Concerns taking lump sum pension pot

sandyp196

I have a small pension pot I can access this year. I really need the money to help my daughter get a round of ivf as she 36 now and time is running out. I also need to get my dog an operation on her hips and i need to do essential upgrades on my home and buy some decent furniture and carpets.
I recently got sorted with esa and pip after a horrendous battle. Life is more stable now but I'm still suffering the effects from years of severe poverty. 
The pension pot I have access to is not a lot but it would be over 16000.( I don't want to say the exact amount as I know you have to be careful online discussing pensions because of all the scams).
I'm just so scared as I know this pot won't last long. It probably isn't even enough to help my daughter with the ivf and also do all the basic essentials I need and my dogs surgery and after care (Incidentally the very year I can finally access this pot is the lowest total amount its ever been in about 10 years which was a little disappointing). If it was a bigger amount I would take it, do all i need and just live frugally as possible for a few years. 
I know I will have to live on this money if I take it out. I will have to pay rent, council tax, bedroom tax etc.
Ofc I don't mind doing this. I don't expect to recieve benefits if I have a lump sum of money at my disposal. 
But my main worry is what will happen when the money runs out? Will the dwp penalise me for not making the money last? Will I be penalised for giving a lump sum of the money to my daughter? 
I am not planning anything luxurious like holidays or treats. 
I went through so much to finally qualify for esa and pip. It was a horrendous experience that I'm still not really recovered from yet.
I guess I'm scared what will happen to me in the future. 
I don't think I will live much into state pension age so I'm not worried about cashing in the pot now. 
I'm not terminally ill but I suffer a lot of chronic ill health conditions that are getting worse. 
I tried to ring pension wise but I didn't understand much of what they said and then they transferred me to someone else who cut off the call.  As well as physical health problems i am diagnosed with autism which makes trying to explain all this to anybody super hard. 
If you can understand any of it and can offer me some good advice or experience I would be very grateful. 

calcotti

1) PIP is not means tested so will not be affected.
2) What type of ESA do you you receive? Is it new style ESA or the old ESA and if the latter does it include contribution based ESA and income based ESA or just income based ESA?

poppy123456

Housing benefit and CTR will stop. Once the money drops below £16,000 you'll need to claim Universal Credit for help with any rent. Giving away money can be seen as deprivation of capital and may affect your UC when you claim it so please be aware of that.

sandyp196

Thank you for answering my post 

L_Volunteer

You are welcome @sandyp196. That's the very least you deserve. If we can do anything else to help, please don't hesitate to let us know. We are all here for you