Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Universal credit claim

20 replies

ginislife · 09/12/2020 12:56

I'm an accountant and I went to visit a new client last night to take him his tax return to sign. He lives on rental income, a few share dividends and a small amount of self employed work he does for himself to make ends meet. Total income is around £10500. Single man, owns his home outright, state pension won't start for another 2 years. Would he be entitled to any UC to top up his income ? His house was freezing cold, I felt like he can't afford to look after himself properly and he wouldn't have a clue what he was entitled to and I don't know as I've never had to claim. Thank you

OP posts:
slashlover · 09/12/2020 13:14

If he has rental income, does that mean he owns a property other then one he lives in? I'm fairly sure the other property counts as savings so if it's worth more than £16000 then he's not entitled to any means tested benefits.

He should be selling the other property or looking for employment.

DimidDavilby · 09/12/2020 13:15

He owns more than one house? No then, obviously not. Maybe he should stop hoarding houses.

Original poster
ginislife · 09/12/2020 13:25

Not sure there's any need to be quite so nasty. He's not asked for this. It's me who is asking. It's a commercial property he owns. Been in the family for years. I take the point about he could sell it. That didn't occur to me.

OP posts:
DianaT1969 · 09/12/2020 13:26

£10k a year is more than the state pension, so it sounds as if he needs to make lifestyle changes instead. That's a fair amount if he is rent and mortgage free. Plus, in 2 years he'll have state pension.
Perhaps downsizing to a well-insulated recently built property would suit his needs more.

Original poster
ginislife · 09/12/2020 13:28

Don't pensioners who only get state pension then receive top ups though ? Or is that it ?

OP posts:
slashlover · 09/12/2020 13:30

If he's making £10500 from dividends, rental income AND self employed work then how much is he actually working and could be find paid employment?

LakieLady · 09/12/2020 13:32

@DimidDavilby

He owns more than one house? No then, obviously not. Maybe he should stop hoarding houses.
Lol, that's a good point!

You haven't said why he's not working or looking for work.

If he has been working and paying NI, he may be entitled to "new-style JSA" if he's unemployed, or "new-style ESA" if he's too ill or disabled to work. Neither are means tested and both are £74.35 pw.

Eligibility is 26 weeks of earnings above the LEL in either 2018/19 or 2017/18 tax years. From 3/1/21, the relevant years will be 18/19 and 19/20. There are equivalent qualifications for self-employed people, but I can't recall what they are (I always check on the govt website when people are S/E, as what they think they've paid often differs from what they've paid).

He could also be entitled to PIP if he has trouble taking care of himself.

TwoBlueFish · 09/12/2020 13:32

As others have said, if he has capital (and rental properties count as capital) of more than £16k then he won’t be entitled.

If he didn’t have an savings then he still wouldn’t receive anything -
The basic allowance is £409.89pm for a single person over 25.

For every £1 he earns his UC would reduce by 63p so earning £10000pa (£833pm) would mean £525 would be deducted from his UC which would wipe out his award.

MaskingForIt · 09/12/2020 13:32

If he needs more money then he needs to get a job. Why on earth would he be entitled to claim from the tax payer?!

But as others have said, he’s currently on more than the state pension, so isn’t too badly off.

Hayeahnobut · 09/12/2020 13:32

Those of pension age can apply for pension credit, however that also takes into account capital. If he has capital above £16000, or £23500 for pension credit, he will not be eligible for assistance.

slashlover · 09/12/2020 13:33

If the 10500 is pre tax then that's £850 per month, that's about what I earn (working and studying part time) and I pay rent from it.

Hayeahnobut · 09/12/2020 13:36

Sorry there isn't an upper limit for PC, rather that for every £500 over £10000, you're treated as having £1 notional income (in addition to your actual income).

Original poster
ginislife · 09/12/2020 13:45

Ok thanks for the replies. I get the impression he's probably quite happy in his own little world pottering along on what he gets. I was worried about him hence the question but you're quite right that he could sell up and be ok. He's a very lovely quiet man who did work but was made redundant and struggled to find another job so I think has accepted his lot in life. Lived with his parents until they died. The house would probably be bought for redevelopment if anything happened to him as it's in a right state. The commercial property is probably quite valuable because of where it is.

OP posts:
LakieLady · 09/12/2020 13:46

@ginislife

Don't pensioners who only get state pension then receive top ups though ? Or is that it ?
I think the full state pension is more than the pension credit threshold, so the only other benefit someone on full SRP would get is housing benefit if they are paying rent (and don't own any other houses!), or attendance allowance if they have disabilities.

Is the rental income he's getting from the house a realistic amount? It may be that he hasn't put the rent up for years.

It might be best for him to get in touch with CAB or similar advice agency. They will go through his potential benefit entitlement and help him make informed choices.

planningaheadtoday · 09/12/2020 13:56

I believe Universal credit will ask him to first sell any assets such as a second property. Then use this capital to live on until it dips below a certain amount. Then he can be assessed for universal credit.

He is allowed to live in his home without this counting as an asset.

The old system of tax credits would allow him to have an income source from another property. This system doesn't.

Brighterthansunflowers · 09/12/2020 14:31

I would hope someone with a rental property and shares as capital wouldn’t be able to claim tbh!

UC for a single adult with no dependents is very low anyway so unlikely he’d be able to claim much even without the property

If he wants more money then he’ll have to work for it like the rest of us

MegaClutterSlut · 09/12/2020 14:37

As others said I doubt he can claim. Tbh without having to pay rent he still gets a good amount of money each month. He may even be like my dad, he can afford to heat his home but is a tight arse choses not too because he's frugal

Dobbyhasnomaster · 09/12/2020 14:45

It’s nice that you cared enough to ask the question Smile

Original poster
ginislife · 09/12/2020 15:36

@Dobbyhasnomaster thank you !! I only asked out of concern for him. I've only met him recently and it's obvious he's living on a shoestring and in the past. He has no technology and probably no interest in having any. He seems the kind of person where it would never occur to him he might be entitled to claim anything - which it's obvious now he's not - and I thought I'd check for him as I have no idea how it works. The nasty remarks about him were uncalled for as he's not asked me to investigate this for him. I was trying to do a nice thing and point him in the right direction IF he was entitled to anything

OP posts:
goose1964 · 09/12/2020 15:37

Have you tried to get a job 2 years from retirement? It's nigh on impossible. However I agree that he needs to sell either the proprety or shares and live on the income until he retires

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.