ESA, Inheritance and citizens advice

Heartman

Hello all. 
 Very soon I am due to receive an inheritance after a close family member has passed away. I think i'm currently claiming the income related ESA. My savings after the inheritance will be over £6000. Today i called into the Citizens advice centre - they told me that there is no need to report my inheritance to the dwp unless my savings go over £16,000. This is contrary to the advice i've seen on this page. Now i'm even more confused. Any advice/help would be appreciated. 

poppy123456

That’s terrible advice you’ve been given by them! Savings/capital of more then £6,000 affects means tested benefits like Income Related ESA.

For every £250 or part thereof over £6,000 there’s a £1/week deduction. More than £16,000 and entitlement stops.

Same applies to housing benefit if you’re claiming this. If you’re claiming Council Tax reduction all local Authorities have their own rules and some have a maximum savings limit of £6,000 before entitlement ends.

If any part of your ESA is contributions based this is not affected. 

Heartman

I am terrible at phone conversations - they fill me with dread. I've read that i could write a letter the dwp to inform them. Any advice about doing this?

poppy123456

You can but it's not very reliable because they don't often respond. The best way is to ring them. Do you have someone that can ring on your behalf? You will need to go through security and then you can pass the phone onto them.