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If you deprive yourself of capital, it won't affect your entitlement to either DLA or IB.

If you receive IB, don't forget that if you receive premiums, these will be in the form of an income support top-up, which will be means-tested.
If you deprive yourself of capital, it will not affect your entitlement to IB or DLA. If you deprive yourself of capital in order to be able to claim means-tested benefits, you are likely not to get them, or to get less, because you can be treated by the DWP as still having any money that you have spent. If in doubt as to your personal position, take face-to-face advice from a welfare adviser.

Don't forget that if you get premiums on top of IB because of being on DLA, they will be in the form of IS, which is means-tested.

Hi Survivor

If somebody has £20,000 in savings, and £19,000 of debts, an accountant would view that (if it were a business) as £1,000 capital.

Do you know if that is how the DWP would view it, and more importantly, how the law would view it.

Derek

Thanks for the information Survivor, may I trouble you for some more?

People currently receiving IB are allowed to spend their income/savings as they see fit eg paying off the mortgage (it's the example used by the DWP) because IB is not means-tested. However if on migration to ESA the government decided to abolish or time limit ESA C could they accuse you of deliberately depriving yourself of capital and consequently refuse to allow you income based ESA or JSA? I only ask because if they decide to go down that road it will require IB claimants to have the gift of psychic power and I think that's asking a bit much.

I haven't come across anything about this. In theory they can't, but who knows what new legislation the government might later bring in? I'm one of life's worriers, but even I would say wait and see before you panic.

I'm not panicking Survivor, just a bit paranoid! I wonder if that will be abolished on Wednesday.