How can I help my retired mum with money?

[Flame76]

Not sure what help I can get, but feeling desperate so it's worth a shot asking for advice here! My mum is close to 70 years old. Lives in a 3 bed house. She's single and very lonely, also has a history of depressing and anxiety/stress. Screwed over in a divorce decades ago so zero savings. Her pension covers basic living costs (council tax and other bills, small budget for food etc) but she has nothing left for one off expenses, like house or car repairs. Her fence blew over in the recent storm. The repair cost has to go on her credit card. Her credit card bill is gradually going up and up. She has no money to pay it off. Luckily it's zero percent interest. But this can't go on forever. How can I help? She won't be able to afford the energy price rises later this year. It makes me sick to see other people's parents going off on cruises while my mum is crying down the phone to me about affording a fence repair. Am I missing any obvious benefits she may be eligible for? Does she have to pay council tax despite her age? The only avenue I can see is selling her house and downsizing, which she would do. But the cost of selling/buying, I don't think this will free up cash to keep her going forever.

She could be better off short term with lodgers if she has two spare bedrooms?
There is council tax support if she has a low income. Is she getting basic state pension or does she have private as well? Is she getting any pension credits if he income is that low?

The best thing to do is make an appointment for the CAB and ask them to do a financial review and check that she's receiving everything she is entitled to.

Is it only state pension she receives?

Lodgers to get the credit card debt down. She can earn £2.5k annually tax free.

*correction that should be £7.5k from lodgers.

Also if she downsized to a small cheap to heat house there would be savings there and lower council tax bill?

Has she applied for benefits such as pension/universal credit?

Downsize would seem the obvious consideration? Frees up cash and lowers bills and maintenance costs.

Definitely also check benefit entitlement- pension credit specifically.

Downsizing should also reduce her outgoings (a smaller place should cost less to heat and maintain) so should help quite a bit.
Can you sit down with her and do a financial health check? The Money Saving Expert site is a great place to start.
Check she's on the best deals for things like landline/mobile phones, not paying subscriptions for unused products, best value car insurance etc.
The Entitled To website is good too, to check she is getting all eligible benefits (I assume she's already getting her 25% single person discount on council tax?).

Does she just have the state pension or does she also have a private pension of her own? Has she checked to see if she’s eligible for pension credit?

Agree with downsizing, but moving costs can be substantial. If it’s any consolation, no one on a state pension is going on cruises. Only those who saved into their own work/private pension will be doing that.

My mum is 82 and is only has her state pension. She says she's never been as well off in her life and has a decent amount of savings. She doesn't drive though. She has a 2 bedroom house. These calculators are very handy www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators - at the very lease council tax should be discounted?

Does she need a car versus getting the bus or occasional taxis? Cars are expensive!

Is she mortgage free? When you say screwed over decades ago, how long ago? Did she get a chance

I agree about encouraging her to get some impartial advice, perhaps from more than one source.

Lodgers could be stressful - though could also be really positive - so I would certainly look seriously at moving in her case. But that's not necessarily straightforward either - moving to a flat with a service charge, for example, could add a large bill to her other costs. Also moving away from informal social support like nice neighbours and familiar shopkeepers can be a major problem for older people.

Have you been able to look at her budget in detail with her - are you both happy to do that? So you can see what the prospects are for improving her finances in the future? If she downsized, had a lump sum but then just spent that over time, she'd be back in the same situation in a few years. I'd agree with making completely sure that she's getting everything she is entitled to and to get CAB advice.

Actually that sounded very smug and it wasn't meant to. She was a single parent for many many years and never had a work pension. We grew up very poor which has made us all very cautious with saving/spending. Would she not be able to claim on her house insurance for her fence?

Thanks everyone! She has a small company pension as well as state pension, so I think that means she's not eligible for pension credits etc. She's done the right things but has had such bad luck - she paid into a company pension for years but the company went bust (this was before there was any protection against these events) and she lost all of the money, plus she was born just weeks after the cut off for better state pension rates and her pension is significantly lower than it would have been. It is so upsetting to see someone stressed and depressed in retirement. I think she wouldn't cope with lodgers - the stress of everything has made her crumble now. I'm having to accompany her on things like getting the fence fixed as she can't cope and is fearful. So I don't think she'd cope with lodgers.

If she's not even 70 she could have 20 years still, selling up and getting a 1 bed would probably be the best move.

Worth getting a benefit check to see if she is entitled to pension credit and council tax reduction. I wouldn't assume she isn't - it's best to check. If she does have an entitlement to either of these benefits she can ask for them to be backdated for up to three months.

I will see if CAB can offer advice. Seems insane that pensioners have to pay council tax! She has a car and is upset at the thought of losing it, as it allows her independence and the opportunity to see grandchildren regularly. I do worry that she'll downsize to free up a cash lump sum, but that will only last 5-10 years. Then what? Sell the smaller house/flat and use that to pay for a rented place until she's run out of money and homeless??

I would definitely look into down sizing.
It could reduce her outgoings considerably, especially with the rising in heating costs etc.

Less to clean and maintain, she can potentially sell the bedroom furniture she currently has etc.

You're right in that the money won't last forever, but it'll make her cost of living less so have long term benefits as well as short term ones.

Thank you. Who would do a benefit check? Is it CAB?

Also, it's worth checking to see if she can get the warm home discount - might be too late for this year, but again, worth checking.

Yes, citizens advice, or there might be welfare rights through local council.

Thanks, I'm making notes of this all. It's a horrible situation.

Can you sit down and do a very exact list of outgoings, see where savings can be made?
She has state and small private pension and has an asset in her home, she is not heading for homelessness, that's a dramatic statement; there are literally pensioners stvriskmof dy

The ultimate option is to have her come and live with you? But I assume that's not an option

I agree with the above - financial reviews , comb her bank statements for any odd charges .

Posted too soon.
Pensioners at risk of dying from
lack of heat next winter.
Unfortunately, your DM
needs to accept that the house needs to go and savings will follow.