declaring assets to social services

As a Home Visitor I dealt with several clients who were having their finances checked by both Pensions Agency and local authorities. One lady had to repay £1500 overpaid benefit, although in this case the problem lay with the person who had completed her claim form for her (not me) rather than her being dishonest.

Just out of interest what happens if someone has taken equity release in their main house ? and then spent all the money on having a good time with the money the worked and paid taxes for all their lives ......and leave nothing ? just interested ...no interest in any property in the UK but I bet someone has thought of a way to get round it ! and did I read in the UK press this week something about taking the money after the beneficiary of the care home fees has died from the Estate (presuming there is one !)

Cannot fault something I read online also this week ,,,an elderly lady sold her house for a considerable sum and took to cruising the world to different destinations all the time ...so much so that the staff on the liners all knew her and which cabin she preferred ...her reasoning was that it cost her about 200 a week to live onboard, with all her meals prepared, sheets changed, laundry done, company, entertainment and a general wonderful life ! She had made proviso to be buried at sea during whichever voyage was her last ...as she so rightly said, she could spend the rest of her days in an inadequate care home being isolated and lonely ! No when can I win the lottery so I can do just this > bliss !

As most things these days it seems that if you were prudent and honest all your life it is you that will suffer ,,,,those who saved nothing and own nothing pay nothing ! Justice ?

(the 200 was of course her spending money ,,,the cost of the cruise was separate ,,,,just in case everyone is rushing to find a cruise for that per week !)

I met a few spendthrifts, but not many. I met many people who had been too poor throughout their lives to save any money or had been hit by a disaster that wiped out all their savings.

Jaycee5
I speak from working in the service, not on who has knocked on a neighbour's door.

The house is being rented from need not profit, as was clearly stated.

There is a huge amount of benefit fraud, however I did, again, clearly state those people entitled to it should get it, but often people don't claim when they could because of the stigma as they are too proud to claim.

Rigby46
You ever tried renting out a house? We rent from need not profit.

Criminals are very clever and easily defraud letting agents with false evidence. Even the most reputable agents end up with benefit claimant tenants when they have stated no hb claimants in their adverts.

Nothing wrong with genuine benefit claimany tenants, it is the criminals who are the problem. Clearly people do not realise the scale of the problem and if they did more resources would go into trying to get limited welfare bill resources to the people who need and deserve it.

Working in a benefit fraud team really opens your eyes and the lengths criminals go to to defraud are endless.

I believe attendance allowance stops when the person goes into care NaughtyNanna

If a person is wholly self-funding, Attendance Allowance is still paid. At least up to 3 years ago when I retired from DWP.

We know some people, let's call them acquaintances, who sold grandma's house and had her to live with them for a short while. They then bought a Canary Wharf flat for their adult daughters and not long after found a care home for Grandma because it was too stressful having her in the granny flat which they generally rent out for holidays anyway. They used whatever was left to pay for the care home but that has now run out and Grandma is doing well, despite being in her 90s, and so the local authority is now being asked to pick up the tabs. Questions were asked about the money from the house sale but they seem to have got away with it. Given how cash strapped the local authority is, it seemed very unfair to us but some seem able to make the system work for them.

Azie09

How right you are, but it is called fraud, this is why money gets shuffled around and the state pays. There is not a bottomless pit, where do people think the money to fund care comes from? Now it is virtually all in private hands and that is another ball game, money gets taken out of the companies to pay big salaries at the top, look at what happened to Southern Cross. Government has long starved the local authorities of money and this is the result. Where will it all end???

I have recently been called in to JobCentre for an interview with a Compliance Officer. I had to produce Bank Statements going back nearly 4 years. I was not concerned as I had already provided detailed statements & invoices to them almost 2 years ago.

Reason for their interest was I sold my property in 2015 & bought another (both are/were my only residence), it appeared that I had about £35K, in fact I could prove legitimate spending.

Upshot of the interview -computer printout assessed I would have £14K - I wish. When Compliance Officer checked my financial records on his computer he could see I had little money left. I am 61 with a Civil Service Pension, I only receive a small amount of benefit. There's no hiding place

If person who issued my letter had only looked at my record instead of simply referring case to be investigated they could have saved us both a lot of time. Interestingly if I had "works of art" or "gold bars" they would not count that

My Mother in Law had £20,000 pounds hidden away in a building society while getting free housing from the Council. She was eventually found out because the Inland Revenue were collecting tax on it and informed the Council. We had a hell of a job sorting it out. Obviously all the money went to the Council and we got Power of Attorney so that she didn't touch any money at all. Till the day she died she complained about the Council taking all her money. She didn't seem to see anything wrong at all. Heaven knows what would have happened if they'd inquired any further because I've got no idea how she amassed that sum in the first place.

Given the quality and quantity of care provided by Social Services and how little they are prepared to pay for residential care. I would rather use every resource I have to ensure my comfort than subsist in discomfort but feeling smug because I have either hidden or divested myself of any money or assets I might have.

The phrase 'cutting off your nose to spite your face' comes to mind.