Can we still claim benefits if savings over £16k?

[benefitsadviceplease]

Because DH very ill we have just had a pay out and will have over 16k in savings.

Would really appreciate someone's help in answering the following -

1. Can we legally put some into trust for our children so that we still qualify for rent/ council tax help? We no way want to try and get out of paying it, but need to know if we can put some in savings for the children should the worst happen to dh.

1. Is DLA, Carer's allowance, incapacity benefit, income support or job seekers affected by having 16k savings?

Thanks in advance

DLA and incapacity benefit are not affected by savings. Don't know about Carer's Allowance.

Income Support and JSA are, so is Housing and Council Tax Benefit.

Please understand that this is because the benefits system is designed as a safety net for people who need to use it because they have nothing or very little savings, not to safeguard your savings.

And transferring it will be seen as intentionally trying to get rid of it, in addition to being morally wrong.

Putting the money into trust for your children will be seen as deprevation of capital.

JSA is not available as assume if he is ill he wont be seeking work, IS may be paid once your savings have reached a lower level. DLA is not means tested so as long as you meet the criteria.

HB may kick in once your savings drop.

Realistically, you cannot expect to have £16k yet expect benefits to support you instead.

Thanks for that.

understand, too, that you must be truthful on all benefits applications AND you must submit bank statements, tenancy agreements and other financial statements when you apply.

at the end of the application, you sign a statement saying you have done this, or you could be charged with fraud.

if the DWP sees a transfer of the sort and concludes that you have tranferred the money in order to qualify for benefits, they can deny your claim. you can appeal, but there's no guarantee you'll win.

sorry to be harsh, but again, benefits are designed as a safety next for people who have nothing or very little.

If you deliberately dispose of savings in order to qualify for benefits, you will probably be penalised. If you use some of your savings for everyday living expenses and this lowers them below the £16K limit, this will be viewed more favourably. Even if your savings dip below £16K, you will not necessarily get full benefits as these require savings to be below £6K (or possibly £8K). This only applies to means-tested benefits.

It's also a good idea to check out entitledto to make sure that you're getting everything that you are entitled to.
Sorry to hear about your DH's illness.

I did have a feeling that would be the case and as you say it's a safety net that we have needed - dh has cancer- but wont need so much for a while now.

One of the reasons i asked was i wondered if we could put a little aside, say £2k for each daughter, as dh may not be there when they get married but it would be a little gift from him.

But have no intention of any kind of dishonesty. Wouldnt have asked if so!

Thanks again tho for all the advice

does he have life insurance, benefits? if so it is possible to save from that if the worst should happen.

but unfortunately, deprivation of capital, even in that amount, could indeed affect means-tested benefits.

you do have to declare all assets, including a dependent's.

if you look on moneysavingexpert.com there is a list of things that can spend your money on that is NOT depriving yourself of capital...you would need to have receipts etc.
16 grand is rather a lot. a years earnings and more, you can have 6 between the 2 of you, and anything over is deducted so much in the pound...no idea.
Have a look at MSE and sorry to hear about your dh.

that's where the money is from expat, the insurance. No other insurance on him now so we just want to know what we can be assured will come in so that we can be careful with what is left wile he is ill

check out the DWP website, too, benefits, for full details of what constitutes a means-tested benefit.

Thanks Mrs T-M and CC re dh

Expat - do i have to inform Tax Credits or is that not means tested?

Child tax credits will care about the interest from any savings. They don't care about the savings themselves. If you put it into an ISA though (or as much as you can), you won't have to declare the interest, because ISAs are tax-exempt, and that includes CTC.
Hope that makes sense.

Wow - there are clever people on here tonight yes even with my gloopy brain you explained that well

Thanks xx

you need to inform them of any 'Other Income' over £300 per tax year, as tax credits are means-tested.

now their notes don't specifically cover insurance pay outs and their wording regarding 'Capital treated as income' is a bit ambiguous so tbh i would ask them either in writing OR if you must contact them by phone then write down the name of the person you spoke to and the date and time and keep it someplace where you will not lose it because TCO have a nasty habit of coming back years and years later saying you were overpaid and if you lose an appeal you WILL have to repay HM Revenues and Customs what you are due.

as a point when I applied for HB, I had to give ALL of DS's details as well incl bank accounts savings & trusts.

Just reading hte notes that came with our renewal pack, and this of course is for both WTC and CTC which is a joint application.

They do treat any income you receive that falls under income tax rules as 'notional income' and they cover their arses with: 'It may include: . . . income that you have deprived yourself of to get tax credits or more tax credits.'

TBH I would ask them and keep records of it.

Also remember that you must report any change in your income from working and/or if your working hours change.