DH has lost his job, we have too much in savings to receive benefits

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I have always been very prudent financially and a substantial percentage of our earnings has always been saved for a rainy day (like this!)

From what I can see, as we have more than £16,000 in savings (accumulated over 20 years of saving) DH can claim job seekers allowance for 6 months, but nothing else.

We also have a mortgage. If we use our savings to reduce the mortgage, thus reducing our savings below £16,000, would that be considered cheating, or is it legitimate?

At the risk of sounding heartless, you don't need benefits, you have savings.

Any payment protection stuff for the mortgage?

Maybe ask about taking a payment holiday?

i would put it in the mortgage

oh meant to add, hopefully your dh will get a new job quickly and it won't be an issue

I don't think you can

We sold our house and went travelling with the proceeds. When we came back DH went straight back to work and I applied for JSA whilst I was looking (for 3 weeks).

I had to provide documentation from the bank and all my statements to show where the money had gone and that I hadn't hidden it away/got rid of it on purpose so I could claim.

Worth a google though to see what you can do.

Pay off what you can of the mortgage. Keep receipts/bank letters to prove that's what you did.

A friend of mine called the benefits helpline about this a few weeks ago, because he'd heard that he wasn't allowed to do this - something to do with deliberately getting rid of capital - but they said quite categorically that it was fine. What is not fine is blowing all your savings on a massive holiday, or buying an Aston Martin....

Put it in a stake holder pension.

Reduce your mortgage just enough to lessen your savings to below the threshold is what I'd do. You've been financially savvy, and good luck to you. It's in everyone's interests if you do this, because if it takes a while for new income to arrive, you're entitled to apply to the local authority for help with interest on the mortgage. A lower capital amount outstanding on it will naturally mean less for the housing authority to pay out.

Good luck with the job hunt!! And fair play to you for managing to stash such a lot away, so many people don't. (Or can't, I do realise..)

I would consider claiming the JSA for six months and negotiate a payment holiday from your lender (there is no law that says you must tell your lender about your capital), live cheap and fingers crossed DH will get a new job within the six months. If he doesn't then you can review the situation...if the worst come to the worst and you have to sell the house you have some costs saved to help you. I only say this because I managed to get all the crap luck I one go, redundancy, sickness and credit crunch...my redundancy money went towards the mortgage but we had to get rid of the house in the end anyway!

Your lender will take every last penny but repossess you anyway if push comes to shove... Undoubtedly DH will get a new job so it won't come to that for you but I don't see much point in throwing capital at your mortgage unless you have a firm plan...even if the plan is for DH to take a lower paid job and use the capital to reduce your monthly mortgage payments to a more manageable amount.

I don't know if there is an issue with deliberate offloading of assets but if there is, the logical thing to do surely would be to use the 16 grand to pay the mortgage while you can't get benefits and then if your DH is still unemployed by the time that's all used up then you can apply for maximum benefits.

Oh yes Boo, I realise now that I should have spent the lot on cars and holidays. I've been saving 10% of my income since the day I left school.

I did a thread on this a few weeks ago and apparently you are allowed to pay se of the morgage. Remember payments may reduce too so it helps your outings.

Well why not just live off the savings until they run out? and hope that in the meantime you and/or your DH fijd another joB?

Isn't that what savings are for? Why would you need benefits with those savings?

I think the whole thing is just a perception that those who are careful and end up introuble (ie job loss) end up in the same position, by using their savings in lieu of benefits, as those who have just stayed on benefits. So, not much incentive. As i say that is a perception, perpetuated by the media, but i suspect op is in for a hard time, and would be better off ringing CAB in the am.

firstly, its great that you have been so prudent, however benefits are there to help those who really need them. savings are there to help you in circumstances like this. I suggest you see CAB about your options.

paying off the mortgage is not getting rid of savings. Your savings - debt (mortgage etc) is what you actually have. £16k savings less £100k mortgage means you have £84k debt. Using the savings to reduce the mortgage is not "getting rid of it" it is reducing the total debt you pay interest on. It's smart rather than cheating, particularly if you have the type of mortgage that allows you to overpay £16k then they take that instead of the monthly payments from your current account.

Good luck with getting a new job sorted.

If the DWP consider that you deliberately spent your capital in order to get benefits, they could regard it as deprivation of capital and treat you as if you still had the cash. You don't have to spend the money on your mortgage so it could be regarded as non-essential spending. It depends on the individual situation and what the decision maker decides.