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.

The right to buy scheme still exists however they no longer allow huge discounts.

You mean how YOU think you see me..from an Internet post on a money advice forum 😂 you've genuinely given me something, a good laugh. I sincerely hope you wake up on the right side of the bed tomorrow grumpy guts.

I disagree with this. I do not begrudge people utilising social housing when they need it. I do begrudge people remaining in social housing indefinitely. I think social housing should be a limited eg 5 year term maybe even 10 years and then released to a new tenant. Eligibility should also be assessed annually.

There is insufficient social housing for people who need it. It needs to be fairly distributed and utilised, not once you're in you're in for life.

no hard time, it never crossed my mind not to work hard

i have no issue with people choosing a different path, just don’t expect benefits to pay for it
you think some children deserve more time in childcare so their mums can fund other mum’s choice to work less? Surely not ? Who is paying for all this if all mums decide that is their right?

I have a pension, own my home and yes accept a very stressful job is the price for that. I had to juggle, I chose to have children, it never crossed my mind that I wasn’t responsible for funding that choice. My mum has never worked, my parents made a choice, sacrificed other things and lived off my dads earned income

that is the way it works, we can’t have it all

people have lost all sense of personal responsibility

There is not a shortage of SH because people are staying in it. There is a shortage because more people need it and none is getting built.
But anyway, not the point of this thread.

This.

This thread is illustrating that most people do not agree with @Cheesemaker26

In my area eligibility is reassessed every 5 years. I don’t think there should be an automatic limit of 5 years as people with disabilities don’t really have the potential to suddenly start earning more. Lots just get slowly worse.

It sounds like OP is a single mum working in a school. Could be a dinner lady, or a TA.
Both very important jobs.

Yes exactly. Some proper smug and high and mighty posts on this thread from a few people.

You will be back to full benefits once you have less than £6000 in savings.
As long as you can prove the other £6000 is not frittered then there won’t be deprivation of capital.

Which is why the tariff deduction regulations exist. UC reduces as per those regulations. It has absolutely, categorically nothing to do with hoarding money. I'm a hard working tax payer myself whose profession happens to be in welfare benefits. I do not believe UC recipients should not be allowed any savings, and I believe the current regulations are completely fair.

£12k isn’t a lot these days for buying a house, but it is enough to make daily life better.

If you are happy with your council house and your circumstances aren’t likely to change in other ways in the near future (ie a new job etc) I would probably spend the money making your current house how you like it - a council house is a secure home unlike private rental and you won’t have to worry about money for repairs. Then I’d put some into savings/ investments. They don’t take a lot if you have savings over £6K - I don’t remember the rate - and certain accounts can be exempt - something to research. You might lose a little in benefit deduction but you’ll still get help if you are a single parent on a lower wage.

When you’ve never had much and you suddenly get a gift like this it is a worry that its going to get swallowed up before you can make life changes. Wise investment and educational opportunities are worth looking in to. And also consider your dreams, could this money lead you down a path you’ve longer for and give you the breathing room to explore the option?

How dare you suggest such a radical plan!!
poor op with ONE six year old, course we are all just bitter. Leave her to work reduced hours, the rest of us jealous plebs can subsidise her

Get the money. Tell them
Pay off ALL debt and get things you need for your new home.
Tell UC your new amount in your bank.
Take the lower amount of UC till you are back under the amount allowed, which is 6k i think.
If you have debt, and pay it all off you shouldnt be on the lower amount for long.
Dont go crazy and buy silly things tho.
But things like decoaration for your house, white goods etc, are all allowed.
You only need to get below £6k (i think) so to be honest you may only be at the less amount of UC for a month or two

Just FYI I work full time and my child is in wraparound care too 😅 it's just not a high enough paid job for a single parent, I myself would never chose to go part time as I simply can't afford it.

It's an important job and someone has to do it for everyone else's children to receive an education, which is the career path I have chosen.

Advice.
You cannot at this moment afford to buy a house.
Enjoy your council house and just put the £200 per month down to necessary expenses for having inherited £12 000.

I think social housing should be a limited eg 5 year term maybe even 10 years and then released to a new tenant. Eligibility should also be assessed annually.

That’s a wider argument for another thread perhaps but in this situation OP clearly can’t afford to buy and she has already invested in renovating her council house.

Not entirely sure if your argument in regards to OP.

Surely you’re not suggesting a single parent on a low wage who has already declared her current house move out to precarious private rentals and use the 12K to pay the much higher rents because what happens when that money runs out in a year or two? Or are you saying that she should try and stretch her finances to cover mortgage repayments she can barely afford? ?

You say you don’t begrudge people in social housing when they need it. Good - because OP needs it!

Yep, always the way on here. Sneering at anyone in a low paid job despite the fact they are probably supporting their kids at school. It is a thing on here... "oh, you work in a care home and get UC?, Why not get a better job?", and moaning that no one wants to work in care homes
Single mums go for term time school jobs to fit around their own childcare. Not everyone has family to look after their kid in the holidays.

And you’re not entitled to be a massive cow to someone you don’t even know just because you’re hiding behind your keyboard but here we are.

I too hope the OP is able to find a way to use this money that betters her situation and honours her grandmother’s intentions.

Only meee...I'm not on reduced hours thank you very much I work full time at a school on a Band D salary 😀 which the government thinks is acceptable to pay people who provide education for your children 🫢

Pay no attention to them.
There was a thread on here recently where OP was a single parent and a nurse earning £40k, and she still got a UC top up. Got told she was a failure and to earn more, even though she said was was actually training to do so and was also working silly hours too.
MN = you are a failure if you earn less than £100k.

I would recommend getting some advice from eg. Citizens Advice or another welfare benefits specialists and then a mortgage specialist.

The figures you quote mean it's just possible that you may be able to afford to buy a house. You may be entitled to Support for Mortgage Interest and if you can get an interest only mortgage that may work.

If you no longer have housing costs on your UC claim you get to keep a lot more of your earnings before UC start deducting benefits at 55%.

Without knowing your exact circumstances though (income/benefits/availability of suitable mortgages for you) no-one on here can give you tailored advice.

Just FYI I work full time and my child is in wraparound care too 😅

If people like Op are working full-time and still cant afford to pay their own rent and/or afford a mortgage to move out her council house, surely the people angry she’s claiming UC should be raging at the system that pays people so poorly in comparison to housing costs - and not the actual claimants? Maybe just maybe this is bigger than benefit claimants.
Ffs.. what’s not clicking?! Is the daily fail brainwashing that effective? Wake up!

It never fails to amaze me how people would rather blame those who are also victims of the system, rather than challenging the structures and systemic inequality that create these conditions .

It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.

I disagree with this statement made by @ILoveAGingerCat
"Many posters on Mumsnet hate people in social housing having a reasonable quality of life. They think they should all be living in penury."

I think very few people have that view. But when there is a limited resource, in this case social housing, it needs to be used with thought. 5-10 years should be sufficient for most people to get back on their feet and move to private rental, freeing up social housing stock so others in need get the same opportunities.

Normal people respond to a windfall with oh great, I can pay off that debt I can go on holiday or whatever. OP came her to find out how to avoid temporarily losing some of her taxpayer funded benefits now she has had an unexpected windfall.

She is taking charity from taxpayers that she doesn't currently need.

Benefits are never ever meant to be a lifestyle choice. They are supposed to be there because you haven't got the money to pay for things and are on the bones of your arse.

Your "benefits" are other people's hard earned money.

So just use your own money to pay for your own life choices like a normal person.

And when you run out of it you can re apply for benefits.

You are not entitled to taxpayer funded benefits if you currently have enough money to pay your bills and live your life. That's the point.

You are not entitled to use taxpayer funded benefits as your nest egg, and you are not entitled to have a nest egg while begging money from the state.

You are not legally or ethically entitled to hide money or squirrel it away or do anything else at all with that money except use it to fund your own life.

As of today you are begging from the state and taking other people's money that you do not need. It's pretty unbelievable you have the nerve to say this out loud.

Cash the cheque and accept that you will get less free money from other people. Or keep pretending you don't get it and keep trying to hide the money from the state so you can keep begging free money from other people.

Because that is exactly and precisely what you are doing.100%.

Now you know how most people will feel about you when they hear you're trying to squirrel away or otherwise trick the state so you can keep money while continuing to beg from the state.

But I daresay you already knew that which is why you came here anonymously rather than asking anyone in real life.