Help please, Savings for operation and UC reduction in payments. — Scope | Disability forum
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Help please, Savings for operation and UC reduction in payments.

Grandad_Neil
Grandad_Neil Community member Posts: 5 Listener
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 ?

Comments

  • steve51
    steve51 Community member Posts: 7,153 Disability Gamechanger
    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
    chiarieds Community member Posts: 16,007 Disability Gamechanger
    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
    Grandad_Neil Community member Posts: 5 Listener
    Thank you for the wishes and passing the question on.
  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
    Something tells me that having the money held in trust might be the way forward, but thats not something i'm knowledgeable of, if i am right then legal advice might be needed. But before you spend money on solicitor advice from CAB or similar would perhaps be useful.
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

  • Grandad_Neil
    Grandad_Neil Community member Posts: 5 Listener
    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
    emmarenshaw Community member Posts: 710 Pioneering
    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
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 10,821 Scope online community team
    edited July 2020
    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.
    Community Manager
    Scope
  • Grandad_Neil
    Grandad_Neil Community member Posts: 5 Listener
    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
    Awesomelorenzo Community member Posts: 114 Connected
    Could you transfer the money elsewhere? To a different bank account maybe?
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,359 Disability Gamechanger
    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.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • newborn
    newborn Community member Posts: 832 Pioneering
    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
    Grandad_Neil Community member Posts: 5 Listener
    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
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,359 Disability Gamechanger
    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.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.

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