Pension lump sum, Universal credit affects

Fonty05

Could someone please help. My family member has incurred debt from caring for someone and running a business. Her spouse can now cash in a pension pot to pay off some of this debt, the total is 21,850k the first 11,550 is tax free and the remaining 10301 is subject to paye tax, leaving the lump sum they would receive around £19k it would come in and go again as debts are more than this. How does this affect their UCs? Thanks in advance

poppy123456

They will need to report the changes when the money goes into their bank. They can pay off debt and it will not affect their UC. This is one thing that's different to legacy benefits and paying off debt is allowed and will not be treated as deprivation of capital.