SLIGHTLY GONE OVER £6,000 SAVING LIMIT ON ESA FOR ABOUT THREE DAYS IN TOTAL

Thanks Gary, I was checking actually for the Original Poster asking the question. I have not had the near £6000 issue, but it is certainly handy to have your responses to bear in mind should I have this issue in the future. Handy info for all. in fact.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there a capital threshold of £5.5k before you're required to declare capital to the DWP.

Whereas the £6k threshold refers to when tariff income is applied.

But as another user implied, income shouldn't be included in this figure, so PIP and UC needs to be subtracted. Doesn't help either that PIP and UC aren't paid on the same day. Worse still ESA is paid fortnightly too.

It's definitely a good idea to try and plan for the worst happening but for some people it's probably better to put the money in a private pension, as you'll then receive tax relief on the first couple of thousand or so per year of contributions even if you're not working.

That being said the funds you put in a pension will be at risk but they'll be eroded in a funeral plan by inflation and your family may not get the best deal on a funeral if your family is forced to use a particular funeral provider.

Thank you. I'm thinking of also paying a few hundred into my electric and gas balance, as I probably owe money on that anyway and haven't done a reading for a while. They can't object to that.

I must apologise as I was wrong about funeral plans. They don't erode with inflation, actually they're a way to avoid inflation. So it's very prudent to get one when you can.

The only annoying thing is that they're cheaper if you pay up front and I can imagine those with anxiety like myself will understandably, although somewhat irrationally, fret about the possibility of the DWP accusing one of deprivation of capital.

I gold one from the Co-op is just over £4k . It's a sound investment though but saying that, cremation is a lot cheaper and most people don't need a fancy coffin.

I just wonder if it's better to set up a trust instead. I mean, it would kinda suck if you moved abroad and the funeral had to take place in the UK because of the funeral plan.