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...

I don't think so - they told me not.

Receiving education is generally a bar to getting UC but there are exceptions including being responsible for children,

I know for certain that 7 years ago stipend didn't count as income, my sister didn't receive any child maintenance from her ex until he finished his PHD as he was classes as having nil income.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear the system has changed, but it's definitely worth speaking to UC to check.

The problem is when you call UC to ask they never know the answer. I'm not sure how many here are on UC but I know I would still have the same concerns even if the call handler reassured me because they make so many mistakes. People being told they're all good then later having to pay thousands back because there was a mistake. Being told they can't claim but actually they can and mossing out. DWP are a useless mess.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students

Here it says you might be able to claim if you have a child.
But when I asked, they said that receiving the stipend counted as income. Maybe it depends on the age of the child? Mine didn't use childcare (teens). I paid a mortgage, not rent.
I wasn't eligible for anything - it's definitely a gap, but like a PP said, I wasn't seeking or available for work. My stipend rules state that I can't work more than 6 hrs a week, as the PhD is considered full time.
Good luck - hope you can receive something.

I've also heard that because a stipend is untaxed it reduced UC pound for pound. Why don't they just release some bloody info on it. Literally just a page of info on their website called 'claiming uc when you're a PhD student'. It's like they want to make it difficult and leave you guessing.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jul/10/phd-student-hit-with-17000-bill-by-dwp-after-universal-credit-error

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/30/im-desperate-single-mother-students-forced-to-repay-benefits-paid-in-error

Yes OP, no-one tells you the right answer when you call. I did quite a lot of digging and asking, and at Uni, but it seemed that the answers were Yes if it's Tax Credits
Maybe if you're Migrating to UC
No if it's straight UC.

https://medium.com/adviser/student-income-and-universal-credit-f7571a9d42f7

This is the clearest guide I can find.

They will count the stipend as a grant. They will count the assessment period the course starts in, and any other assessment periods when the course is not interrupted by a break of 1 month or more.

If your course starts in September and finishes in June each year (example), then you would have 9 assessment periods (June wouldn't count because that's the month your long holiday starts in).

They would divide your stipend in 9, then deduct £110 from the amount.
£19237÷9=£2137.44
£2137.44-£110=£2027.44

So for each month of the course you'd be deemed to have £2027.44 income. But then presumably, in the months when the course doesn't run, you'd have 0 income.

It's untaxed so I'm guessing would reduce UC £ for £. Phds run all year. I'm going to try and speak with citizens advice on Tuesday.

PhDs run 12 months a year do this doesn't apply, generally you receive the stipend tax deducted monthly as pay roll, but you are exempt from ni typically.

Ps my ex did a PhD and was taxed but no ni, unless it changed very recently

You don't pay tax on stipends do you?

The UC rules are complicated. I think your best bet is probably going to be citizens advice or trawling through the rules yourself. Personal experience tells me that a lot of job centre staff don’t fully understand the rules themselves.

Hi, I have been on UC as a single parent on a degree for which I got a combination of loan and bursary (not stipend). I can tell you in detail how it worked for me if you send me a message. Broadly speaking, I was entitled to UC, but it was reduced. What gets deducted or doesn’t depends on whether it’s already accounted for in UC or not. There were also occasions when it was calculated wrong and I had to appeal. This is the guidance document used by decision makers when someone appeals: “https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/660e7bec9f92ac0011516c78/admh6.pdf”

it does not specifically have the word “stipend”. I suspect it may come down to whether they choose to treat a stipend as loan, grant, or income. This could affect how much UC you get. Your university could perhaps write a support statement saying your stipend counted as a grant.

Have you seen this on The Student Room? It doesn’t look like it was great news for this person; but it can be worth appealing https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7244391#

Re: availability for work, if your degree is full time you should be exempt from looking for work; but if you get a summer university holiday (usually not with PhD?) they’d expect you to look for work during that time.

Sorry I cannot edit but to add to the above, I think the loan vs grant thing may not apply in your case. (For me, because I got both, the grant portion was mainly discounted (after appeal). If there is no loan portion, this distinction/discount may not exist)

No. My OH had one and it was not taxed. I think we were supposed to inform HMRC but doing so was too much agg.

People always say about Facebook uc groups for help and advise