Millionaire on benefits- rare of course- but is it time for means testing disability benefits

[Flippityflops]

Close friend is a millionaire .
Has not worked since age 40 .
He now has a disability and on his account s advice , he claims non means tested benefits he says .

if this is indeed true- given that such benefits cater for additional expenses of living with a disability, and he absolutely does not need it .. isnt it time that this benefit is means tested in these different times to prioritise the financialy vulnerable.

He for example told me - unsure if its true - that he bought a beautiful 3k painting wirh the money.
it’s gorgeous ive seen it and it dows add value to daily living .

its a bit like the taxpayer is giving him a huge freebie and we cant afford it and those in his income bracket.

We’re not millionaires but we are higher rate tax payers. We claim DLA for our daughter partly because it means she qualifies for a motability car which is adapted for her wheelchair. We couldn’t get that otherwise. Also, the personal care element she gets goes into a savings account to provide for her when she is at university, because once she hits 18 all the support she gets, equipment, physio, orthotics etc drops off a cliff and she will have to fund that herself.

It’s his business what he does with the money, he’s entitled to it. He didn’t ask to be disabled..presumably

Because it is 🤖 and journos. It's all bullshit.

I hate the idea portrayed that people who can’t work because of a disability don’t have any value or deserve to live, because they didn’t earn it, It’s really harmful

And I'm not sure why they keep posting these threads because it is clearly getting the opposite of what they want. Ffs give up.

Exactly this - the bureaucratic apparatus that would be required to means test each and every person for disability benefits would outweigh any savings to the government of catching a few richer folks who are claiming them. Furthermore there is an argument to be made that rich people tend to pay more in taxes (notice I use the word "tend" here - so I'm not including those who go out of their way to evade taxes) and have a decent arguement that given they paid money in that they are entitled to have some of it back now they are in fact disabled.

It's the same argument for those who claim child benefit: that isn't means tested for the same reason - it would be too expensive to do the means testing (though of course there is the "high income charge benefit" which, I suppose, could be levied against a millionaire who is claiming disability benefits but also still earns significant amounts of money in passive income. The same argument still applies: they've likely paid a great deal of tax in the past, and should be entitled to the benefits just like everyone else if they choose to claim them. I know people who could claim disability benefits but choose not to because they have enough passive income - and also because they don't want the hassle of constantly having to deal with government paperwork and interventions etc - and that peace and quiet is worth more to them than whatever benefit it is they may have been eligible for.

Totally agree: if they paid into the system then they should be able to get disability benefits if they are eligible for them. Same as state pensions: you shouldn't be penalised just because you're considered "richer" than others. No one wants to be disabled - particularly those (like your mum) who loved their jobs/careers and have had to give them up because they no longer can work in those roles. I know exactly what that feels like: I absolutely loved my career and was very good at my job, but had to give it up because long term medical problems mean't it would be dangerous/negligent for me to continue to work in that role. It absolutely sucks. And to be told one can't claim disability because one worked hard/made too much money is insulting.

People shouldn't claim money that they don't need. Sure means testing is expensive but that argument doesn't fly, you don't actually have to apply for a benefit you don't need.

Winter fuel allowance I included because there's been uproar since it started being means tested - but I appreciate that's confusing here. I suppose my point was that people are ok for non means tested benefits for the elderly but not for the disabled.

Any reasonable intelligent person would agree that it should be means tested, anyone who thinks it shouldn’t be had something to hide and is more than likely to be committing fraud….

Something to hide???😂😂

No it is absolutely not time to means test disability benefits.
I despair!!!

As much as I'd love to say yes, I'm hiding a million pounds and living in the lap of luxury on my pip and LCWRA, sadly all I'm struggling to hide is my disdain for these stupid threads.

Why, what issue would you have with means testing?

Costs more to implement and maintain than it would save.

People with lots of money still need blue badges and other schemes that PIP allows access to.

Generally, these threads are goady and designed to give people a chance to punch down at anyone they see as undeserving of benefits.

Costs more to implement and maintain than it would save

I doubt that will be the case for much longer with the rapid developments that are being made in Ai

I still wouldn't agree with it because of the environmental costs of the AI. It absolutely has its place but I can't get behind using that technology to means test a benefit for the sake of a tiny minority of recipients.

Somehow I don’t think the decision will be yours to make so you won’t need to get ‘behind it’

I can't decide whether you deleted your comment because you realised you'd got the name of the local authority arse backwards or because you realised that local councils don't administer disabilty benefits, which casts a bit of doubt on your claim.

Please do enlighten me in the morning if you are able.

Indeed. It's well documented that David Cameron claimed dla for his son who has since passed away.bit happens. Not sure why anyone is surprised. It's within the rules

@B12stuff it was benefits in general( frankly, I don’t remember the details as was a while ago) rather than disability benefits in particular

I can still disagree with it.

Oh, and disagreeing with it doesn't mean that I "had something to hide" or that I'm "more than likely to be committing fraud", but do feel free to elaborate on that one.

You can disagree with anything you like but I don’t think it will make a difference

There are no plans or any proposals to means test PIP. It's not on the table at all at the moment and there's no indication it will be.

Okay, but apparently this means I have something to hide. I'd love you to elaborate on that for me.