Does an inheritance affect disability benefit/local authority housing

[CuriousCork]

My elder brother (54) is on disability benefit and living in local authority housing. He is single. He is now due to receive an inheritance of €90,000. How will the inheritance impact his benefits?

 

[Thirsty]

Is he on an invalidity pension or a means tested disability allowance?

 

[CuriousCork]

He is on a means tested allowance. He will be unable to work again.

 

[NoRegretsCoyote]

He is on a means tested allowance. He will be unable to work again.

For DA the formula for assessing income from capital is as follows:

Capital	Weekly means assessed
First €50,000	Nil
Next €10,000	€1 per €1,000
Next €10,000	€2 per €1,000
Balance (any capital over €70,000)	€4 per €1,000

So cash in the bank of €90k would be considered income of €110 per week which would probably reduce his disability allowance. I am not sure by how much.

One option is to immediately buy a new car that will last a long time. That won't count as capital for assessing means.

Not sure about the house. The rules vary a bit by local authority.


The Citizens Information office would be very helpful for someone like him.

 

[Thirsty]

If he has worked in the past and has the necessary contributions, it would be worth checking if he can apply for invalidity pension, which is not means tested.

Invalidity Pension

Invalidity Pension is paid to people covered by social insurance who cannot work because of a long-term illness or disability. From January 2023 the maximum weekly rate increases by €12 to €225.50.

www.gov.ie

I don't believe any LA can evict someone from their home on the basis that they inherited a lump sum.

 

[Mocame]

All local authority tenants have tenancies for life so there is no need to worry about him losing his home however rents are related to income so his inheritance may lead to an increase in rent.

I your username suggests you may be from Cork and details of Cork City Council's rent calculation is available on their website (and the same is the case for most other local authorities) but this doesn't mention how lump sums are treated.

So I agree that the Citizens Information Service in Cork would be your best port of call.

 

[CuriousCork]

Thanks for your very helpful replies, which come as a relief to my brother.

 

[Pinoy adventure]

Could he get the funds transferred into a trust fund ?

 

[Curlyfella]

Could he get the funds transferred into a trust fund ?

How does that work?

 

[Early Riser]

I don't think you can set up a trust for yourself. The person transferring the money or property (the settlor) sets up the trust. Families leaving money/property to someone who is likely to be dependent on disability payments, etc, should always consider doing so via a trust rather than directly.

 

[Pinoy adventure]

How does that work?

If he had a trust fund set up the fund actually owns the money or property which in turn can be used by your brother.as the money or property is not actually there's it's not calculated during a means test.

 

[Early Riser]

If he had a trust fund set up the fund actually owns the money or property which in turn can be used by your brother.as the money or property is not actually there's it's not calculated during a means test.

But the person who left the inheritance would need to have left in "in trust" rather than directly.