EMA 2009/10 guide discussion

mary-op

My grandson stayed on at school to do his A levels -he is now 17 - and has recently had to move in with his Dad (mother and father separated when he was 5) due to dire family circumstances. His Dad and current girlfriend have a young son and are struggling with their finances as it is. From what I've read here it seems my grandson won't be eligible for EMA due to his mother and her partners earnings being over the limit.
Am I right in thinking this ? If so it seems most unfair.

Hithere

Does any one know if it is the net or gross income taken into account on income from a private pension & state pension, also have very small amount of savings so do they count interest on them as well?

tazmac25

Hi
can anyone advise me on this query please?

My husbands cousin has come to live with us this month - and up to now was attending a full time college course (he's now 18) but was not recieving EMA as him parents refused to complete the financial part of the EMA claim for
They are both on the usual benefits as neither parent work so he would have eligible for full/part EMA payments
Can he try to claim a back dated claim for some/all of the EMA with out this information or get EMA to access the information for the relevant people?
He will be going back to college full time in September and we have already ordered the forms for him for the new term.

Many thanks for any help or pointers
Tazmac25

dinigrow

Cyaniide wrote: »

Yeah, they've not been administering it. Sorry, wrong word there

Well I havent been at college every day... But then the contract says if you have an authorised absence it would still be paid. And it has been authorised as far as I'm aware as we've been contacting them every time I've not been there. It's not just been not bothering, it's been because my mum is seriously ill. But I have handed in all the work apart from 2 history essays which the teacher hadnt told me about until yesterday.

EMA is ultimately a reward for 100% attendance. So if you have been missing days, it may not be covered by the College's eligbility criteria (ours is strict). However, they should have provided you with written confirmation of what is and isn't classed as an authorized absence when you registered for payments and they should be able to clarify this for you if you ask... I recommend a face-to-face visit to the EMA department in the College, so that any questions you have regarding future absences (assuming your mum's health problems are ongoing) can also be discussed.

dinigrow

mary-op wrote: »

My grandson stayed on at school to do his A levels -he is now 17 - and has recently had to move in with his Dad (mother and father separated when he was 5) due to dire family circumstances. His Dad and current girlfriend have a young son and are struggling with their finances as it is. From what I've read here it seems my grandson won't be eligible for EMA due to his mother and her partners earnings being over the limit.
Am I right in thinking this ? If so it seems most unfair.

EMA is means-tested using the household income of where the student is residing, so if your grandson is now living with his father and his current partner, it will be THEIR income details your grandson would need to submit on his application form... NOT his mother's. But he would also need to bear in mind that the address he provides on the application MUST match the information he provides for his bank account, so he should update his details with the bank first and ask them to print off an updated statement showing the new address, as well as the sort code and account number BEFORE applying. If the addresses don't match, they'll only send the form back to him.

Hope this helps

dinigrow

Hithere wrote: »

Does any one know if it is the net or gross income taken into account on income from a private pension & state pension, also have very small amount of savings so do they count interest on them as well?

According to the guidance notes included with the application form, both income from savings and pensions come under OTHER INCOME. You need to enter your gross state and/or personal pensions income (not war pensions) excluding the Christmas bonus/winter fuel payment. However, once all 'other income' has been added up, you are asked to deduct £300 from the overall total, so if this is anything LESS than £300 (and thus a minus figure), it is calculated as £0.

:think:

dinigrow

tazmac25 wrote: »

Hi
can anyone advise me on this query please?

My husbands cousin has come to live with us this month - and up to now was attending a full time college course (he's now 18) but was not recieving EMA as him parents refused to complete the financial part of the EMA claim for
They are both on the usual benefits as neither parent work so he would have eligible for full/part EMA payments
Can he try to claim a back dated claim for some/all of the EMA with out this information or get EMA to access the information for the relevant people?
He will be going back to college full time in September and we have already ordered the forms for him for the new term.

Many thanks for any help or pointers
Tazmac25

Hi there.

Unfortunately, the parents would at the very least have to sign the form to give consent for the Learner Support Service to access their benefits information, so if they are refusing to do this, he's a bit stuck.

Plus although students can still apply for 2009/10 EMA now, they would only have payments back-dated to the date the Learner Support Service receive the application form.

As he is now living with you, is it likely he would be eligible for payments based on YOUR household income from tax year 08/09? If so, would it be possible for you and your husband to complete that part of the form as his guardians? :cool:

Asa

I would like to thank EMA for giving me the oputinty to further my education.

Albiet, its only £30 a week, but that is the ONLY income i have and if didnt get that wouldnt be able to get to college and would starv to death whilst i was there.

but i what i find a little disturbing is that i know about 10 people on JSA, not one of them are SEEKING A JOB, yet they get paid more than me to sit on thier asses, doesnt make sense, the JSA system is flawed, i rekon atleast 65% of the people on JSA are lazy, druggies and cant be botherd to work or think its easier to claim JSA.

But thank you EMA for helping with my future.!

Madmonk

Hi can anyone tell me when the bonuses are paid especially the summer one?

MM:)

percymoneysaver

If I remember right, the summer bonus will be released next week - the 5th springs to mind, so that means it would be in students' bank accounts by the 8th.

This is the last ever bonus though - there won't be any more after this one as the government have scrapped them. Until this year there was the "Christmas" bonus, which EMA paid in the first week of February (!) and the summer one.