UC savings

[stridesy]

hi I was wondering if I have savings over the threshold could I just place it against the mortgage? My oh has about 30k in debt anyway although I gather this would be ignored anyway.

Yes savings and capital will be treated jointly for a UC joint claim

I do agree that the system needs to be brought in line- I know of a few cases where the migration claimants are in shock having got used to the TC system for a long time

That must be frustrating.

Which bit of the legislation are you referring to? I referred to The Universal Credit Regulations 2013, Regulation 50 (2). That states that a person is not to be treated as depriving themselves of capital if they are repaying a debt owed by that person. A mortgage is a debt. The OP has the debt.

Capital in the home you own and live in is not included in assets which would reduce your UC amount.

You can put it in a private pension as pension contributions are ignored for UC claims

Ridiculously, I did a mock up on one of the gov entitled calculators.I put that I earn £45k but contribute £35k a year to a private pension. It made my salary £10k and showed I'd be entitled to the full UC allowance

I'm not sure how much this will hold water going forward- as right as you may be. Because in situations like this where someone is considering putting savings against a mortgage that's not in arrears means they can realise capital against it if they wish and it's generally an appreciating asset, and doing so in order to then claim means tested benefits is a win win for the homeowner.. I'm not disagreeing with current guidelines but it makes for a really questionable situation.

“I need to somehow fund £250 per term for my autistic son to go to school. I was thinking about getting a job soon but difficult when I have to continually pick him up from his sen school”

If it is a substantial amount that you got given could it not be used towards your son’s school fees and you get a job to help with everyday costs?

Why shouldn’t they though? £6000 is not a lot of savings, especially for someone who owns their home, so is responsible for upkeep, has multiple children, again more needed if sen. Most of these benefits are to top up low wages. Why is ok if someone spends them all on alcohol or holidays or whatever. But if someone is frugal and wants to save it’s penalised.

I was referring not to people who have 6k savings and claiming benefits but some of those still on tax credits who have had way over 16k in savings and in some cases second homes and still been able to claim tax credits because they were based solely on earnings. The system needed to change. I have no problem with people having some savings to fall back on.

Yes I understand it’s not ideal and there’s a lot of room for abuse. £6000 seems a low threshold though. The real way out of it would be jobs paying a proper wage so top up benefits weren’t needed!

You can have up to £16k in savings and still claim UC. A tariff deduction is made monthly per £250 of savings.

To add, that's only on savings over £6k and under £16k. The first 6k is ignored

As far as I'm aware, If you are being migrated over from tax credits your savings are disregarded for 12 months.

Yes for migration cases, not for change of circumstances cases. It's not clear which category OP is or how much savings she has so if it's a large amount she may still be affected later if migration, and now if it's a c/o/c

People do talk a load of old tosh on here as if they know what they are talking about. You can use capital to pay off a debt and it CANNOT be regarded as deprivation of capital by UC. It's written into the legislation as noted above. DWP have to follow the legislation. There's no ifs buts or maybes or the DWP deciding to do something different on a whim. The rules are not as clear cut for the legacy working age benefits.

As PPs have said if you are migrating over from Tax credits then capital should be disregarded for 12 months.

You do know you can get your point across without being quite that rude don't you? The OP didn't give clear cut information of her actual circumstances. It isn't actually stated if she's a migration or change of circs case.

I missed the implication earlier, but I think this part of @stridesy 's 18:00 post indicates that she's transitioning from Tax Credits, because she says the paperwork has come through but she's weighing her options:

"At the moment I’m just weighing up options having just had the paperwork come through just before Xmas..."

@Catsknowbest I stand by the tone of my post. My response was to the point (mainly from you I believe) saying (in various ways) that the DWP may disregard the legislation posted earlier because..... That is not correct and the OPs circumstances are not relevant to that point. You repeatedly contradicted correct posts, potentially confusing the OP which is frustrating. I would recommend you check your facts rather than doubling down when challenged (we all make mistakes but when you are challenged, especially repeatedly, may be worth doing some fact checking before responding further). Especially on a thread asking for advice on which the OP might make important financial decisions.

@Babyroobs I know someone in receipt of a monthly income of £3.5k a month and opted to transfer from TC to UC before migration. They then declared an incoming inheritance of £300,000 and wrote to DWP asking for the 1yr disregard.
She is most put out that they said no, apparently that's "not fair" 🙄

Unbelievable !

Just wow. Benefits should be a safety net. If some people didn't abuse them and the benefits bill was lower maybe the people who really needed them could get a bit more. Care leavers come to mind.