To apply for DLA for DD when we have a household income of over 300k?

[Milesandmilesandmiles]

Just that really - we have an autistic daughter who needs support with most things (although is in mainstream school). Between us DH and I earn over 300k, so we don’t need the money. However, conscious that we won’t be around for ever and we could save it for DD’s needs as she grows. But is this what state benefits are for?

How ignorant. Caring for a disabled child who needs significant care in excess of what non-disabled peers the same age need is nothing like caring for a non-disabled child. Unpaid carers, including unpaid parent carers, save the state a fortune.

My daughter is trying to get DLA for my grandson, they don't need the money but HE WILL need help later in life and this gives a good benchmark of his needs

You have two choices,
first is you save as much as possible where her care is paid for hopefully for the rest of her life with private housing, private carers

second is you dont and she is them looked after by the state in the way of carers, housing and benefits.

you cant do both. Like a previous op says, if you have more than £16k of savings, you’re entitled to nothing in the way of benefits

I think you make a good point here. People only see a £300,000 income. They forget that it’s not DD’s own income so it’s irrelevant to disability benefits (which are not means tested anyway) and will be irrelevant for her DD’s care needs when she is an adult. But if OP facilitates savings from that income and any disability benefits, which take DD over the limit she will be denied income related benefits and will have to contribute to her own care until she gets under the threshold. If she has no savings she will get benefit support, but would be reliant on the state for care, and as we know, the care system is under huge strain. So OP l think is trying to land somewhere in between and looking at future needs and support, which will be easier to access if eligibility is established as early as possible. She’s damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t.

It’s hard because it’s not means tested and she’s entitled so I don’t see why you shouldn’t apply. But at the same time, a majority of people who are disabled or have disabled children rely on those pip payments as a way to survive. I myself, if I didn’t have pip and due to my chronic pain preventing me from working, I wouldn’t be able to afford a car (which if I didn’t have I couldn’t leave my home) or just generally to afford my bills or live. So whilst you intend to save it for your child, most of us use it to survive. It’s a moral question I guess

it's supposed to be for additional costs of your DC having a disability now. Not to put away as a nest egg for the future.

Care costs can mount up to very large sums and savings from a £300k salary and DLA might not touch the sides depending on the care needed, but it doesn’t have to be a choice between DD being able to claim means tested benefits/have state funded care when an adult and OP making provision for the future. Rather than savings in DD’s name, OP could look at setting up a trust which would not lead to a reduction in means tested benefits and wouldn’t be taken into account when looking at financial contributions for care.

There are no restrictions on how it should be used. DWP don’t recommend it’s saved up, because as you say, it’s meant to be used to cover the additional cost, but they don’t forbid it as such. I think OP is in a slightly different position as she can currently afford to cover the costs of her DD’s disability but is looking to the future when DD will be assessed as an adult in her own right. At the end of the day the £300,000 income is not DD’s and isn’t relevant to her own entitlement.

I think this is probably the best solution in the long term as it would provide security without, as you say, affecting entitlement in her own right.

It's not just money, it's a clear acceptance and establishment of your DD's needs. This can be immensely helpful and can be a gateway to other things like blue badge, specialist sessions (sports, arts etc). If she is eligible, it's really her right