UC savings - disabled child help

[Roadyjoe22]

Hi, in April this year I received 3 separate large sum payments backdated from UC and DLA for my disabled child, I was owned, plus back payed carers allowance. My claim for DLA took a long time and a few things with UC for messed up, which means i was missing out on money I was owed for a long time, anyway this all got sorted and I was back paid a payment of £9000 from UC and a parent of 2000 from UC and then DLA was around 2000 backdated. I already had 3 thousand in savings which is allowed, however the backdated Paymenrs by UC have taken me Well her the savings amount allowed? Nobody ever gave me any information about if this is classed as savings or when it shoild
be spent etc etc. I was saving it as wanted to move house and buy my sons new room padding sleep safe bed etc that all cost thousands plus other adapt mentos, also first months rent deposit etc on a rented properly all add up. However all this news about UC and banks looking into your spending and your savings etc and stopping benefits has worried me. Is the backdated money I got classed as savings even tho they owed me it ? As I said I already had some savings well under the allowed amount, but their backdated amount had taken me into no longer dam claim amounts, I’ve left journal message but no reply, I’m worried? I wish I just spent it when got it I need a new sofa, new tv etc cos son breaks them all., yet I’ve not spent any of it yet , now am worried if I buy something new I.e sofa, it will flag up I’m spending large amounts of money? Can anyone rest my mind please I have adhd and I can’t sleep for worrying. I only have the savings as it was given to me by the UC themselves , but now am worried they will stop my claim of bank will flag me for spending it ??!
please help!!thank you . I have 2 children and I’m my son’s full time carer just to add.

Just be careful because carers allowance is deducted pound for pound from UC. So they may have owed you but you will owe them if this hasn't been factored in. It happened to my friend.. she got a big back date then a letter telling her she owed
16k would be savings and it would stop your claim. I would take out 5k and claim home improvements. Cash can sit indoors and keep your entitlement. I am also a carer on UC.. also awaiting a DLA update!

Thanks for reply, yeah I’m having it deducted already the carers pound for pound, so that’s ok , but the rest of the money they’ve given me all adds up to well over the threshold, If I draw 5000 out this month, wouldn’t the bank flag that to UC then claim I’m “ hiding capital” it’s awful because the money was owed to me if I was given it monthly like I was meant to, then I wouldn’t be having a big amount of savings, but now I feel I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t, they give it then take ir away, I feel if I leave it they will stop my claim as I’m over the threshold or if I take it out or spend it on all the things I need I.e new sofa, new disability bed which are well over 1000, new tv, new fridge etc, then they will say I’m spending it on purpose! 🙈 not sure what I’m meant to do, thanks so much for replying, it just all worries me

Noooo, I recently took 5k out of my bank and paid cash for a garden reno. At the end of the day had they have paid your childs money on time, none of this would be an issue!
I get what you're saying but I personally haven't found UC to be anywhere near as bad as people make out (minus the delays). You need items and they're all reasonable!

Contact them and ask but I'm sure you get a year disregard in terms of benefit back payment so it shouldn't count as part of your savings until 12 months has past. You can obviously use it between now and then without question.

Thank you so much, do you think it would be okay for me to draw £500 at the cash machine every couple of days out over the next few weeks while I’m passing the shop on the school run? Then use this for the things I need, or would that be worse than just going in the bank and asking them to withdraw 5000. It’s ridiculous how it’s made me feel I know I haven’t done anything wrong as it was given directly from them but it just makes me anxious incase they stop my money because of it!

Please don't do this before first checking the disregard information with DWP.

Has these are back payments I'm sure they are not counted has savings. It's money you was entitled to and should have been getting to live on.

Your child's DLA shouldn't ever affect your claim has its not your money. Save the child's money in a different account possibly in the child's name.

I found this online
Backdated lump sum payments from DWP
If your benefits have been underpaid, you could be entitled to a back payment from the DWP.
This might involve a substantial lump sum payment. This could push you over the savings limits for means-tested benefits, including:

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income Support
• Universal Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Pension Credit.

In some cases, this payment isn’t counted as savings for one year, and won’t affect your income-related or means-tested benefits during this time. However, where benefits have been underpaid because of an error, any payments over £5,000 can be disregarded for the length of the claim or until the award ends.

You could put some in a JISA for your child. This is disregarded as can only be accessed by the child.

Hey as pp said you can usually get lt disregarded for 12 months then you will recieve a small amount taken off you each month while your at the threshold we have £8000 savings and have £35 a month deducted off our claim because of it. Also as another pp mentioned carers allowance this is a totally separate benefit so if they have backdated you this you will definitely recieve an overpayment letter from universal credit amounting to the full £330pm that it backdates to even if currently your new payments show this they will not of taken it into account for the backdated payment from them, I have had a friend severely stung by this and was in the same predicament.

Thank you for all your replies , really appreciate it, based on all you’ve said and what I can find online it does seem to be disregarded for 12 months, they really should state something in the award letter!? Ridiculous that they haven’t as how are people supposed to no, I did receive the first amount in March and second in April, so this doesn’t give me long to bring it down as it’s well over the threshold currently as I haven’t spent any of the backdated some, as someone else said about drawing some out for home improvements, I do need to buy a new disability bed, some more padding for the walls , a new sofa tv snd fridge freezer, more sensory equipment etc , with the new bank rules and uc things that are coming into place. Am I still ok to do all of this? With it being disregarded up till 12 months , can I draw out/ buy online as much as I require ? Until it is classed a savings which would be March- April time next year, obviously I will have plenty left still after buying what I need to replace, so would then get it deducted off UC, would I need to mention this after 12 months or will they start automatically deducting it ?

I was told back payments are totally disregarded from the savings limit. Check online, I did find confirmation on Google but can't see it now.

My daughter recieved £13k of lcwra that she should have been recieving for over 4 years.

She currently still recieves uc at the right rate not reduced because of being over savings limit and it's been 2 years now.

Get dwp to confirm in writing.

Thank you for your reply, I did read somewhere online that any payment over 5000 is disregarded throughout the claim but only if it’s their error, I’m not sure it would be classed as their error as i only didn’t receive the amounts monthly for so long due to DLA taking a long time and due to them at uc then taking longer to process it etc, so not sure this would be a classed as an “error” just a back payment. I have put a journal on for confirmation but not yet heard anything back. I did reduce them in 3 separate payments as well so only one award was over 5000 in one payment.
I don’t understand why they don’t confirm this on their back payment award letters, if it’s classed a savings or if it has to be spent by a certain time, I’ve just been worrying with all of this latest news about banks flagging savings and spending to UC and if stopping claims for too much savings etc , but as they backdated the money themselves surely irs ok, sorry I’m being a pain I’m a terrible over thinker !!

I wouldn't take it out in cash, others have linked to the disregard rule and its fine to spend it on things or general living expenses..

Also take a look at turn2us (https://www.turn2us.org.uk/) as you may find there could be grants available for many of the things you are talking about needing, whether now or in the future.
You may need a school or healthcare practitioner referral for some charities but they are usually happy to

My charity struggles to give away it's full budget for grants each year, yet we know there are people like you out there, so please do ask for help

Hi all thanks for you replies, I’ve tried to contact UC but can’t get through, have left another journel entry just to find out what they say, a few have said that it’s disregarded for 12 months, I do need to spend some soon then as it’s 12 months in march, the information about it being disregarded fully over 5000 is only if they’ve made an error but I don’t think this back payment would class as an “error” for jr to be fully disregarded ? They couldn’t pay it until DLA was assessed and then UC took some time to process the back payments of that money owed, but not really an “ error” they did not inform me I was entitled to carers element so that was also backdated but that’s one of the smaller amounts separately. DLA obviously is disregarded as income so assume a back payment would be disregarded as savings? But as for the UC it sounds like that would be classed as savings from March ? When it was paid. Do I inform them of this when 12 months is up in March? Thanks all , as for the new banks flagging high savings rule or high spending, will dwp just accept the proof of UC backpayment as the reason for my swings if they question me. Thanks