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.

Could she look into getting a pt job? My mum's best friend is 75 and works 2 days a week, and I'd say at least 3 or 4 of the cashiers in my local Tesco must be drawing state pension too. It could help with loneliness and confidence as well if she felt able to take the initial step of applying, interviewing etc. Appreciate it might be too daunting for her tho.

In some parts of the country retired people can apply for sheltered housing with a housing association. It would mean that she gets no help with rent, but, no repairs to worry about, lower bills and company from other people the same age. Some have communal facilities for hobbies etc and provide cheap, cooked lunches.

@Itsbackagain

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?

That's odd. Basic state pension is £185, and £145 for the basic one. Most people wouldn't be "well off" on that. Perhaps you misquoted?

Does she have a large driveway or garage? She can rent out the parking space by the hour via a website. Just Park is one of these

I hope you can help get things sorted for the better for your mum.
As she is in agreement to downsizing, if she is mortgage free, could she sell the 3 bed house, buy two one bed flats and rent one out for an income, either long term or airBnB using an agent to sort the management so as not to add to her anxiety?

....and agree with the tenting out driveway option. I rent out my garage for £150pm (I did it via the Nextdoor app and had 5 enquires in two days) which pays my service charge, ground rent, water and buildings insurance, so less for me to worry about.

I think you need to bite the bullet on downsizing.

If she got £50k capital, that’s a significant addition / cushion over 15 or 20 years, say. PLUS the lower living costs. Energy, insurance, Council Tax, maintenance etc, all lower in a smaller place.

If she can find somewhere cheaper than £125k then there is no SDLT to pay, and not too much if a bill if it stays under £250k. Depending o prices in your area.

Could Her depression and loneliness be alleviated by living closer to other family members?

She will surely feel better with less financial pressure.

Yes, sorry barbara, I misunderstood your point!

@timestheyarechanging

....and agree with the tenting out driveway option. I rent out my garage for £150pm (I did it via the Nextdoor app and had 5 enquires in two days) which pays my service charge, ground rent, water and buildings insurance, so less for me to worry about.

I know its a typo but I saw 'tenting the driveway' as a create solution to getting a lodger without actually having them present in the house

I spent the last 10 years of my working life helping older people to claim benefits. With respect there is some information given on this thread which is incorrect. It comes from people knowing just some of the picture, maybe from friends/relatives.

Under State Pension Age (which varies according to age) - PiP is claimed for people with health difficulties.
Over State Pension Age - Attendance Allowance is appropriate. I always found it quite easy to get this for people. The guidance and the title is misleading. You don’t have to have anyone helping you or coming to your home to care for you. It is not means-tested. You can spend it on what you like.
If awarded AA, the Pension Credit rates are much more generous. If awarded the Guarantee Credit, you will pay no Council Tax

If awarded Savings Credit only you may still need to pay some.

If a person has a terminal illness there is a special rule which fast-tracks the claim.

It is vital that you get a professional to do a benefit check. So many people miss out because they think they can’t claim. Good luck.

I also think that a job may be a good idea. If she had less time on her hands she may become less anxious and get confidence from being out in the world and meeting people.

I think finding the right part time job would be really important but something that she would enjoy, even if it’s just the company aspect. Our local cafes are mainly staffed by people who could be retired and the ladies there have a great time and are a really close group of friends.

That’s not to say she shouldn’t get all the benefits that she is entitled to, but I think I would prefer a job to a lodger in her situation.

If no one has.mentored them yet it is really worth getting on CAP course (Christians against poverty). They don't mention religion at all. They help you understand and budget for your finances. The people who run the course are skilled, it's free, you are left with tools to help long term. I was on the brink of bankruptcy (for reasons being my control at the time) when I did one and it was ace. Turned it around completely.

I think there may need to be a bit of an adjustment to expectations too.

Neither my grandparents or DHs grandparents were going on cruises in retirement.
My maternal grandparents had the occasional holiday abroad (about every 3-4 years) to visit my uncle, my paternal grandmother about the same to see her sister. Otherwise holidays were UK based, a week in a caravan or self-catering, usually with family or friends to share the cost.

My grandparents downsized & moved to a cheaper area & my nan felt she was being very extravagant buying new curtains (she'd always made her own or bought them secondhand and altered them).

I don't think it's unusual to have enough for just the basics & not much else in retirement sadly, as much as we'd like our elders to have more.

Hopefully downsizing will cut the bill for house repairs / upkeep as well as freeing up some equity.

My state pension and (small) private pension come to just over £1k a month. I live alone in a small, 2-bedroomed house, no mortgage. At the moment, I'm still working p/t, so things are ok, but I'm dreading the day when I'm too knackered to carry on with work.

My council tax, utilities, and insurance come to £364 a month. It will be much more at the end of next year, when my current fixed rate energy contract runs out. Running a car (tax, insurance, maintenance) comes to around another £100 a month, before putting any fuel in.

If I stopped working, that would leave me with a little over £500 a month for everything else: food, toiletries, maintenance on the house, replacing essential items that wear out/break down, haircuts, dental costs, stuff for the garden, buying books (reading is my main hobby, and the libraries are really poor when it comes to having enough copies of new books). Every month there seems to be something that costs a good chunk of my disposable income.

I won't be on the poverty line, but I certainly won't be having holidays, eating out or decorating.

Luckily, I live in an area where house prices are high, so I plan to move to a cheaper area and use some of the equity to get a BTL, or possibly just do a lifetime mortgage when the left over capital runs out. I don't want a smaller place, as many of my friends live a long way away and need to stay when they come to visit.

@LakieLady have you got a Kindle or ereader? You can 'borrow' ebooks from the library, if so, which would cut down your book budget considerably. You can also borrow ebooks online from Amazon using 'Kindle Unlimited'.

Do you live in Scotland OP? I know of a charity that could help.

Thanks again everyone.

@Nemorth - no we are in England, not Scotland. But thank you.

@LakieLady - similar to my mum, but her state and private pension total less than £1k per month and her council tax, insurances etc are more than yours. She did a bit of part time work but mental health issues as well as physical ones meant she had to stop. So i'm sure you can appreciate her issues. It sounds like you have a great plan, so best of luck with it!

Just a small update:
She now has a prescription from the GP to help the anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed by it all. Hopefully that will start to kick in over the next few weeks.
I have arranged for an estate agent to come and value her property. We'll get more quotes from other agents if we go ahead with the idea to sell and downsize, but for now it will give us a rough idea of what we are looking at. I've also looked on Right Move at property prices for downsizing options. Unfortunately it would have to be outside her current area, which will have an impact on friendships etc and make a car even more of a necessity.
I've checked and she does get winter fuel allowance and 25% council tax discount for single occupancy.
Next step is to get a CAB benefits check - hoping to explore council tax support and Attendance Allowance in particular here (she has osteoporosis and arthritis as well as mental health issues) - but will also do my own online check too. So thanks for recommending the websites I can use.
I'll ask her about renting a space out on her driveway. She doesn't live close to anywhere that would make it a sought after space, but worth a try I guess.
Her house is not in good enough condition to consider renting out. I had thought about it. But it would require too much money up front to make it something that people would want to rent.
I really don't think she's in the right frame of mind for lodgers or even part time work now. But we can look at that again once the tablets take effect.

In terms of actual money. Her state pension and small private pension total under £1k per month. After bills (including food and car) she has about £100-£150 per month for social life/purchases like Xmas presents for grandchildren etc PLUS that is the only money she has to put towards things like fences blowing down, cars going wrong and boilers breaking etc. That's what her stress relates to. All of the one off costs that she just can't cover.

[quote zafferana]@LakieLady have you got a Kindle or ereader? You can 'borrow' ebooks from the library, if so, which would cut down your book budget considerably. You can also borrow ebooks online from Amazon using 'Kindle Unlimited'.[/quote]
I've got a Kindle, but really don't like reading on a screen. It feels like work!

There's something about a physical book that I really enjoy, and devices just don't feel the same.

Is she mortgage free, if so that's high outgoings for a lone person.

We live in an expensive area, unfortunately. Council tax is about as high as it can be for a 3 bed house. With a car and a dog it pushes things up. Unfortunately she views both of these as a necessity. I'm not going to make a lonely person rehome their dog and cut off all options of seeing friends without exploring every other option first.

Do you have siblings? If so, can you all perhaps give your mum a few hundred pounds each a month? Presumably you will all be left the house (in an expensive area, as you said) in her will.

I'd say down size is the best option . If as you say it gives her 50k . If she had £300 a month that's only £3,600 a year but would probably make her life a whole lot easier .

I don't have siblings who can help. I will be helping her out where I can, but i am a SAHM with young children so there is not a lot of spare money. I think I will have to return to part-time work earlier than I would like so that I can pass money on to her. But I have to be careful that this doesn't build resentment on my part....

And try to avoid flats . The ground rent will make her no better off .