Both full time students - benefits

[xmaximumx]

Hi, DP and I are both full time students, I start my course in a few weeks time. We have a 6mo baby and are about to apply for housing benefit, I know they take our maintenance loans and grants as income but I don't know how much that will impact on the amount we'll be entitled to. Can anyone give me a rough idea? Also, once I start my course will I stop receiving income support? I've heard that student parents can still get it but I'm guessing it won't be much right?

Why are you receiving income support? Are you claiming other benefits - disability or others?

No just income support, when I got pregnant DP was already a full time student (as was I) so we qualified for income support as we were both unable to work and only had his loan and grant to live on. I suppose I won't get it once the loan comes though.

Speak to your student support dept. When I was a student and DP worked, we got tax credits, but most of the extra we got (childcare stuff, a grant for living costs, eyc) came through uni/slc.

What type of course is it? There are different rules depending on if it is basic skills/college/uni/postgrad.

To be honest Im really surprised you are getting income support. I assume you are the main claimant and were able to claim from when when you were 29weeks pregnant. If this is the case you should have ceased claiming from when baby was 15weeks old.

Even if you do fit into another eligiability group I can 99% say your income support will end. How much are you getting at the moment after student income taken into account? £30-£40ish a week?

The calculation of housing benefit with student income is complex and not one that I can do easily. How much do you get now? How much is your student support?

TBH, you will probably be ok money wise if both of you are students as you will get full grant and loan (with childcare), plus tax credits and chb. You won't be rich, but you should be ok. IIRC we ended up with around £50 pw each after rent and childcare.

If you are both students, and have no children, neither of you can get Income Support and Housing Benefit for the duration of your course - including over the summer period.
However, if either of you is aged over 25 and working at least 30 hours per week, Working Tax Credit may be payable.

If you are both students, and you have dependant children, one of you can claim Housing Benefit throughout the academic year if you live in rented accommodation.You will be able to claim Child Tax Credit, and if one of you works for at least 16 hours per week, Working Tax Credit may also be payable. One of you will also be able to claim Jobseeker's Allowance for the months of July and August.

If you are a student, and you partner is unemployed, your partner can claim Jobseeker's Allowance and Housing Benefit for both of you, but your student income will be taken into account. If your partner is sick, he/she can claim Incapacity Benefit and Housing Benefit.

If you have dependant children,you can claim Child Tax Credit and if one of you works over 16 hours per week, you may be able to get Working Tax Credit.

The above is from my Uni funding site.

Butterpiebride is right you will be okay regarding money. I have been working out our household budget and I have very heavy fuel costs and DP has maitenance obligations and we will actually be okay. However neither of us have any debts.

Plus your uni will have a hardship fund- well worth looking into. I never did get it, but with two students and a child, I would say you would be top of the list.

Well it's good to know that other people manage, I'm sure we'll be fine, I'm just having a bit of a last minute panic before we sign the lease to rent, making sure I will be able to afford it.
Onadietcokebreak, at the moment we're not claiming housing benefit but the local housing allowance is £218 per week and we'll be getting about £16000 in loans and grants between us. If you can calculate even a rough idea for me that would be great. Oh and thanks for the heads up about income support, I'm going to call the job centre now and make sure I'm not getting money I'm not meant to be, there must have been some sort of mistake. That's the last thing I need!

xmaximumx There are too many different things to be taken into account you would be best going to the CAB for a calculation.

I wouldnt ring Jobcentre I would just send in your student notification. If they then notify you about an overpayment make sure you see the CAB again as it would be an Official error and although they can ask for the money back there was a recent ruling about enforcing repayment (Ie they can ask but you dont have to pay it back)

Is that all you are getting from Student finance? Im getting 15k which includes 5k childcare grant and my partner earns roughly 17k per annum!

Are student loans classed as income because if a single mum for instance is claiming income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit, child benefit and child tax credits any other personal loans aren't counted as income; she wouldn't have to inform the various agencies of a change in circumstance if she borrowed £1000 from Provident or whatever?

Student loans are classed as income. Certain elements like the childcare grant are disregarded but the rest is taken into account. This is because it is meant to provide an income from the government for the period is it paid. Although they have to be paid back its not the same as commercial borrowing such as provident.

I expect the OP will get roughly £55 per week in CTC as most student income is not taken into account when calcualting it.

The adults dependants grant is taken into account for CTC- This has just surprised me and gives me another thing to sort out- great!

It's all so confusing, I think student finance have really messed up with my application because they've told me I'm entitled to half what DP is, which makes no sense at all as we have identical situations. Ahhh! so much to sort out. Thanks for the advice though, looks like we just have to hope for the best really, I'll try and see a CAB person but it's so hard to get appointments. We'll just have to live on baked beans for a few years by the looks of things. We will manage.

Did you do the online application? Alot of my friends got incorrect assessment because they didnt do all the screens....because the online application didnt take them into it.

What have you been awarded so far? I would ring them for advice. Maybe they havent assessed you on household income.

onadietcokebreak- can you tell me where to find out more about the overpayment ruling? I have an ongoing dispute with tax credits over an overpayment I was told was a computer error and I wasn't overpaid, they then decided 6 months later it was an overpayment and they want it back

Hi The overpayment ruling relates to benefit payments not tax credit payments. I would see CAB and also do a Subject access request for all your records including print out of computerised records and copies of recording before they have chance to amend or "lose" them.

When did the overpayment occur?

this is the court ruling about benefit overpayments that are official error

this is about tax credits

The tax credits advice is really clear so would be good to seek CAB advice if you think you should not pay back OPS.

The law states that all overpayments of tax credits may be recovered from the claimant. However, it does not state that all overpayments must be recovered, so this allows the Revenue to use discretion in deciding whether to recover an overpayment. The Revenue has devised its own guidance for exercising its discretion, by first looking at who is responsible for the overpayment.

I do heart CPAG.....they really are a very useful pressure group

Also warning about court ruling regarding benefit overpayments in June 2010
Permission to appeal to the Supreme Court has been granted. The appeal is due to be heard on 25th October 2010.

thank you for the info, will have agood read through and see what I can do- it was in 2006!

have a look at this too

Gracious onadietcokebreak "Subject access request" do you work for DWP?? I did about 8 years ago and there was a huge cafuffle when all the new Data Protection laws came and we had about 3 days training on SARS how to recognise one should you get one, what to do if you get on etc etc etc.

Never did get one :)

I did but jumped just before the ship sank.