Inheritance while on Universal Credit: what are my options?

[Stressedmum6761]

Hi everyone! 👋 I'm currently losing my marbles and need to speak to anyone who's been in the same boat.

My nanny passed away nearly 2 years ago now and it's taken a while for her things to be settled and sold etc. My family passed me a letter today addressed to me from my sweet, beautiful nan and a cheque for nearly £12K. I've been in absolute bits all day I keep bursting into tears. I've never had this much in my life and never ever expected anything from my nan at all and it's absolutely thrown me.

The thing is I know I should be absolutely THRILLED with this money, I'm on my own with DD who's 6 now. We've just moved into a council house 2 months ago and I'm on UC top up which also covers my rent, my job doesn't pay well but it's a school job and I get my holidays off with DD. I'm panicking more than anything because I know that as soon as I cash this cheque UC are going to deduct money each month (about £120 if my maths is correct).

My family said they know nan wanted me to put a deposit down on a house, which again I know if I get a mortgage my UC stops and I'm financially liable for the payments and any repairs etc if anything goes Pete Tong.

I'm thinking about just putting most of it in a LISA for now and potentially in the future buying a house...maybe a once in a lifetime holiday with the rest. I'm just torn because if I buy a house, I'll be so much worse off than I am now getting help from UC with rent payments etc. I've just moved into this house and started decorating and making it my own. I'm worried about the money sitting there and me being so scared to spend anything while also having money deducted from my monthly payments. Again, I'm absolutely ecstatic I've got this chunk of money for security but the fact that it's going to effect me whether I spend it or not is flapping me to the core.

What do I do? Has anyone had experience with coming into money while also being on benefits? Thank youuu from a very emotional and stressed mum.

Seems to me that everyone has digressed from the original posters question in order to promote their own theories on who should or should not receive financial help from the Benefits system.

I worked mainly with those with severe congenital disability. Over the years I experienced a significant number of claimants who were denied benefit in such a way that it was clearly unlawful. Mandatory reconsideration requests were always met with refusal so alongside tribunal applications I made complaints to DWP via claimants local MPs. In every single case tribunals were cancelled, benefit was awarded and backdated, and individual claimants received confirmation that their complaint was upheld, along with an apology.

It makes my skin crawl to think how many similar instances there are. Not to mention how many claimants can’t access the support they need to fight the unfairness, so just accept the decision. And many more who won’t engage with the appeal process because they simply find it too stressful, and as you say, emotionally draining. That’s how we treat our sick and disabled people in this country and it makes me laugh when posters come here and spout drivel from the likes of the Daily Mail and other mouthpieces for the government of the day when they clearly have no experience of the system and reluctant to apply any critical thinking.

I think this is the way most benefit threads go to be honest. They always seem to spark wider debate.

So it’s fine for rich people to find ways of paying less tax than they should, but woe betide any benefit claimant who dares to claim while having a fiver in the bank ?

Where have I advocated for exploiting workers…?

these “tax avoidance schemes” you seem to hate, such as RDEC. Do you realise most are intended to encourage companies to invest and grow, thus creating more jobs and putting more money back into the communities?

that should be clear as we obviously wouldn’t just have a tax code that allows companies to “dodge tax” for no particular reason

Good God, this thread is mental and some people talk themselves in circles to try to get people on low incomes to feel bad about taking what they are allowed to.

‘Some economist’ did calculate it. Over twenty years ago. And it hasn’t kept pace with the cost of living in the meantime. Economists in recent studies have said that the threshold in 2026 should be nearer £12,000 to provide a cushion for adverse events.

And then those companies create more jobs, pay minimum wage, the employees can’t make ends meet and have to claim UC, and around we go.

To get back to the question, here’s the Dow Jones 100 year chart - look at the growth https://www.macrotrends.net/1319/dow-jones-100-year-historical-chart Yes you have to be prepared not to take the money out of there are some losses, and wait, but the historical growth is there.

The ISA wrapper is still important for OP, because they’re something you keep hold of for a while. The LISA stocks and shares might be even better, as she’d get an automatic boost of 25% from the government, and will benefit from any market growth.

I just wanted to say also, that you can make changes/retrain/buy a house if you want to. It’s possible to change things and build assets, even if it seems impossible at times. I think sometimes well meaning people and benefits keep people trapped.

LISA is brilliant if you can accept the constraints on when you can access your money. Unfortunately I think a lot of people lose money as they end up needing to access their money and having to pay the surcharge (so end up with less than they started with).

agree re. your point re. training: investment in oneself is next to always the best investment.

Could you consider upping your pension contributions and using some of the money that way?

That way you'd get the extra you put in, 20% tax relief on top, PLUS your employer contributions.

Use the remaining money (after the debts) are paid, to top up your salary. Revert back to what you are putting in now when you get under the threshhold.

If you are 30, putting in 5K extra to your pension this year, even without higher employer contributions, could mean 50K extra in your pension (assuming a fairly conservative 6% growth)

“The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer” — Theodore Roosevelt

“Being rich, my virtue then shall be to say there is no vice but beggary." - William Shakespeare.

You, somewhat ironically, forgot the whole quote:

“Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice but beggary.”

He is exposing self-serving hypocrisy of all :)

I didn’t forget it, I just wrote the part that was relevant to you 😁

Besides @ExpectMore I didn’t see any relevance at all in your quote to the Pp

Thankfully, the majority on here have intelligently and rightfully defended their position and their obligations within the legislation and rules; tbh in many cases with a lot of restraint.

This. OP needs to be crystal clear that money put into a LISA is earmarked for either a (qualifying) house purchase or retirement, as early withdrawal penalties mean that she actually loses money; not just loss of interest, but loss of capital.

As for the DOW Jones example, it illustrates the volatility nicely—if OP invested in Jan 2022 and withdrew in Jan 2023, she would have LOST 2.98%. She has to be in it for the long game and be in a position where she won’t need to withdraw in an emergency during a market dip. The stock market game is all about being able to hold until until a peak. This is why financial advisors recommend to NEVER hold your emergency fund in the stock market.

You are ironically reinforcing his message. Study it

Well, I’m not surprised given you don’t seem to have a strong comprehensive of English language

Agreed. Or just drip feed it with a set amount periodically to bank on it growing over time and mitigating any peaks and troughs.

Maybe you should explain to me how you think the Pp is sneering at life just because she doesn’t agree with you? Because the quote I wrote for you (albeit incomplete, since I’m not going to write an entire play out here, am I?) was directly relevant to your attitude. There is no irony in the fact I chose it, or the fact I don’t need to include another word. The part that’s there is the part you need to study.

I’m not going to waste my time. You can never teach a fish to climb

I think you mean comprehension, oh English expert.....🤔

Surely you mean comprehension ?