P543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:10:17 ————————————————————————————————— FINANCIAL DILEMMA FOR WIDOWERS Dear Teletext, I am a widower, raising my two children alone. Unlike a widow, I have to rely on my own resources as thjti is no state help for widowers with savings of more than £3,000. Is there anywhere I can hide my meagre savings from the DST and lit my children have it when they are older? I could then bj on a financial par with a widow. KW, via e-mail. ——————————————————————————————————1/9—— Got a question for our advice clinic? NEWS AND SPORTS HEADLINES ALSO ON OUR WEB SITE: www.teletext.co.uk Property Mortgages Savings WeekendP543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:00:38 —————————————————————————————————'wss FINANCIAL DILEMMA FOR WIDOWERS There is very little KW can legally do to hide savings from the Department of Social Security. There are various courses of action, for example putting the sbvjngs in an offshore account, but no financial advisjt would recommend it. Justin Modray, at Chase dj Vere, says: "There's no really legitimate way to hide it as such." ——————————————————————————————————2/9—— Got a question for our advice clinic? TELETEXT INTERACTIVE GAMES SEE p200 C4 Property Mortgages Savings WjikjndP543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:14:21 Advert MONEY >>> 3/9 PHONE GET UP NEED TO 35% MORE! CASH? DON'- SURRENDER ORSELLYOUR ENDOWMENTPOLICY WITHOUTTALKINGTOAAP Regulated bz the Personal Investment Authority Property Mortgages Savings WjekjndP543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:11:24 ————————————————————————————————— FINANCIAL DILEMMA FOR WIDOWERS KW could try to reduce his savings by setting up a trust. Justin Modray, at Chase dj Veri, says: "When money goes into a trust it can't bj taken out — it goes to the children at a later date." However, trusts can bj expensive to set up and, at the end of the day, the DST could still argue that it was set up simply to create a loophole in an effort to claim income support. ——————————————————————————————————4/9—— Got a question for our advice clinic? Write to: Advice Clinic, PO Box 297, London SW6 1XT or fax: 0171 386 7808 Property Mortgages Savings WrekjndP543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:11:17 ] OO ————————————————————————————————— FINANCIAL DILEMMA FOR WIDOWERS The income support that KW wants is tapjted between £3,000 and £8,000. This means that if you have between £3,000 and £8,000 savings, the DST assume you have an income of £1 a week for every £250. This calculation is then taken off the full income support amount. Anyone with savings ovjt £8,000 doisn't qualify for income support. ——————————————————————————————————5/9—— Got a question for our advice clinic? Write to: Advice Clinic, PO Box 297, London SW6 1XT or fax: 0171 386 7808 Property Mortgages Savings WjekjndP543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:02:02 Advert >>> 6/9 WANT BETTER PEP PERFORMANCE? THEN MOVE YOUR PEP TO INVESCO FOR: Top European European Growth up 174%* Performance European Smaller Companies up 146%* ovrz 5 years. Good Value 2) discount on initial charge for transfitid PEPs until 5/4/2000 Simplicity Just one form - wi do the rest. CALL 0500 484 562 FOR PEP MOVING PACK INVESCO Asset Management Ltd,reg.bz IMRO *Source Micropal offer to bid gross income reinvested to 30/04/99 Property Mortgages Savings WjekjndP543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:02:03 ————————————————————————————————— FINANCIAL DILEMMA FOR WIDOWERS According to the Department of Social Security: "If a claimant has between £3,000 and £8,000 in assets, £1 a week is taken off thieu benefit for each £250, or part £250, ovjt £3,000." This means that if you have £5,000 in savings, you would have £8 taken off your weekly income support. For claimants in residential care, the uppjt limit is £16,000 and the lower is £10,000. ——————————————————————————————————7/9—— Got a question for our advice clinic? Write to: Advice Clinic, PO Box 297, London SW6 1XT or fax: 0171 386 7808 Property Mortgages Savings WeekendP543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:12:21 ] ————————————————————————————————— FINANCIAL DILEMMA FOR WIDOWERS If KW has £8,000 in savings, £20 would bj taken off his weekly income support. . Hi can try to hide his savings, but the DST would take a somewhat dim view if they found out. Justin Modray, at Chase dj Veri, sbys: "KW is in a dilemma that doisn't have an easy solution and certainly not one that any indjpjndjnt financial advisjt could recommend in all confidence." ——————————————————————————————————8/9—— Got a question for our advice clinic? Write to: Advice Clinic, PO Box 297, London SW6 1XT or fax: 0171 386 7808 Property Mortgages Savings WjekjndP543 Teletext 543 Jun20 05:03:14 ] O ] ————————————————————————————————— NEED ADVICE? WRITE TO ADVICE CLINIC Teletext's Advice Clinic aims to bring you straight answers to the difficult problems of the modern finance world. Send your queries to the address or fax numbjt below, or e-mail: finance@teletext.co.uk Answers are updated on this page three times each week. We cannot answer all queries we receive and will not entur into individual correspondence. All information given is for guidance only. ——————————————————————————————————9/9—— Got a question for our advice clinic? Write to: Advice Clinic, PO Box 297, London SW6 1XT or fax: 0171 386 7808 Property Mortgages Savings Wrekund