A benefit claimant has questioned whether they could save their Universal Credit payments up to buy a house. They wondered if they could stow away cash past the £16,000 threshold without alerting the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Taking to Reddit, they asked fellow recipients: “Is there anyway to save Universal Credit payments past £16,000 to save for buying a house? It says payments stop after saving £16,000.”
They were quickly told the ‘short answer was no’, by one forum user who added: “Once your total capital exceeds £16,000, you are not entitled to Universal Credit and your claim will close. Before then, capital of £6,000 up to £16,000 will mean a deduction of £4.35/month for every £250 above £6,000 you have. So for example, £7,000 of capital means 4 x £4.35 deduction.”
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The original poster came back and said: “What if I withdraw cash every month, would they know?” This infuriated some fellow claimants, including one who said: “You saying you want to save for a house on Universal Credit is crazy. This means you are not struggling and should get off Universal Credit. Most people struggle to pay the heating and food on Universal Credit.”
Another said: “If you are withdrawing money for the purpose of making it appear that you have less savings than you do, you would be committing fraud. It might catch up with you if you suddenly bought a house while on Universal Credit with mystery cash, or they may have different avenues of investigating the cash withdrawals like asking for proof of where all this money is going. You would be taking a huge risk of very serious trouble. It is plainly benefit fraud.”
A similar comment read: “Sadly not. If you had more than £16,000 in your account and you had your review, you would have to pay the overpaid money back. And if you hid it somehow (do not do this) then that would be deprivation of capital and you would be in serious trouble.”
The gov.uk website states Universal Credit was a monthly payment to help with living costs, available to some on low incomes. Those out of work or who could not work, may also be eligible but to claim, people must have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments.
Claimant with more than £6,000 in money, savings and investments, will see payments reduced by £4.35 for every £250 they have up to £16,000. Another £4.35 would be taken off for any remaining amount that is not a complete £250.