Will ESA stop?

[Pilgrimgirl]

My dh gets PIP, ESA Support Group (contribution based), we both get Universal Credit and I get Carers Allowance. My dh is about to receive an inheritance, not massive but will take us over the 16k capital limit for Universal Credit, so we'll have to close the claim. I know we can carry on claiming PIP and Carers Allowance but will he still be able to claim ESA if he no longer gets Universal Credit?

Yes he can continue to get ESA as it's a contributions based benefit and non means tested. he does not need to be claiming UC to get it, they are separate benefits.

If it's spent on reasonable expenses it won't count as disposing of an asset eg paying off any debts, paying bills, reasonable home expenses.

There is guidance online. Do this as much as you can to get the amount below £16k and preferable £6k.

You still get UC up to £16 k it's just reduced.

Thanks so much to both of you for the replies. We do have two loans that amount to around 7.5k that paying off would take us under the 16k limit. However if we were to do this and we did it quickly, eg on the same day the inheritance was paid to us, would we still have to declare the inheritance to universal credit, even though we'd used it to pay off the loans?

www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-money-savings-and-investments#:~:text=If%20you%20knowingly%20reduce%20your,off%20or%20reduce%20a%20debt

Just keep the evidence that you used to money to pay off debt.

@unmemorableusername thank you very much for that information.