Uni student with a child and can’t claim universal credit, why?!

[Shaft284]

Hi I am just in the process of claiming universal credit and It looks like I can’t claim anything which I am really confused about. They say my loan has a yearly income is around £692 per month, I have a child but don’t pay rent as I live at home. They work it out as Follows:- £251.77 allowance plus £277.08 child equals £528.85 then they take off £692.30 as income so leaves £-163.45, so I cant claim !!!
Is I was on child tax credit anyone with an income of less than £16k a year get £277 per month, how can this be????
Thanks

I thought that most benefits stop when you become a student?

This is worrying, I have 3 DC and start Uni in September... Single parent. UC doesn’t roll out here till 2019 but if I can’t get it I’m screwed

@poddige Yes they do - for me, housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support will stop and be replaced by my student loans but I will still get Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits.

You cannot claim out of work benefits as a student.

@keneft but Child Tax Credit will fall under UC but isn’t an out of work benefit, it’s top up for low incomes, including Student Loans.

Child tax credit isn’t an out of work benefit, its for people in a low income so how come I can’t claim it???

Nukacolagirl they told me I’m not entitled to anything including child tax credit!!

It is because effectively you get £692 a month and pay no rent.

Yes I was paying £540 a month rent and in my area the housing allowance is £425, so I got £260 a month universal credit. This is for rent, and child tax credit so I just couldn’t afford and had to move back in with my parents

I'm a CAB volunteer and I'm pretty sure it's correct - UC is a lot less generous than tax credits.

Its just the way it is. Its for hardship not a comfortable lifestyle. I understand you are struggling but youre not paying rent or working. Look at turn2us for grants maybe or stop studying or go part time and work or find a job as well as study.
Are you getting child maintenance? Does the dad contribute?
Turn2us has a benefits calculator.

I was at uni with a child, and I got child tax credits but I know now the rules have changed and UC counts student finance as income, unlike tax credits. Make sure you're getting every element of student finance you can, and ask uni if they have any grants or bursaries for students with dependants and on a low income - you have to ask as these usually are not advertised very well.

I get £1500 a month in benefits and have 3 children and pay £875 rent so that leaves me with a similar amount to you but for double the amount of people to feed and clothe and all household bills.

Long time since I was at uni but a friend of mine used to a much higher level of student grant as she was classed as having dependents.

Do they still do student grants as well as loans now when you apply for your student finance??

Nuka Timing may be important with this. At the moment you can't claim UC at all if you have 3 children (couple of exceptions if you already had a UC). That is set to change in 2019.
www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Exemptions_to_2_child_limit

Literary what is the point of that post? OP is asking about student finance and UC, not for pointless comparisons about other people's living costs!

I have £45 a week left for food, nappies, clothes and fuel to get to uni which is a 60 mile round trip a day. I cant get a part time job as I go on full time placements as part of my course

@baga balls! I had no idea. Fuck. I get generous child support from the father of my eldest 2, but my toddler... 27 months and CMS have managed to get a grand total of £13 from him I private rent too, in a cheap area, and will get extra funding from my Uni for being a single parent from a difficult background but still... I’ll be utterly fucked without Child tax Credits, it would leave me £400 a month down.

OP - talk to Finance Department at Uni. I know it varies by Uni but I’ve already been told to contact them at any point, as there is a lot of discretionary hardship funding there.

How old is dc? Would you qualify for free childcare hours from 2? Is childcare costing £500 or do you have other expenses.

Sorry, I thought you said you had £692 a month but you've said you only have £45 a week so £180 a month. That's not good at all.

I know its not ideal. universal credits are a big fuck up (imo).
Please try to write out a budget as 692÷4=173
Where is it going that you end up with 45?

You also dont need weekly clothes?! Dont your parents buy groceries and have basics in cupboard?

How have you only got £45 a week if you are meant to have over £600 a month. I think it sounds pretty fair since you aren't paying rent.

Where is the rest of your money going if you only have £45 a week?
Can we help with budgeting?

Nuka The idea is that eventually everyone will switch to UC. If you do not have a change of circumstances that means you have to move then there will be migration. The government have said they're going to protect what people are getting so they should not lose out when they are migrated, but we do not know how this is going to work or when. It's worth getting advice anyway, as not all changes in circumstances mean you have to swap to universal credit right now.