DWP and bank accounts

Katrine

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
2,837
0
England
Both my mum and my MIL opened second bank accounts years ago so that their DWP income could be managed separately from :confused: don't really know what. There was a rule about this at the time but I cannot find anything about this by Googling or looking on the DWP website.

I want to get my mum's DWP payments paid into her main current account in future, so I'm going to ring the Pensions and Attendance Allowance helplines tomorrow to discuss it. I want to avoid arguing with a muppet, so it would help if I was not the muppet myself. :eek: Can anyone enlighten me about this second bank account thing? Has DWP now stopped requiring it?
 
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nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
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Bury
Both my and my wife's pensions were paid into a joint account.

Were the two new accounts the special post office accounts that people were given for DWP payments when the payment system was changed, if so they could have opted to have them paid into any existing account(s).
 

Katrine

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
2,837
0
England
No, not Post Office accounts, bank accounts. It would have been in 1984 for my mum and 1990 for MIL. When they were due to get their state pension they were instructed to set up a separate bank account for the payments. I think it had to be an account in their sole name, not a joint account. I have been joint account holder with my mum for many years, so if that was not allowed by DWP rules then I have been breaking those for years.

When I applied for AA for my mum in 2008 I was again told by DWP that this had to go into a separate account, not her main bank account, even though she was the sole account holder for both accounts at that time.
 
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sleepless

Registered User
Feb 19, 2010
3,223
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The Sweet North
No, not Post Office accounts, bank accounts. It would have been in 1984 for my mum and 1990 for MIL. When they were due to get their state pension they were instructed to set up a separate bank account for the payments. I think it had to be an account in their sole name, not a joint account. I have been joint account holder with my mum for many years, so if that was not allowed by DWP rules then I have been breaking those for years.

When I applied for AA for my mum in 2008 I was again told by DWP that this had to go into a separate account, not her main bank account, even though she was the sole account holder for both accounts at that time.

My Mum (died 2004) and Dad had their DWP payments paid into their joint account, a current account. Dad's are still paid into it, though now he is in a care home, it's just DWP in, care home fees out, with a top-up from savings from time to time. It's still a current account, the only one he has ever had.

Just read this back -- Mum and Dad used to get pensions etc via book from PO until that ended. Maybe it was at this point that any account could be used?

Just realised your last paragraph rules out my theory, Katrine. Is it anything to do with being in Scotland perhaps?
 
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Katrine

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
2,837
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England
Scotland

No I don't think so. My MIL is in England and she had the same instruction. When I ring DWP tomorrow I may be able to get to the bottom of it!
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
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London
Hm - no one's ever said anything about my OH's AA payment needing to go into a separate bank account. I don't see why they should either.
 

Sue J

Registered User
Dec 9, 2009
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Earlier this year I was told that any money allocated for my care following a care assessment of my needs and then a financial assessment would need to be paid into a separate bank account. I didn't end up getting it as my care assessment failed to recognize the need for help in getting my papers together for the FA:confused::rolleyes: They also wanted me to sign a document saying that they could change care provider whenever they chose.
 

nita

Registered User
Dec 30, 2011
2,651
0
Essex
My mother's pension and AA were paid into her own bank account from the start. I don't remember her getting any instruction that they had to be paid into a separate account. I am changing from Carer's Allowance to the State Pension next month and my payments will be made into my own current account. I haven't had to set up a new account for them.

Are you talking as an Appointee for your mother? When I became my Mum's DWP appointee in 2010, I was told to set up a separate account in my name to have my mother's state benefits paid into. I used an account that I already had that I had run down and the DWP were happy to make her payments into this.

In 2012, I became her deputy so from then on, I arranged for payments to be made into her own current account and I informed the bank of the Court Order so the account is now styled "Ms.....(me) as deputy for Mrs.....(my mother).
 
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Katrine

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
2,837
0
England
Earlier this year I was told that any money allocated for my care following a care assessment of my needs and then a financial assessment would need to be paid into a separate bank account. I didn't end up getting it as my care assessment failed to recognize the need for help in getting my papers together for the FA:confused::rolleyes: They also wanted me to sign a document saying that they could change care provider whenever they chose.

I'm sorry your application was unsuccessful Sue. It must be so frustrating for you. :(


My mum gets Direct Payments from her LA and these have to go into a separate bank account that is only used to pay care costs. Every 3 months I have to submit receipts, bank statements and a quarterly budget account. This account must also show that my mum is contributing to her own care costs, and that the LA isn't footing 100% of the bill.

At the time I set it all up I used the pre-existing bank account that already had the DWP payments going into it. I didn't have POA so it would have been difficult to set up yet another bank account for my mum who had negligible mental capacity by that time.

This has all worked fine for 7 years but now we are preparing our first Annual Account for the OPG as her legal guardians. The OPG don't want to see the account for the Direct Payments which they say should be totally separate and not under their scrutiny. Well it can be, provided I can get the DWP money to arrive in her main bank account in future. Then OPG will be able to see that she is getting her DWP pensions and benefits without monitoring the other bank account.

Sigh........ So at the end of Year 2 I think what OPG will audit is the evidence of large amounts of dosh being shovelled out of her main account and transferred across to her carer account, but they will no longer be monitoring how all that money is spent. The LA checks that the figures add up and that the money is being spent on care, but that's a narrow type of monitoring. The LA isn't taking a holistic view of her overall income, her estate, her living arrangements etc. which I, in my naivety, thought the OPG would be doing. Hey ho. It's an interesting learning curve. :rolleyes:
 
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Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,050
0
Salford
My wife's DLA and mobility allowance go straight into our joint account and has done for 5 years so I can't see it's an issue now at any rate.
I take it you have appointee status with the DWP or you've supplied them with a copy of your POA. otherwise they may refuse to discuss it at all.
I was told quite a few years ago by a friend who was looking after a parent's finances that money in the "benefits" account which was used solely to pay for care was not regarded as capital when it came to claiming benefits as it was in effect in trust, how true this is I don't know. I've never heard it said anywhere else so maybe it was something that happened in the past.
K
 

Katrine

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
2,837
0
England
That's interesting Kevin, perhaps it was something to do with keeping employment/investment/private pension income and benefits separate. We shall see.

I was originally an appointee, but our guardianship has been registered with DWP in substitution, so there isn't a problem about them talking to me. Well, I say that, but I might get a muppet who tells me that I have to have POA and doesn't understand what guardianship is. The challenge then is to speak calmly and politely and retain their attention before they decide to pull the plug on the call, crying "Data Protection" as they do so! :D
 
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Katrine

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
2,837
0
England
I still don't know the answer to my original question, but it turns out to be water under the bridge, so I'm sorry to have bothered everyone! I phoned the DWP and was able to change the bank details over the phone. Simple as that. :eek:
 

dalekwidow

New member
Jul 15, 2021
2
0
I need help. My dad has been diagnosed with Alzheimers. Until recently, my severely autistic sister lived with him full time but arrangements are being made for her to go into full time residential care. My dad is currently her DWP appointee but my sister's social worker is asking if I can take over that role. I'm making arrangements with my dad's bank to get access to his account so we can create a separate account for my sister's benefits but I wanted to ask if anyone has experience of the DWP appointee process - specifically if you have experience of transferring that responsibility? I had hoped that dad could remain her appointee, even though we would have control over his accounts. My sister's social worker reckons that's not possible. What do we need to do?
 

Starting on a journey

Registered User
Jul 9, 2019
1,167
0
Contact the DWP and explain the situation and they will send you a form to complete so that you become the appointee and are responsible for reporting all changes in circumstances (just done this for my mum in law).

It is a good idea to do it now as it is probably too much for your dad to cope with and as his Alzheimer’s progresses he will not be able to do it.

Just ring them and ask, they were very nice when I rang and very efficient in sending the forms
 

dalekwidow

New member
Jul 15, 2021
2
0
Contact the DWP and explain the situation and they will send you a form to complete so that you become the appointee and are responsible for reporting all changes in circumstances (just done this for my mum in law).

It is a good idea to do it now as it is probably too much for your dad to cope with and as his Alzheimer’s progresses he will not be able to do it.

Just ring them and ask, they were very nice when I rang and very efficient in sending the forms
Thank you so much for the reply! How did you find the process? Did you need to have an interview or was all the form filling enough?
 

Starting on a journey

Registered User
Jul 9, 2019
1,167
0
They are not interviewing at the moment owing to Covid.
We are on the process of doing it but my mother in law has been taken into hospital so we have stopped it for the weekend to allow breathing space
 

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