What can you spend your benefit money on?
Hi,
Just been awarded LCWRA. Most of my life I've had a very low income. I've adapted by living very frugally and pretty much a reclusive lifestyle. With this extra income coming in what am I allowed to spend it on?
Can I upgrade my lifestyle so its a bit more like a normal healthy person's lifestyle?
Can I put money towards a pension - or would that count as capital?
Can I invest in anything else that wouldn't count as capital?
Am I allowed to contribute towards charity?
Are you allowed to withdraw cash from an ATM or does everything have to be spent electronically so that they can track where the money is going? Are there any limits on how much you can withdraw?
Thanks for your help.
Comments
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You're free to spend the money how you like. Very few places are cash only,like barbers, so if you need to take money out for that reason, then do it.
I'd advise against putting the lottery on, just in case you go over 66K, or even worse, 1616K
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HI I've just recived my uc migration letter and people have mentioned they will look at your bank statements,I'veused a few gambling sites over the last few months and it shows on statements,will that go against me?
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They only look at your bank statements if you are selected for a random check. No it won't go against you.
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I mean 16K.
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See my comment on this thread here. It's better if you could stick to one thread rather than ask the same question on multiple threads because it gets confusing.
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I just prefer using cash where its still accepted. Old school like that.
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It's your money to spend how you see fit on you life as needed.
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I get pip and LCWRA and I can impulse spend hundreds when I’m stressed , I also spend loads on binge food when my bulimia is bad. It really stresses me out because it makes me feel really guilty that it’s a waste of my money but I really can’t help it.
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Hi,
Yes, you are allowed to upgrade your lifestyle.
Any money in a pension pot is not counted as capital. So you can start adding to one of those if you like.
Money in other investments are counted as capital.
You are allowed to donate money to charity.
You are allowed to draw out cash from an ATM.
However… The rules around deprivation of capital are not clear cut. Technically, if you spend any money for the purpose of keeping your capital down, that is classed as deprivation and you will be treated as still having that money. But they don't say specifically what you are and aren't allowed to do or give any specific numerical limits on spending amounts. If they believe deprivation of capital has occurred, it will be passed on to a decision maker to review the evidence and they decide whether it was deprivation or not.
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Thank you for answering my questions.
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OverlyAnxious has spelled it out very well. You can generally spend your money how you wish. It after all is your money.
But there can be cases where spending a lot of money could constitute deprivation of capital, this would depend on what you are spending it on.
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what would a significant amount mean jimm ? Would it be thousands or hundreds ? I impulse spend and can spend a few hundred at a time
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I would respectfully, slightly disagree with that statement.
If you had £6045 the day before the end of a UC payment period, and spent £50 of it on anything that you wouldn't usually buy (or gave it away, drew it out as cash, or donated it to charity), that could be classed as deprivation of capital.
It is all about the intent, to keep below savings limits, rather than the amount.
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Actually, I do believe @OverlyAnxious is correct there and so amended my comment. It is the intent behind the spending of the money, regardless of amount. When you mention impulse buying, you are not doing that simply to stay below any threshold.
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ok thx Jimm .
My impulse spending is part of my MH condition, I hate it because I end up with things I don’t need or want and that’s stresses me more after a few days of having them then most of them end up going to charity .0 -
Im the same its part of my condition dont worry
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I think I remember you have BPD Catherine ? It’s also what I have, it’s so horrible, can be in bed for days on end and isolate from people , then get so overwhelmed emotions all over the place . This isn’t a life it’s just torture sometimes .
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Oh its ruined my life relationships and really not understood yes days in bed from one emotion to another reckless taking risks spending money ect thats why i isolate cannot trust myself hope your ok
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thx .
Yes so horrible , it had massive impact on every relationship ( friends and everything ) I have 1 friend left after everyone else let me down and I pushed them all away . It’s like living in constant state of alert that everyth8ng will go wrong at any moment
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I have one friend what i dont do now is people pls gosh that was draining used to do everything for everyone im so happy i can say no and not feel guilty you are a beautiful soul its because our hearts are big and we feel everything and sound movement tone more observant xx
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