Stipend and universal credit.

[Rolson77]

If I were to apply for a PhD. Had a Yearly stipend of £19237, rent of £950 (LHA is £695), and a 5yo I spend approx £120 on childcare for monthly, would I be entitled to universal credit?

There's sod all reliable info out there about this and I don't trust anything DWP say as they get it wrong half thr time...

Possibly not as you wont be unavailable for work will you? Might be different if you have children under 3, disabled or have a working partner. I expect the stipend would be taken into account as income.

Is this any help, OP? Also, do use their calculator as it takes everything into account.
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/student-income-universal-credit

There's no option to add specific payment for stipend. Only to say you're employed or unemployed.

Does it not count as "bursaries, scholarships, studentships, exhibition allowances or any other maintenance awards"?

I think the stipend means you are employed?

I'm really looking to hear from people who have been in a similar situation as there's so little info out there. 'Possibly not', 'Might be' and 'I expect' are all very vague as much as I appreciate you're trying to be helpful.

I think a stipend is treated differently to how student loans are deducted for undergraduate courses. The best people to ask would be the Universities student support team.

Thank you. I've been out of education do long I didn't even know this existed!

This may be helpful. If what i am looking at is correct, it may be 30% of stipend taken into account?
Universal Credit and students - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Stipends go towards cost of living expenses.

Having just read through student section on Universal Credit section of Gov.UK I think you need to phone the UC helpline.

As you have a child you may get some help still?

I think it will count as regular income as it's not a loan.

Depends on hours of study. I get UC but only study 16-18 hrs per week. I'm distance learning, undergraduate degree. Not expected to work in my own set of circumstances. Hopefully you can contact SST and find out more.
Good luck.

It's all a bit vague isn't it but I'm just really sceptical of the helpline as they don't know their arse from their elbow half the time.

You need to speak with someone at university who is knowledgeable on this. When my husband was a student I spoke to tax credits who outright told me we wouldn’t be eligible but then when I spoke to a finance advisor at the uni they actually explained that my husbands stipend wasn’t taxable income so couldn’t be counted. I don’t know how your stipend works and is funded or much about universal credit but it’s definitely worth getting proper advice on your situation.Even though they had refused to even post the forms to me when I asked for them and misadvised me they refused to back pay me the 6 months they effectively stole from me. This was all 8-9 years ago so pre universal credit.

It used to be counted as salary under tax credits

What is SST?

Student Support Team

Yes I see my response is kind of annoying but the best way to find out is to put a claim in. It can be a bit of a tricky area and if the stipend is taken into account as wages it might wipe any potential entitlement anyway depending on any children and rent allowance payable.

I currently claim universal credit but I can't really afford to just continue claiming and hope it'll cover me. It's wild to me that there's no simple info out there regarding stipends and UC for single parents.

If this would be a new claim to UC then Help to Claim, run by Citizens Advice, would be a good place to start - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/help-to-claim/

Different set up/phone number etc in Scotland but the service is there too.

@Babyroobs shout of speaking to the Uni running the PhD is a good one.

Thank you. I'm already on UC but might contact them anyway.

Stipend didn't count for tax credits but does count for UC.
Students can't claim UC.
PhD students in receipt of a stipend usually can't use the Student Loans system.
I found that in migrating from TC to UC I could no longer receive UC.

You're right - it is a minefield and no-one really knows or tells you this first.

PhD students can claim universal credit if they have children, no?

If you're already on UC then you're out of scope for Help to Claim, though if the adviser has a minute to spare they might give information to be helpful as well as signposting you to local CA.