Gone Over The £16,000 Threshold, Any Advise?

[PomBlue 1]

I've come into some money and I've gone over the £16,000 threshold and I wonder whether there were any non-obvious do's and don'ts here?

 

 

Also, I believe that the step down from £16,000 to £6,000 is done in £250 steps. Does anyone know how this is managed and handled? One could easily make that step in paying a bill. Would I have to continually be posting off proofs that I'd reached the next step level or is it assessed on a set interval time frame?

[SabreSheep 917]

i would imagine you would have to justify any significant expenditure to avoid "doubt of disposing your capital in a manner purely to claim benefits"

 

not sure how it works though

[PomBlue 1]

SabreSheep

 

 

I have heard about this before but like you, or as you imply, I'm not sure what constitutes in trying to impoverish oneself. Paying off debts could count?

[Nystagmite 1,122]

You have to keep all receipts.

 

Is the debt the minimum repayment, has it gone to court or is it a case of "I have the money, so think I'll pay it off?" The latter isn't allowed. Or rather, is but you'll be treated as having the money.

[sillygirl1 2,793]

I paid off various bills, provided the proof AND provided how it would make my minimal amount of benefit far more manageable as I would not have £30 per week going straight out of the £71.40 they gave me, it was accepted.

 

You really need to present your case very clearly as to WHY you have chosen to pay off the bills rather than try to live on the alleged 8% per annum interest that the money would have allegedly 'created'.

[antone 2,958]

I paid off various bills, provided the proof AND provided how it would make my minimal amount of benefit far more manageable as I would not have £30 per week going straight out of the £71.40 they gave me, it was accepted.

 

You really need to present your case very clearly as to WHY you have chosen to pay off the bills rather than try to live on the alleged 8% per annum interest that the money would have allegedly 'created'.

 

Agreed except for one nitpick - the "notional capital" taken into account for savings over the threshold is not reflective of any interest rate. Rather, the £1 per week per £250 is the rate at which you are expected, notionally, to deplete your capital on basic living expenses. If you spend the money at that rate (hah!) no deprivation issue will be considered.

[antone 2,958]

I've come into some money and I've gone over the £16,000 threshold and I wonder whether there were any non-obvious do's and don'ts here?

 

 

Also, I believe that the step down from £16,000 to £6,000 is done in £250 steps. Does anyone know how this is managed and handled? One could easily make that step in paying a bill. Would I have to continually be posting off proofs that I'd reached the next step level or is it assessed on a set interval time frame?

 

As a general rule, £1 per week is deducted from your income related benefit for each £250 (or part thereof) of savings. By default your capital will be reassessed annually, but if there are any significant changes, up or down, in the amount you have you should advise the DWP or other agency paying your benefit as soon as possible. If you don't you could be overpaid or, indeed, not receive all you're entitled to.

 

If you spend some of the money, the DWP may consider the issue of "deprivation of capital". While it's not any sort of fraud or crime to spend your own money while on benefits, it may affect your entitlement. You would deprive yourself of capital if you spent money unnecessarily with the intent to secure or maintain entitlement to a means tested benefit. If you are deemed to have deprived yourself of capital, you will be treated as still having the money when your entitlement is calculated.

 

OK, so, the problem here is that "deprivation" is not formally defined in law - there are too many situations that may arise for legislation to cover them all. Each case is looked at individually by a DWP Decision Maker. That means it's very difficult to say what will and won't be accepted as reasonable spending in any particular set of circumstances. There are, of course, some things that are nearly always considered deprivation: a luxury cruise, an expensive sports car, that sort of thing.

 

There are also things that are nearly always OK - paying bills that are due, essential repairs to your home or car, necessary furniture, clothing and the like. A replacement for a clapped out old banger of a car might well be accepted. The real area where people hit problems is debt repayment. If debts are overdue, paying them would be fine. Clearing credit cards, loans and so on early is something of a grey area and it's possible this would be seen as deprivation.

 

Sorry I can't be more precise, but I hope this helps a bit.

[Nystagmite 1,122]

If you do plan to buy something expensive, see if you can get it in writing that it's ok to do without it affecting your benefits.

[PomBlue 1]

To Everyone.

 

 

Thank you for that. I'll watch how I spend it so as to not be caught by the 'vague' rules they seem to have on this. The only thing I've paid off was my mortgage which was the only debt I had. I mentioned this when I rang them up to tell them about this and nothing was said of deprivation so I guess doing this was ok, but we'll see. This still leaves me with a sum over the £16,000 and knowing what 'nutters' they are I thought I'd just ask about how to approach them when I send them my statement as proof of all this.

 

 

I gather then that my situation will be assessed on an annual basis and so proof of status will also be on this? I know asking them for details rarely provides any adequate forthcoming info.

[ericsbrother 3,537]

why would they be nutters for following the rules laid down by parliament? Why should someone with enough capital to see them manage OK think they are entitled to continue to receive my tax money when they have more than I do by a long chalk. have you thought about just withdrawing your claim and living at your own expense until you meet the criteria rather than looking for ways of keeping your money and spending mine instead?

[SabreSheep 917]

why would they be nutters for following the rules laid down by parliament? Why should someone with enough capital to see them manage OK think they are entitled to continue to receive my tax money when they have more than I do by a long chalk. have you thought about just withdrawing your claim and living at your own expense until you meet the criteria rather than looking for ways of keeping your money and spending mine instead?

 

Fully support that idea although the same rules would still apply. You would not get away with withdrawing claim splash out and then reapply

[PomBlue 1]

why would they be nutters for following the rules laid down by parliament? Why should someone with enough capital to see them manage OK think they are entitled to continue to receive my tax money when they have more than I do by a long chalk. have you thought about just withdrawing your claim and living at your own expense until you meet the criteria rather than looking for ways of keeping your money and spending mine instead?

That is not what I'm saying. All I want to know is what are the rules about dealing with this at this stage or end of things, as I don't know , and how to deal with it when I reach or go below the £16,000 threshold, as I believe it steps down in £250 lots. They often either don't give you any information or tell you the wrong info because the person telling you don't understand it themselves but wont say this. And getting this out of them is like trying to get blood out of a stone.

[antone 2,958]

As I said, capital (ie savings) is reviewed annually, but you should inform them ASAP if your capital changes at any time.

 

If you were refused a claim because of capital over the limit you can reapply once the amount has reduced, but expect to be asked what happened to the money.

[PomBlue 1]

Antone "but you should inform them ASAP if your capital changes at any time." From what I gather from your earlier post (which I'm thankful), what you mean here is if it substantially alters due to some significant outlay other than bills etc, yes? It will be altering all the time as I'll be living off it as I'm too sick to do any work.

[antone 2,958]

If it's just depleting because you're spending it on general living expenses then you don't need to keep updating them, no. The DWP has many problems, but even they don't want to be informed every time you buy a box of cornflakes or pay the electricity bill. So yes, just inform them of significant outlays. It's actually in your best interests to do so, since it may favourably affect your entitlement to benefit if your reasons for the expenditure are accepted.