UC review - over 16k childs savings

[Gabbygirl]

I need advice, i am so worried and stressed!

I have been asked to submit 4 months bank statement for a UC credit review. At first, I had absolutely no worries. I was talking to a mum at the school about it and she said to make sure that i upload my children's savings account as she had too due in her review.

I said to her that i didn't think they was included in my UC claim as they are children's savings accounts, in their own name. She said if I had access to them ( which of course i do, i set them up!) then they are included in my capital.

I rushed home and i've been doing some online research and the information is confusing but it does look like she is right.I can't believe i have let this happen.

I have gone through all my bank statements/uc payments and if my math's is correct i have been overpaid over £14,000 in the last 5 years.
( Any month over £16,000 savings i have calculated to owe back in full, any month over £6,000 but under £16,000 i have done £4.35 for every £250??)

Between nov 2025 and July 2020 - there is 11 months i was over the 16k and should of not got anything and besides 4 months, every other month the savings was inbetween £6000 and £15,999.

( I have some savings myself between £2,000 and £5,000 over the 5 years. I never included my children's savings, so depending how much i had, would take me over the 16k at times but not constant)

I feel sick with worry and i feel so guilty that such a stupid mistake can have a massive affect on my children and our home life. I am a single mum to 3 children and the thought of being taken away from breaks my heart. I know i have made a mistake and it is not fair for tax payers to have to pay for my mistake. I know i need to pay it all back and make everything, I am just so scared and i just don't know how.

I don't expect sympathy, this is my mistake and i need to handle it but any advice would be hugely appreciated.

Because you are also on the account means they count. On a Junior ISA you would not be on the account. It's as simple as that. You will have to repay any overpayments.

I have a copy of the will.

Thank you very much! I appreciate all your help

Repay the overpayments is fine. If i have been getting the money unlawfully i will use my savings and theirs to pay it back in full. I feel bad for my kids as this is their bday/xmas and inherence money but it is my fault and i will work hard to replace what i can for them. I just worry i will be in trouble and not believed that it was a genuine mistake

I agree Gabby , it’s not as if you are harbouring £100k in multiple trusts etc - you are ‘on the borders’ and this is a very easy error to make if it does turn out you have to pay back . If you do it’s unlikely I think you would have to pay in one go, they are more likely I think to reduce your benefit for a time .

OP please don't panic, it sounds completely genuine.

Out of curiosity (as I don't claim UC), what happens with a junior Credit Union savings account? It shows on the parent account as a 'third party account' but the parent has access to it.

OP this is from the official gov page:

‘You do not need to tell us about:
savings or investments belonging to your children in your children’s name. Read more about Universal Credit and children’s savings’

Therefore I would say this doesn’t apply and your children’s funds would be fine. But best to check if you’re unsure.

My understanding is you need to declare the children's savings but unless you have been accessing them to take money there is no issue with it.

I very much doubt that the inheritance and the birthday money etc will count as that would not be fair.

Was the birthday and Christmas money cash or done by bank transfer. If it it was bank transfer then that is easy to prove that it is not your money.

Only the £500 that you gave them will count.

As I posted above, in the UK a child under 13 cannot - legally - have a bank account in their own name. If they have a bank account it is owned by a trustee, usually their patent. The wording on the govt website needs to be clarified to explain whether bank accounts opened by a parent trustee are included or not. A child trust fund or junior ISA is not the same as a regular savings account.

Is it not the case that if a child under 18 is named as a beneficiary in a will the assets are automatically held in a trust until they turn 18?

It's a fabulous loophole if you get away with this. You can literally save as much as you like, stick it in your child's name, but you have full control and access to the money whenever you fancy. Meanwhile you tell universal credit you only have £4000 in the bank, great you can claim away!

I don't think you are actually correct op. I am by no means an expert but if it's their money in a bank account in their name and the funds have come from family members and inheritance then it's not yours to declare. It's a bit wishy washy

I think some of the confusion is where you say in your child's name. If its a cash ISA then the money belongs to child, its locked away and will not appear on your banking app at all. A child's saver is effectively something you could withdraw from anytime and is counted and would be visible on your banking app.

You should be able to show where the money came from. So the inheritance, for example, can be shown to be theirs.

If the accounts are in your children's names and you never dip into them for household expenses then actually they should be ignored.

gov.uk says
Children’s savings
Money, savings and investments that belong to your children, and are in their name, are not taken into account when assessing your Universal Credit. For example, you do not need to tell us about children’s savings accounts in their name such as Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds.

You don't though. If you use the account for household expenses then it would be likely to be taken into account. UC would ask to look at accounts in joint names and see how they are used.

Also, any income such as benefits only counts towards your capital if it is unspent for two assessment periods, so if a recent payment pushed you over £16,000 that wouldn't be counted.

By law, minors are not deemed to have the capacity to receive gifts of money or any part of a deceased estate and legacies for children are held in a trust until they turn 18.

When your grandmother's estate was wound up and the assets distributed to the beneficiaries, did the executors of her will give you any paperwork about holding the minors' legacies in trust, as the trustee, until they were 18 and what the responsibilities of a trustee are?

Do you still have the paperwork? If you do, you can show this to the reviewers.

I'm gutted that my taxes have been going towards your kids savings. But there we are.

This is bog-standard review, not the Fraud Team. As such she is not "under active investigation".

Imagine, "sorry kids but all your birthday and Christmas money is going on petrol / food this month".
Money my children were given stays with them.
They've never had holidays or pets buy I could at least chuck a few quid into their savings over the years.

Hypothetically, then, could grandparents leave £1million to the grandchildren but the parents continue to claim benefits?

I think for a claim in your name DWP would be more interested if you were paying into DCs accounts in order to stay below the savings level. You are allowed savings up to the level. Your DC are allowed savings in their own names that were gifted and not funded by benefit you received. Other posts are irrelevant. You have been sensible and prudent. You don’t have to raid their savings.

Conversely, without the UC there wouldn't be any money left for savings hence the savings must come from UC, not earned income.