A recent trial by the Department for Work and Pensions has revealed that tens of thousands of benefit claimants may be breaking the rules. The DWP asked two high street banks to monitor the bank accounts of individuals receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit, or ESA .
Currently, the DWP can only inspect accounts if it suspects fraud or as part of the initial verification of a benefit claim. However, these new powers would permit regular monitoring of accounts to ensure people qualify for state support. The DWP stated: "Among these, approximately 60,000 accounts were in risk of breaching the capital rule and 3,000 accounts in risk of breaching the abroad rule . For accounts at risk of breaching the capital rule, the average monthly balance was £50,000 and about 50 per cent of those accounts were joint accounts.
The DWP has reviewed cases and discovered that 32 per cent of these had excess savings, making individuals ineligible for the benefits they were receiving. Additionally, 11 per cent had foreign transactions indicating extended stays abroad beyond four weeks.
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