Mother Retiring With No Money And No Home. Help!

[DonaldDuck92]

What to do with a mother who retires in Feb?

She has not owned a home for the last 30+ years since she was widowed, lives in rented accommodation that the owner has just put on the market, lost her job in August, has no savings and only the state pension to rely on.

She has basically been funded by her mother (not 86 and who is seriously ill with Covid) all her life and buried her head in the sand/made poor decisions.

If she's lucky she might inherit £100K at a later date...

I'm at my wits end with her. Any advice appreciated.

[gness]

Sorry. Chris is Buenchico.

[david small]

Wow on planet tora, you get given a council flat just like that.

[DonaldDuck92]

Thank you everyone for the responses, especially Buenchico.

It's certainly very stressful and I wish she had a more stable life so I didn't have to worry about her so much! :)

[gness]

I hope the advice is of help to get your mum sorted, Donald...and that you soon have enough for a deposit on your own home...good luck.

[rowanwitch]

A lot depends on your local authority, if she has any significant health conditions (and mental health e.g. Depression counts) she might be better applying for a sheltered or part supported place. I was encouraged to do this and have a really nice flat, I was shortlisted for two and accepted the second one I saw. From application to being allocated a flat took just five weeks. Not all social housing is in sink estates or poor neighbourhoods.

[windywillow]

On a positive note Donald, if mum has no savings and is claiming her state pension, she will be eligible for pension credit. It may not be much (I've no idea of figures) but every little helps.

Good luck to you both.