UC, Pension Lump Sum, DoC

Hi all,

I’ve been helping my mother in law with her benefits for a number of years. We are in Scotland. She has in the last few months transitioned from ESA to UC and receives the standard amount plus the limited capacity for work premium and transitional protection. She also receives Adult Disability (highest values for both).

A few months back we became aware she was eligible for her NHS pension (is 61 and could have retired with normal terms at 60).

She has 2 young daughters (now 20 and 17) and two older daughters.

Because she has been disabled for some time she has acquired a high level of debt in order to support the typical cost of living with teenage daughters at the time including catalogues, a credit card etc.

She claimed the pension and opted for the highest lump sum in order to pay off these debts. That has left her with considerable savings still left which are around £13k.

There is a slight concern however as one of the debts she cleared was a car finance / PCP agreement for her older daughter who provides her daily care. The car is used to transport her to all medical appointments, family events, etc and therefore is crucial to her continued mobility and general care. It has been brought to light when I’ve been reading guidance on how to report these changes (this is the first AP) that this may be seen as DoC and I’m worried I’ve messed up in helping her in a bit of a pickle. The car was always going to be purchased by her regardless of what happpened with lump sum etc - she intended on taking out finance to cover the remaining term after her daughters PCP had lapsed (with the intention that once 2 younger daughters had passed test they could also support with care). I think I’ve truly messed up here so really just want to understand the impact it will have for the MIL. She is quite prepared for her UC to stop in any case. Thanks!

Morning. She can ‘keep’ 6K and it not affect her UC.
They may want ‘proof of spends’ so make sure there are clear records.
I am just applying and have to give 3 month financial records for all my accounts.
They will look for ‘deprivation of capital’ ie. just spending money for the sake of it. So you need to clearly show where the money has gone.