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Help please, Savings for operation and UC reduction in payments.

Grandad_Neil

My son and daughter in law are having to raise a large lump of cash for an op on our grand daughter. She has cerebral palsy . They are now having to claim UC and are concerned about going over the £6000 limit. Is there a way of saving the money without having reduction in payments ?

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steve51

Hi @Grandad_Neil

Good Evening & Welcome my friend.

I’m one of the Community Champion’s here at Scope.

We have got a number of senior members on here who will be able to help you with your “Benefit Inquiry”

Hi @Adrian_Scope
@Chloe_Scope

Can you please offer me some help with this post?????

@steve51

chiarieds

Hi @Grandad_Neil - I just wanted to welcome you to the community. I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, but hopefully one of the Scope team (Adrian & Chloe) may be able to advise. My best wishes to you & your family.

Grandad_Neil

Thank you for the wishes and passing the question on.

Grandad_Neil

Thank you, that was my thoughts but the cost of legal advice is putting me off at the moment. I think I will ask CAB first.

emmarenshaw

HI @Grandad_Neil welcome to the community. I’m Emma, one of the Community Champions. I’m going to tag @Richard_Scope Scope’s CP adviser just to see if he can give you anymore advice on this. I have CP myself, please keep us posted with how you are getting on, and if you have any more questions please let us know and we’ll be happy to help.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @Grandad_Neil and welcome to the community.
Unfortunately I don't believe there is a way to save over the £6,000 without it affecting your Universal Credit, even in trusts without access it can still be counted as savings/capital.
Is the amount you need to save below £16,000?

It's worth noting that when you have £16,000 the monthly deduction to your UC will be £174. Once you go over £16,000 your UC would stop.

If you're able, I'd recommend speaking to a Welfare Rights or CAB to see if they can suggest other options for you.

Grandad_Neil

Thank you for the message. The amount that is needed is significantly more than £16000, but it maybe spent as we go along. The op is about £16000 then around another 20 for the associated physio. Without the physio the op won’t be as successful, so it would be nice to be in front with the fund raising. I will have a word with CAB. Cheers Neil

Awesomelorenzo

Could you transfer the money elsewhere? To a different bank account maybe?

poppy123456

Awesomelorenzo said:

Could you transfer the money elsewhere? To a different bank account maybe?

No, because this will most definitely be classed as deprivation of capital in order to continue to claim a means tested benefit.

newborn

This makes me angry. If you are a seriously rich person, ( like the ones making these rules, ) you wouldn't have a problem, your accountant would find a way for you to make an essential purchase of a token share in a yacht or something!

If you are seriously criminal, no problem, just use one of a handful of fake passports in your kitchen drawer, and set up a bank account.

If you are just an ordinary person who paid into the system and needs reasonable help, honestly, well.....tough!

You can't get minimum income benefit, even if your sole income is living off your life savings, you can't therefore get housing benefit, you cant get council housing even if you are sleeping in the street in your wheelchair (like that 90 year old couple in a Bournemouth bus shelter) you can't get legal advice, you can't get any funded social care, and if you go into a care home, your little bonus punishment for having actual savings (instead of a luxury mansion with a partner in it) is to pay a surcharge on your own fees, to subsidise those who pay nothing.

Grandad_Neil

I've now been in touch with CAB and the advice from them is that savings can been made in a bank account in the child's name for their benefit, my thoughts on this is that there should be a paper trail to show where the money has come from and where it has gone, just in case questions are asked. They also suggested a discretionary trust , this would need setting up by a solicitor so would cost valuable money.

poppy123456

Hi,

I'm not so sure the advice from CAB is quite correct. If the parents have access to the bank account then it's classed as their savings.