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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Student loan / household income

18 replies

Feelinghistoric · 22/06/2020 06:46

My lovely SD is hoping to go to university this autumn. She was planning to take a gap year, but because of covid/no foreign travel thinks it makes sense to crack on. We are trying to understand student loans. Her mother met a nice guy just under two years ago and is planning on moving in with him this summer. The new guy is well off, and SD has just pointed out to us that because he is well off, his income will be included in calculating her student loan. Is this correct? Sorry, we are in a rush because she was planning to go through all this next year and it’s been brought forward. The new guy/SD’s mother relationship is relatively new, and he and SD won’t have lived together until she is literally just about to leave for uni. He was burned financially during his divorce (I don’t know him at all well, but it has come up! And clearly has left something of a scar!) so I don’t think would expect to contribute towards SD. Will this affect her student loan?

OP posts:
LalaLoopy20 · 22/06/2020 07:05

Yes, that is correct. It is household income that is used by Student Finance, and not parental income.
I have been with Dh since DD was small so not an issue for him. However if based on parental income she would have been entitled to more loan.
It's an odd system to expect someone to be financially responsible for an adult child when the relationship is new.

Ginfordinner · 22/06/2020 07:12

It will be based on 2018/2019 income.

MarchingFrogs · 22/06/2020 07:15

If your DD's main residence is the household containing both her mother and this 'high earning' man, then yes, his income will be taken into account. If your ex and he know that their combined income takes them over the threshold at which only the non-means tested portion of the loan can be claimed by your DD, she can just not nominate them as 'supporting' her and this is what she will get (in England, studying outside London and not living at home, this is £4289 vs a maximum of £9203 at a household income of

2gorgeousboys · 22/06/2020 07:22

If your SD's Mum and her partner only move in togeyher this summer then I dont think his income will need to be included in the household income assessment. For the 2020/21 academic year, the assessment of parental income is based on income in the 2018/19 tax year.

homemadecommunistrussia · 22/06/2020 07:25

I'm confused by the advice you are getting. Your Sd should be applying for her loan on her current circumstances. Her dm' s partner is is not living with them yet, do his income doesn't need to be used thus year.

MarchingFrogs · 22/06/2020 07:38

Well, yes, she should have applied by now for September (although actually can do so at any time up to next June), but if she hasn't yet and delays until he is actually part of her home set-up, then his income would be deplorable.

She shed get her application in pronto, even of she doesn't have a confirmed place yet.

@Feelinghistoric, do you mean that your DD has offers and has decided on her firm / insurance, but was planning on asking to defer, or that she is only just or hasn't even yet started her application for September?

Original poster
Feelinghistoric · 22/06/2020 09:25

It’s all very last minute, because of covid and suddenly bringing forward her application. She only brought it up yesterday (and gather the ucas applications are meant to go in today?) We were definitely expecting to support her, it’s just that if she gets much less in student loan it will open up a gap that we weren’t anticipating.

OP posts:
Original poster
Feelinghistoric · 22/06/2020 09:27

He does have his own DC. I’ve met him a few times, but don’t know him well. (It’s all amiable between all four of us, but we don’t spend masses of time together.) I haven’t met his kids for example.

OP posts:
Original poster
Feelinghistoric · 22/06/2020 09:27

She’s applying to start this September. (Sorry, seem to be answering questions once at a time - and thanks for the advice!)

OP posts:
FuchsiaFox · 22/06/2020 09:42

I would be careful applying without adding her mothers dp into the household income as he will be living there before then1st of september they may end up forcing her to repay any over payment due to leaving his income out the student finance application.

Personally I would call and enquire about it before moving forward with the application

Original poster
Feelinghistoric · 22/06/2020 10:01

Urgh, it’s so tricky! I can see why he might not want to cough up, as it’s not been a long relationship and he will barely live with SD. But at the same time, it’s going to leave SD in a tricky situation. (And it’s so hard to pin SD down on this sort of detail!)

OP posts:
homemadecommunistrussia · 22/06/2020 12:25

I would suggest your sd ring/ email student finance and ask directly. I think it's likely that his income won't be included this year, but might in future years. She will need to keep them updated. Even then it doesnt seem right, it would be a bit odd to argue that he has parental responsibility for her when she is over 18 and doesn't live in the same house full time.
For the purposes of student finance I couldn't count my ds who is 20 as a dependant even though he currently has no other means of support.

Original poster
Feelinghistoric · 22/06/2020 14:49

Yes, it seems really weird. But it’ll change her student loan by about £5,000 a year from what I can understand and it’s going to be a big struggle for us to fill that gap. SD’s mother won’t be able to help either.

OP posts:
homemadecommunistrussia · 22/06/2020 15:57

It would be weird if it was the case. She needs to ask the question and get an official answer.

wovengrass · 22/06/2020 16:16

It's not been too long since I graduated, and I was in the same position as your SD. If I can give you any advice it would be to choose the household with the lowest income. I changed mine from my mum's to my dad's in my final year of uni, to be assessed by the household with the lowest income. It is unfair to be impacted by someone who will not be contributing to your survival at uni (eg Mum's boyfriend). Student finance didn't care that I changed the parent I put down as being financially dependent on. At the time I lived with neither parent as I moved out when I was 17 and lived with my partner, and I worked also so in actual fact i wasn't financially dependent on either of them.
Just make sure that any financial info you give them about your earnings is correct, otherwise you will end up paying it back.

MillicentMartha · 22/06/2020 18:21

I would check, because for this September the student loan is based on earnings in the 2018-2019 tax year. That shouldn’t include new partner’s income as he hasn’t moved in yet. For next year, from Sept 2021, which will be for 2019-2020 tax year, it might be that new partner’s income will be counted.

Monkey2001 · 23/06/2020 00:52

@wovengrass can you choose which household income is used? DS's GF has a mum with very low income who she lived with until last year and a dad with a high income who she has been living with since her mum moved 30 miles away to a nearby town (except that she has actually been living with us since the start of lock down!)

Her understanding was that her dad's income went on the form as she lived with him more recently.

jadefnewman · 23/06/2020 09:00

Hi, if you need any further info then this article may be of use to you :) www.whatuni.com/advice/coronavirus-covid-19-updates/how-to-find-help-for-students-covid19-and-university/88589/

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