Are current benefit payments included as savings..

...or are they disregarded for the period the payment was made. This is in regard to notifying the DWP when your savings have reached £5500.


For example :

If you have £5400 in savings, and every two weeks you receive an ESA payment of £300, have your savings increased to £5700 thus triggering the point when you have to notify the DWP, when a week later after spending some of your ESA, the savings fall back below £5500.

Its a question I've seen asking many times, and equally seen as many different responses. Yet, I've never seen the DWP address it.

Doris wrote: ...or are they disregarded for the period the payment was made. This is in regard to notifying the DWP when your savings have reached £5500.


For example :

If you have £5400 in savings, and every two weeks you receive an ESA payment of £300, have your savings increased to £5700 thus triggering the point when you have to notify the DWP, when a week later after spending some of your ESA, the savings fall back below £5500.

Its a question I've seen asking many times, and equally seen as many different responses. Yet, I've never seen the DWP address it.

Hi D,

The £5,500 is really a guideline to help claimants stay below the £6,000 trigger point for Income Related Benefits : Asset rule for ESA(IR)

ESA (Benefits) payments are not classed as capital, assets and savings for the period that they are paid to cover.

When outside that period, if added to the existing capital, assets or savings that you already have, they put you over the £6,000 limit, even by a penny, you are supposed to inform The DWP.

This would be much the same as if you decided to put a certain amount of your ESA payments into a separate savings account, and these savings exceeded the £,6000 limit.

Theoretically, if you have any savings, capital and assets, and monies that you have at home, in your wallet/purse, etc added to that amount put you over the £6000 limit you are supposed to report this.

How they would ever know how much you had at home in your purse/wallet, etc is a different matter !!

bro58

Thank you bro58

I remember the benefits helpline once telling me that monies received during the period you were paid for (i.e the two week period your ESA lasted) was not counted as savings until any excess money overrun into the following payment period.

Equally, the £5500 limit was to prevent claimants writing letters every two weeks saying they exceeded the £6k limit by £20. I've just noticed that for a two period I went over the £5500 limit by £220, and by £145 in another three day period.

Not really enough time to write a letter, but in todays culture, I'm concerned its any excuse for the DWP to cause me an issue

Doris wrote: Thank you bro58

I remember the benefits helpline once telling me that monies received during the period you were paid for (i.e the two week period your ESA lasted) was not counted as savings until any excess money overrun into the following payment period.

Equally, the £5500 limit was to prevent claimants writing letters every two weeks saying they exceeded the £6k limit by £20. I've just noticed that for a two period I went over the £5500 limit by £220, and by £145 in another three day period.

Not really enough time to write a letter, but in todays culture, I'm concerned its any excuse for the DWP to cause me an issue

Hi D,

I am sorry, I should have made myself clearer !!

I have now amended my previous post above.

Benefit payments cannot be classed as capital, assets or savings for the payment period that they cover.

If anyone is getting that close to the £6000 trigger point that they are in danger of exceeding it, even by a penny, they would be best advised to spend some of the monies to stay clear of the limit.

bro58

Do you know if they would count transactions yet to be paid on your credit card as a minus against your total savings/money in the bank?

Just thinking I do nearly all of my shopping on the internet using a credit card which I pay in full monthly. So if I was near £6000 I could still have my benefits payments in the bank for longer than payment period weeks but still have costs on my credit card yet to be paid. (Also I pay a private mental health professional monthly in arrears as well so that would be money owed also.)

Hi, I have just found an answer on the internet. You can't offset unsecured debts against your capital so I guess credit card transactions still to be paid couldn'nt be offset.. Nor would money owed to someone else presumably.

Thanks anyway for your time.