want to spend someone elses money so I can keep mine for myself.

You’ve been given a hard time and you can’t help feeling the way you do. I understand your position but afraid I think YABU.
The thing is that there has to be a line somewhere. You’ve come into a modest sum but some people will suddenly inherit a large sum. Where do we draw the line? I think the £16k savings cap is reasonably fair, maybe could be higher.

Could you spend some on studying or training for something that could mean you can earn more in the future?

Regarding the bad credit score, have a look at the money saving expert forums- really helpful for financial stuff

@Waxonwaxoff0

2 pages in and already we have "taxpayers supporting you" "free money" etc.

Horrible bitter people.

But it's true

@Clappingforjoy

Hunni I'm buggered due to credit score

You might find that the amount of money you have could balance out your terrible credit score. Also some shared ownership properties you can buy a share of the property for around £25,000 - £45,000 depending on location and size of house obviously.

Your inheritance would be a sizeable portion of that, be used wisely, could see you (more?) securely housed and at least have the chance increasing in value as you live there.

Unfortunately the rules are as they are.

@Clappingforjoy

I guess with my condition I was hoping it would secure my future rather than go on living costs

Is there any way that you can use it to increase your future earning potential? Like pay for treatment for your health conditions or to retrain or anything? It might be a good investment for your future

@Higgeldypiggeldy35

I don't know the ins and outs of it but maybe look at putting some into a pension pot? Does anyone know if that would be classed as depreciation of assets?

It would if it was done with the intention of making them eligible for benefits. PP are correct that money paid into a pension scheme from earnings is not taken into account as income. Paying into a pension scheme separately from earnings would still risk a deprivation of capital argument. And would lock the money away which may not suit OP.

This article has some useful insights
medium.com/@rachel.ingleby/a-guide-to-deprivation-of-capital-income-a5f26cd9188c

A couple of things come to mind reading this thread.

Firstly, unless things have changed a LOT since I was last receiving benefits that £16k limit is the line where you can't receive anything, but that doesn't mean you get full benefits when you drop below that. There's a sliding scale of reduction in benefits right down to £6k in savings before you get full benefits - anything between £6k and £16k and you can only get partial benefits.

Secondly, there's no point in the OP using the money as a deposit on her own house/flat as benefits won't help in any way towards mortgage payments so she'd be much worse off every month. I gather that they will cover mortgage INTEREST payments (none of the capital ofc) after about 30 weeks if you're on JSA but I'm not sure about tax credits there.

If it helps clarify things you can spend money on without being accused of deprivation of assets, I had a small-ish inheritance when I was claiming JSA. Things I spent money on that were considered as reasonable was stuff like paying off debts, new garage roof (mine was falling in), a bit of other essential house maintenance, replacement of things that were in dire need e.g. new sofa (mine was ancient & tatty), replacing worn out clothing etc.

Tax credits were initially for those who worked hard but were paid little, savings were excluded to allow everyone the same opportunities, now it’s been reclassified under universal credit and lumped in with other benefits people are accused of scrounging and getting free money 🙄

Another vote for putting some into a pension if that's allowed. It's (almost) the same as what you would prefer to do anyway. You didn't want to spend it but wanted to keep it safe for the future. I think a pension is a way to achieve that and possibly get a better return in the long run on it then you would in a bank account anyway.

If you are enrolled in your workplace pension, look into upping the contributions as some employers match it so you could potentially get even more benefit. Maybe your work has a free pension advisor?

@NellWilsonsWhiteHair

MN is an unlikely place to get much sympathy.

Helpful reminder to the hard of thinking that OP is also a taxpayer.

Also, it doesn’t sound like OP is considering this, but a few people have suggested buying shared ownership - this is something you should really approach with caution - it is unlikely to be a good move for someone on a low income who does not expect to see their income and/or their wealth improve in the medium term. I used it as a route out of renting myself and for me I think it has been the right choice, because my salary prospects are fairly solid, but you assume the costs of ownership (eg all repairs) whilst still paying a significant amount of rent which is likely to go up, sometimes by a lot. I wouldn’t touch it on £900pm.

Ah. Ok exceptionally good point.

Car or pension then.

If they continued to pay your benefits, what would you spend the inheritance on? How was it you were hoping it would change things for you?

@lurch3r

OP's question was is she unreasonable to be gutted? So no, YANBU. I work really long hours and am able to pay my mortgage etc out of that. Any inheritance I got would be extra, my employer wouldn't pay me less because I was lucky enough to inherit. In OP's position, it must be very frustrating.

That’s different. Your employer is paying you to work, and as long as you continue to work, your employer will continue to pay you. You are being remunerated for a service. But benefits are not remuneration for a service, they’re a lifeline for people with no alternative. When a viable alternative appears then they stop. Much as they would if OP suddenly got a well paying job.

@Clappingforjoy

It is because I only earn around 900 per month

That’s more than me and I’m not entitled to any support

Also op, since you are unable to work FT due to your health, have you had a go at applying for PIP? I know it is a crappy process, but there is help out there to get through it. sorry if you have already tried

I really don't understand why people are being called horrible and bitter for thinking that people without enough money should get benefits, and people with enough money shouldn't.

How, otherwise, would we draw the line?

Reading through some of the other replies, the suggestions to maybe get some private counselling or suitable health care are a really good idea.

I know from experience that when you're in the middle of depression, and grief, it's hard to make choices, or to see life being any different from how it is right now. It is possible, with the right help, to recover - and it's a spiral upwards, not just down, so the better you start to feel, the more you feel able to do again, and so on. It might be at least worth considering anyway, even if it's a few sessions to see if they can help.

Hey OP. I totally understand where you're coming from, it's the awfulness of knowing it'll be gone eventually and you'll have to go back in UC. I think, although it will cost you, you should book yourself an appointment with a financial advisor. They're not just for the mega rich. They can help you think about what you can do to help better your situation such as improving your credit score and setting some aside for old age/potentially growing some of the money, and of course keeping some to treat yourself . Also don't get too worked up about the negative people here, they haven't a clue what it's like to have limited capability for work.

@Eckhart

The people I am calling horrible and bitter are the ones coming out with the classic "taxpayers money" "free money" "lifestyle choice" comments. They are being nasty. Those are bitter comments.

YANBU. It's shit. You'll get people on here telling you "if you've got savings you don't need benefits" but then it means people on benefits are never able to better themselves

Nonsense. A line has to be drawn somewhere- why is it you who gets to decide where it’s drawn? We only have so much in the pot to give out. What do you think the cut off should be?- 30k? 50k? 100k?- after all, 100k can’t even buy a house where I live so therefore those people can’t “better themselves” either! There has to be SOME cut off point- there isn’t a bloody endless supply of money.

Why should I, as a taxpayer, pay for you to not work while sitting on a pile of cash?

I really do hate this type of attitude, especially to someone like the OP who has informed the right people that’s she has inherited this money. She’s allowed to feel a bit fed up that she struggles and feels like she’ll never have a bit of security. However much the media like to whip up hatred for people on benefits, people like OP are not the cause of all the bloody issues we have in this country.

Generally people who like you who say ‘ why should I pay for you blah, blah, blah aren’t the brightest. We have some family who spout this shite and they don’t pay enough tax to pay for the education of their own children, the medical treatment they’re receiving etc never mind thinking they pay for everyone else. 🙄 They also think they pay for ‘all the immigrants’ and the royal family.

"That’s more than me and I’m not entitled to any support"

So your answer to being unsupported is to resent the support that someone else, someone who is battling health problems, is getting?

It’s difficult. If I had to 18,000 in savings it would be gone in 12 months just to cover my basic living costs (mortgage, bills, groceries). It’s demoralising when you have all that money but can’t really use it to spoil yourself.

I’ve been gifted £300 for my birthday and it looks like I’m going to have to spend it on emergency house repairs, so I feel your pain 😔

I’m not sure if your circumstances but hopefully your situation will improve (you gain employment or the money hits the threshold where you are entitled to claim benefits again) quickly and you invest/treat yourself.

I also feel some people forget that it’s difficult to apply for a mortgage etc when you have recently been claiming benefits as they will think you have an unreliable source of money and won’t want to risk the chance of you missing payments. I think most banks require 3-6 months continuous employment before they will accept your mortgage application.

Tumbleweed that's exactly how I feel