To ask how I can successfully ringfence this money? (Please don’t post for moral judgement)

[Jaalp]

I am a single parent to a 3 year old who will start school in the next two years. I have saved up a significant amount of money for schools fees. As a single parent I am constantly worried about job loss or anything else that could affect things. I am aware that if for some reason I was made redundant, for example, if I have more than a certain amount in savings then I would be expected to use this before claiming universal credit etc.

I have no intention of claiming universal credit but life happens and I have to be conscious of the potential things that could happen.

My question is, is there any way to put this money in an account for my child that would be protected as theirs and not counted in an assessment for universal credit etc should that ever happen?

Please don’t make this is a private school bashing thread or about playing the system etc. I’ve worked hard all my life and intend to continue to do so. Thanks.

Yep just seems a waste of energy & moral judgement is exactly what you will get on here

@Acommonreader i am aware there are additional costs associated with a private school. The 200k is making money and I have therefore included that element. That said, there’s no need for my child to go on every trip available or have every music lesson going.

Understandable!

@Jaalp it does not highlight how people view education but does hilight that most of us view private education as an expensive 'choice' people are entitled to make , if they can afford it- which if you needed to be claiming UC you clearly cannot. If you want to use your savings to pay fees and your living expenses then I for one have no issue- I do have an issue if you are claiming off public funds and yet have plenty stashed away.

It sounds like you don't know an awful lot about private schools. They are not all Eaton and Harrow. Most have a mix of children from different backgrounds.

God what an awful thread. Can I live off tax payers money and send my kid to private school with the money I have stashed away. Jesus fucking Christ even if you legally can are we expected to not have an opinion about that?

You’re the only person talking about cars from what I can see. Trying to distract from your questionable morals.

Let’s just take a moment to absorb this OP. Whatever way you want to slice it, what you’re asking is for advice on how to commit benefit fraud. It’s your money, that you earned, and you’re asking for ways to hide it (using the word “ring fenced”, which does not exist in terms of benefits) so that you can claim from the taxpayer-who will be the ones essentially finding your child in private school.
This is fraud. Fraud. There is no other word for it, and if I were you id be asking the moderators to remove your post

😅

Errr because you get to have a kid who has a great education. Presumably, given you value private education so much, you’d feel rubbish if you failed to give your child that. Much like people who genuinely need UC feel rubbish because they can’t afford food or warmth for their kid.

"I think you'd need double that as a deposit."

There are plenty of 95% mortgages available. So, take a typical two bed house at £180k. A 5% deposit would be £9k and a mortgage of £171k. Then just checking on Money Saving Expert, the best deals at the moment.

Virgin Money, Coventry Building Society and Skipton Building Society all have deals at around 4.98% fixed for five years which would mean that the monthly payment for the next five years would be fixed at between £995 and £999 per month.

You would also only have paid £9k as a deposit.

I don't know how much that compares to the current rent that you're paying?

"...plus moving away from my support network"

That, I agree with you is a really big issue.

@WhimsicalGubbins76 a trust fund for fees is not fraud. As has been explained to me many times on this thread.

Hi would you continue to pay the fees if on UC? I assume you haven’t saved enough to cover 12 years?

No, she can legally do it. Legally. Not fraudulently, and not by stealing. Legally.

That some posters don’t want her to be able to do it, or think it shouldn’t be legal, is irrelevant. She asked whether there was a way she could do it, and she got her answer.

Nastyaa, perhaps you misunderstood. OP is asking about ring fencing money for private education not about whether or not they are pretentious. Some are, some are not but that's not the point of the question.

This is bullshit btw. You can't claim UC if you have savings over £16,000. If you have savings above £6000, your payments are reduced accordingly and you do not receive the full benefit.

The extras like music and trips are what makes private school worth the money.
Please consider how your child will feel not being able to participate in concerts and trips- they are strongly encouraged and part of school culture.
I’d advise more research into school fees not universal credit as your £200 k won’t even cover fees alone.
Credit to you for accumulating the money and you can give your child a fantastic life with these savings in many ways but you don’t really have enough for private school.

I’m not sure I’m buying this thread. A single mum who’s been able to sock away £50k a year since her pregnancy test came back positive (or who has been speculatively saving for years before then?) as well as secure a home, who doesn’t understand the basic concept of a trust fund and who is so insecure in her presumably high-paid career that she’s worried she’ll end up on benefits?

No it isn't. I'm not an expert by any means but I do know there are things called educational trust funds or similar. It doesn't matter who pays in, granny, whoever. That money can only be used for education, I presume. It's not illegal or immoral, just a way of saving.
OP isn't unemployed so benefit fraud doesn't even come into it.

@Acommonreader the fees are 15k a year currently. Even with VAT and increases there is more than enough.

You know what, you’re absolutely right 🤣 I’m not buying it either.

I wouldn't have thought you would be able to 'ring fence' this money as you have made this your priority. It would be like saying 'but I have saved up all this money for a long time for a holiday of a lifetime'. There is a savings threshold for a reason, people should not be claiming if they are sitting on thousands in the bank. Yes you would like your child to be privately educated but it is not a necessity.

@WhimsicalGubbins76 yep something about it doesn't seem quite right-

You are asking people how to circumvent the UC rules on deprivation of capital to enable you to potentially receive UC, at the taxpayers expense instead of spending (some of) that capital on supporting yourself.
This kind of situation is precisely why deprivation of capital rules exist.

Anyway, only certain trusts are disregarded for UC, the rest are still counted as capital for UC.

There's also such a thing as notional capital where the DWP treats you as still having the money if you have spent it in order to receive Universal Credit.

(And being a single parent is beside the point)