Universal Credit should relax £16,000 savings eligibility rule

[DreamChaser23]

do you agree? This is to ensure other workers who were laid off and have 16k OR higher in savings should also be eligible for help.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/dwp-must-change-universal-credit-21792760.amp

@Hester54 ah ok so it not any pension that you want the government to loan just those that are over a million. How many people do you think have pensions worth that ?

canigooutyet work the system you say, I hear you, raising a family on low income something people can relate too, I didn’t have much spare cash for a pension, no contribution scheme when I was younger, only had money to slowly put away when older,

Peppafrig Not many, last time I looked the average PP was about £80,000 but that didn’t include people in the public sector with their final pension schemes,
Just giving an example of how the system is unjust for older people

Lots of resentment and anger on this thread towards people who have made the effort to put a little bit of money aside.

Deathgrip So they put theirs in pension scheme, can have as much as they like in there and Get UC, Emergency times call for emergency decision or is it you’ve all got good PP yourself?

onetimeprepper Yes, I can see now, I should have spent everything, if you’ve got a little you’re shafted, you need to have nothing or a lot nothing in the middle

@Hester54 you are lucky you were in the privileged position to be able to save up thousands. Those who live pay to pay don't have the option and those are the ones that need Universal Credit . I hear supermarkets are taking on a lot of staff maybe something like that could tide you over and you wouldn't need to touch your savings at all.

"Btw, if you think there are any fraud investigators currently working on fraud you are very very naive."

As someone who works in the dept I can tell you that even during a pandemic there will be many people working on fraud cases.. surprise! Now stop with your disgusting attitude.

Lots of resentment and anger on this thread towards people who have made the effort to put a little bit of money aside.

Well no. Only towards people who suddenly want to change the rules now that they are affected by benefit rules when they couldn't have given two hoots before.

Lots of resentment and anger on this thread towards people who have made the effort to put a little bit of money aside.

Well no. Only towards people who suddenly want to change the rules now that they are affected by benefit rules when they couldn't have given two hoots before.

No, I didn't say work the system.
I understand that it's hard. You were given bad financial advice. This is the person you need to take up your ire with. It's not working the system, it's making sound financial investments towards your retirement. Your gamble didn't pay off along with those who put money into their pension pots.

I'm the same, worked my ass off etc.
I still hadn't got over last year when mine were wiped out.
It fucking hurt and unfortunately I had to take the hit.

TwoCatsSleeping How far do you go back checking people’s accounts? If I used all my savings and bought a car, would that be fraud or I need a car to get to job interviews, just asking for a friend

canigooutyet I could afford financial advice, at the start putting a few pounds away, I could never imagine have this amount of money

Dont feed the trolls. Schools are out remember

@Hester54 then you would have a car you couldn't afford and getting a tiny amount of money from universal credit. Do you know how little a single person living alone gets on UC how would you even pay the insurance on your new car. Or you think they wouldn't check receipts for a massive purchase like that made days or weeks before a claim. Give them Credit.

So they put theirs in pension scheme, can have as much as they like in there and Get UC, Emergency times call for emergency decision or is it you’ve all got good PP yourself?

head desk

They can get UC if they don’t have £16k in savings yes, because they can’t access their pension.

And it’s not resentment? Guess what, I have over £16k in savings and £0 in a pension. No pension at all whatsoever. And I still understand that if our income goes away, I will need to support myself until I no longer have £16k in savings. And I count myself seriously lucky that I can, rather than feeling “shafted”. Seriously, shafted? Talk to some disabled people about the DWP, then you’ll know about shafted.

Totallycluelessoverhere As I said the TAX system taxes people living together (married or not) as individuals (they pay two separate tax bills) - if one of them, then claims BENEFITS, they are treated as a single financial unit, their income/savings lumped together.
I can see why the benefits system does that (couples would transfer savings to the person not claiming benefits) but it is inconsistent.

"Well no. Only towards people who suddenly want to change the rules now that they are affected by benefit rules when they couldn't have given two hoots before."

Well no. Workers who have saved £16,000 have been contributing to society and paxing tax. People who are long term benefits professionals without working, not so much.

And yes, you’ve done well to save if you’ve been on a low income, had a family etc, but there are many others who’ve also been in that situation, haven’t been frivolous, haven’t taken holiday and frittered away their cash and who do not have £16k in savings or anywhere close. And you think you’re the one who’s shafted? You’re delusional.

How many people in the country do you think have a £1m pension pot and no savings? A handful at most. This is such a ridiculous straw man. But regardless, if they don’t have any money now to live on then they need to claim, so they can live. If you have lots of money now (more than £16k is lots of money), then you don’t need it.

This is not difficult to understand. The benefits system is not there to prop up your savings balance FFS.

@TallRachel but what about those who have worked and made redundant in the past years and not been able to claims because of savings . It was ok for them? They lost their jobs through no fault of their own .But not ok for people today?

Well no. Workers who have saved £16,000 have been contributing to society and paxing tax. People who are long term benefits professionals without working, not so much.

ODFOD. Those are comparatively few. Most people claiming benefits are in work. Many have severe health issues. Many paid in just like you did until they no longer could - why should your savings be spared when theirs weren’t? Selfishness in the extreme.

I couldn't afford it either.
So I found myself spending hours, and weeks and months looking at how to invest my savings not only for the downpours now. But for the peaceful bliss of retirement.

It's sad that millions will lose out financially. But it's impossible to start looking at how the government can bail everyone out. We simply cannot afford it without a massive tax hike

"The benefits system is not there to prop up your savings balance FFS."

The benefits system is there to help people who are looking for work. I wonder how many on benefits are actually doing that.

@onetimeprepper nice benefit bashing. We all know the heavy sanctions people now face on UC if they don't look for jobs. They log everything online so your advisor can see exactly how many jobs and how long you have spent looking. You attend weekly and answer to them for what you have been doing each and every day. It's such a jolly time I can see why people on here are so desperate to join in with fun .

Lol you do realise by saying basically only those who cheat the system can get 16k+, also includes you by your very own logic.

Anyone would think you simply walk into a benefits office, ask for money and receive it. They check financial records during the initial process. They check during the claim.

And any fucker playing the system to have 16k in the bank and claim needs reporting for fraud if the system hasn't already caught them.