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Hi, my name is nanny1962! My daughter is in receipt of housing benefit

nanny1962

Hello my problem is regarding my daughter she is in receipt of housing benefit. She has to children one under 16 and one over 16 who are both getting benefits one PIP and one disability. Theses benefits are paid into her account but they have taken her over the £16000 balance. Because there her children's benifits can she be penalised.sorry for waffling

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poppy123456

Hi,

If the savings are in a bank account in her name then yes they will be treated as her savings. As she has more than £16,000 she's no longer entitled to any means tested benefits. She will need to reported the changes to her local Authority because all changes must be reported.

There's also a lower savings limit of £6,000 and for every £250 over this amount there's a £1 deduction. If she didn't report the changes once the savings reached this amount then she will have more of an overpayment, which will need to be repaid back.

Does she claim Council Tax reduction? If so then the savings rule applies to this too. However, all local Authorities have their own rules and some have a maximum savings limit of £6,000.

Once her savings go below £16,000 she'll be able to reclaim the benefits but if she needs to claim for help with any rent she will need to claim Universal Credit. This will end any tax credits she may already be claiming.

Ross_Alumni

Hi @nanny1962

Welcome to the community, it's lovely to see you join us and I hope you are getting on well today.

I just wanted to let you know that I have moved your discussion over to our benefits and financial support category, which you also might find it useful to have a look through for any related discussions. Additionally, we have several other categories on the community that are well worth a browse. This is a supportive and welcoming community so I'm sure you'll enjoy getting involved.

This isn't a subject I can support with unfortunately, but I hope that the above reply has been helpful.

Sue_Alumni

Hello Hi @nanny1962

Thank you for your post. That’s a really interesting question.

For Housing Benefit a claimant’s DLA or PIP is not taken into account in calculating the applicable amount for income purposes. In any event, the income of a child. including PIP and DLA income, does not effect HB.

The question about capital is more complex. Generally speaking, a child’s capital is not added to yours and does not affect your benefit. However, the situation is more complex if your daughter has amounts for children included in an Income Support or income related JSA claim. Although the children’s capital would not be added to hers, if it is over £3000, she would not be able to get a benefit included for them. She might be able to challenge this depending on how such a large amount of savings arose and I would suggest that she contact Citizens Advice if she needs further help in this respect.

For now, I would suggest that your daughter contacts the Housing Benefit Office and explains the circumstances around the capital sum. She will need to give details of the children’s DLA and PIP awards and the amounts going into to her bank account.

Hope this helps

Adrian_Scope

Hello @nanny1962. Just to add, going forward it might be worth your daughter getting a separate bank account for her children's DLA and PIP to be paid into so it's easier to differentiate and evidence which money is hers and which belongs to the children.
Has it gradually ticked up to over £16,000 or was there a lump sum/backdated money paid in recently?