My mother has recently applied for a private pension that she could have started claiming 10 years ago (From a job she did for a decade in the 70/80's)
She thought she would get a lump sum on the event of her death but they have said it must be paid now, then continue as monthly pension payments. She now has an extreme (to her!) amount in her bank account (I think circa 30k) which means she now is not eligible for housing benefit as the cap for savings is 16k. HB pays 80% of her rent and she pays the rest from state pension.
She wanted to the lump sum to go to me (only child) upon her death - if she gives it to me now a) do I need to pay inheritance tax (it would be about 14k I think she would like to give) and b) is she allowed to do this and then continue claiming housing benefit once she has under 16k in her bank account as savings.
She is 70, is unable to work though not eligible for disability benefits etc and is single with no other income or savings, so this money needs to keep her going for however long she goes for (hopefully many years!) She's in a complete tiz about it all as she understandably doesn't want to spend all her surprise money on rent, but realises this may be the only option for her. She has never had this much money in her life and has bipolar depression so this has stressed her out so much she doesn't know what to do and it's affected her mood badly. I have no knowledge of this area and would love to help her get it sorted (with or without accepting money, it would go into savigns for my children anyway)
Any good resources to try? Can I speak to citizens advice on her behalf? Would they 'tell' on her to the council before we can get it sorted properly?