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Means tested Benefits- question if anyone knows

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I have benefits ESA and DLA - ive i saved up all my benefits a month and it got to say £6000 would that be classed as a saving or not. also would dla be classed as a saving as its not means tested? i mean they exempt that on housing benefit from meaning they dont take that into account? so if i saved £500 a month and got to £1000 would that be a saving, if it is then i can get community grant to move out?

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When they say savings, that means all the money you have put aside, no matter were it came from. Not to be confused with income.

Edited by chris54

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When you are asked on a benefit claim form about savings, they mean all the money you have at the time. It does not mater were the money came from. It can be in a bank account, it can be in the form of investments, it can just be the cash you have in the house.

So if you save up your benefit's,or part of. (ESA, DLA, Pension, Child benefit etc) they are your savings, just in the same way as if you were saving money out of your wages if your working. So unless you are left with no money or owing money at all each week, you will have some savings. May only be a few pounds, that is partly why you are allowed some savings before it affects you benefit.

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It is best to go over this with somewhere like Citizens Advice or an independent Benefits Advice Centre.

 

As Chris says, savings [over a certain amount] have to be declared regardless of the fact that you saved it from DLA [which is not means tested]. As far as I understand it, how it works is that IF you are over the threshhold [lets give an example of £3,000] you have to declare it. So if you had £4000 in your bank account you are £1000 over. The "income" that £1000 produces via interest is what you declare as your income. And that affects your benefits by reducing them by approximately 50p for every additional £1 you have in savings. But i'm not sure if that applies to only the interest, or capital over the threshold and the interest it produces.

 

What I have found with my sister [who receives the Disabled element of Working Tax Credit] is that if the savings are in an ISA, you do not have to declare them. You only need to declare them as "income" when you cash them in.

 

Money in Bank Accounts is slightly different because you can get your hands on that money as it is not tied in in any way.

 

It is complicated. Best to get some advice so that you are not losing benefits due to saving. Sounds crazy I know.

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As I remember it, with some benefits, the benefits people assume an income from saving which is much more than you would ever hope to get in interest. And any interest you earn is adding to the capital as well. Also when your savings get to a certain point your benefit stops altogether.It is different for different benefits, and dependant on you circumstances, if your are struggling to understand the benefit system, than as Sallys says get some independent advice.

 

With Tax credit it is the actual interest (Income from savings) that they are interested in, with no reference to how much capital you have, But This is likely to change for working tax credit in a few years time, when the new universal benefit will incorporate working tax credit. But I'm not sure if the government have finalised any of this.

Edited by chris54

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I don't understand why you have so much left over from your DLA to become savings. DLA is supposed to pay for your additional care / mobility needs. If you have so much spare, that suggests you don't need it for your care.

 

However, to answer you question, any money you have that isn't spent (in the bank, under the mattress) counts as savings.

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I don't understand why you have so much left over from your DLA to become savings. DLA is supposed to pay for your additional care / mobility needs. If you have so much spare, that suggests you don't need it for your care.

That a bit of a funny one, the DLA my son get is because of the extra care he need, I provide the bulk of that care, so it is in affect to compensate my for that. It offsets the fact that I work fewer hours and in a lower paid job than I other wise would. So the DLA payment is actually spent on things that we would other wise not be able to afford. It does at times build up in the bank, and so become savings. Also I am trying to put some capital aside for his future needs.

Edited by chris54

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i only get £289 in dla and £358 in esa, i was only asking because i wasnt sure how i go about claiming community grants if it was clast as savings- because i believe you have to have first months rent and deposit fee,although i was on the form declared as having no savings.

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and living in a supported living would also suggests i need care..... when i move in my own place because i cant get another supported living because not eligible in that area that i have to find support to get my own place that i would have to pay for support workers to come out so often a week, considering im not allowed to cook on my own suggests that too

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I agree that anything you do not spend is classed as savings,however,when I was on benefits, in 2008, I was told you only have to declare savings over £3000. Therefore you can have any amount up to £3000 in your account and benefits will not be affected. Anyway as you say you have specifically saved for your move so you could always explain this to them and if you already have accomadation you can show the lease agreement or you could print rental property list from estate agency to show average property price where you will be living,so again as long as you can explain why you have the savings you will not lose anything.

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Savings over £6000 will affect how much housing benefit you are paid, I think they reduct £1 for every £250 savings you have.

 

You won't be eligible for community grants with the amount of savings you have, I got turned down for a community care grant when I declared I have £500 in savings.

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I don't understand why you have so much left over from your DLA to become savings. DLA is supposed to pay for your additional care / mobility needs. If you have so much spare, that suggests you don't need it for your care.

 

 

i'm in the same boat Mumble, I live in supported living and I don't need to contribute anything towards my care costs so that leaves me with all my benefits to spend on anything I want.....

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Owning a property automatically puts one above the maximum savings threshold, which is why I won't be receiving any more benefits come August. This despite the fact that the net income I receive from letting out my Exeter flat comes to £12 a month tops.

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Chris54 there are a few exception eg personalised cash budgets (although ST doesnt qualify in this situation). I got a cash budget for a socialeyes package for example which put me just over, I appealed and won 1st time so got back the income support i had previously lost.

 

What the OP was asking is DLA being non means tested, does it count as savings towards means tested benefits? Between 6k and 16k you get £1 taken off the means tested benefits for every so much you are over. If you have 16k in savings or more you cant get any means tested benefits.

 

Savings is money in bank accounts and anything that is literally listed on the form. Cash in a locked up box for example wouldnt count towards your savings threashold but wouldnt earn you any money either.

 

I find the forms very confusing but the www,benefitsandwork.co.uk is an excellent website which i highly recommend.

 

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/crystal-mark/crystal-mark-holders/government-organisations-with-crystal-marks.html ....is a list of jargon free organisations that would be easier to understand. The DLA letters (although the decisions are wrong in many cases) are easy to understand.

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I don't understand why you have so much left over from your DLA to become savings. DLA is supposed to pay for your additional care / mobility needs. If you have so much spare, that suggests you don't need it for your care.

 

However, to answer you question, any money you have that isn't spent (in the bank, under the mattress) counts as savings.

 

That isn't necessarily the case, i feel this is a hypothetical situation as ST is thinking about her future. DLA cannot afford to pay for care needs even though it was designed to do that which is disgusting. NAS Cymru (Wales) illustrates this problem but it happens to be nationwide, ive been through the so called fairer charging policy and PB system and mentioned the 'fairer charging policy' isnt fair.

 

http://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-for-change/campaigning-by-issue/adult-social-care/adult-social-care-in-wales/campaigning-on-proposed-social-care-charging-measure-in-wales.aspx

 

Also money under the mattress doesnt count as savings (for ESA and other means tested purposes). If you have your own personal cash box with money locked up that's up to you. Deciding what to spend your money on is another reason why either debt or really careful with money occurs.

 

This report page 31 illustrates the full range of needs that ASDers can have;

 

http://sacramentoasis.com/docs/8-22-03/taking_responsibility.pdf

 

(although it mentions Asperger syndrome it was back in the day when so called HFA wasnt understood)

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i will ring homechoice find out if there is a deposit fee scheme

 

This part might help you

 

" What if someone in my household has a medical condition?

If someone in your household has a medical condition which is worsened by your current housing you will be asked to provide details, which may then be considered by the Council's Health and Housing team, who will put forward a recommendation. You can continue to choose which properties to bid on but must be mindful of your condition and only express interest in suitable properties such as a ground floor flat or bungalow if you cannot climb stairs."

 

i think you have.

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This part might help you

 

" What if someone in my household has a medical condition?

If someone in your household has a medical condition which is worsened by your current housing you will be asked to provide details, which may then be considered by the Council's Health and Housing team, who will put forward a recommendation. You can continue to choose which properties to bid on but must be mindful of your condition and only express interest in suitable properties such as a ground floor flat or bungalow if you cannot climb stairs."

 

i think you have.

 

There is no deposit scheme with the home choice council homes, but does with privates rented associations

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