Student HB am I being dim

missymugwump

Im sure i'm being dim but I don't get it


OH Is going to be a full time student

HB classify his student maintenance loan as income for HB purposes
But it is a loan and has to be repaid

If he went to a bank and got a 4k loan out and had to repay that would that be classed as income too

Judith_W

Well I know that student loans are not included with other debt when wanting to take out mortgages etc so I guess you can't have it both ways. As the loan is paid back at inflationary interest I guess they class it differently.

I'm sure someone else will be along with more understanding

seven-day-weekend

missymugwump wrote: »

Im sure i'm being dim but I don't get it


OH Is going to be a full time student

HB classify his student maintenance loan as income for HB purposes
But it is a loan and has to be repaid

If he went to a bank and got a 4k loan out and had to repay that would that be classed as income too

I think if you were using it to live on, then yes.

bestpud

missymugwump wrote: »

Im sure i'm being dim but I don't get it


OH Is going to be a full time student

HB classify his student maintenance loan as income for HB purposes
But it is a loan and has to be repaid

If he went to a bank and got a 4k loan out and had to repay that would that be classed as income too

That's how it is.

When a lone parents (for example) goes to uni, they may be entitled to IS and full HB, but the loan is classed as income so they are no longer entitled (except in the hols).

And, if they don't take the loan, they are still classed as having it for benefits purposes.

I know a few doing teaching/nursing courses who felt it was penalising those trying to get back into the workplace and become self-sufficient.

I don't know why they do it, but Judith's answer seems to fit.

I suppose it is also because it is the same as working in some ways, in that you get 'paid' to do it, and benefits are designed for people who are at home and not bringing in a income for whatever reason.

I haven't put that well - I know what I am trying to say...!

And, they do proivde extra grants for those with no, or a low, income.

bestpud

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I think if you were using it to live on, then yes.

I think there has been cases on here where this has happened, hasn't there?

Macro_3

missymugwump wrote: »

Im sure i'm being dim but I don't get it


OH Is going to be a full time student

HB classify his student maintenance loan as income for HB purposes
But it is a loan and has to be repaid

If he went to a bank and got a 4k loan out and had to repay that would that be classed as income too

I can see why it would seem unfair, but the rules are designed to recognise the fact that if someone choses to study full time then they should be supported financially by the student loans system as far as possible, not the benefits system. The student loan is not intended solely to cover studying expenses, it covers living expenses and will often include amounts for dependents too. If a student is receiving government help for their living expenses whilst studying, should they then receive it again via benefits?
Even if he had not taken the loan, it would be taken into account in full as notional income.

As for conventional loans, I've not seen anyone take them out regularly enough to be used as income but I have seen people take out huge loans to spend on nice things and then have the money taken as capital and nil their entitlement to benefit.

Zeldazog

bestpud wrote: »

I suppose it is also because it is the same as working in some ways, in that you get 'paid' to do it, and benefits are designed for people who are at home and not bringing in a income for whatever reason.

lol, except that a loan isn't being paid!

I've never thought of it the way Judith put it.

The loan IS taken into account, but depending on your circumstances, other help is available and it isn't counted (I am lone parent, get special support grant and parental learning allowance, and they AREN'T counted), and even though the loan IS counted, I still get help towards my rent.

I always felt quite resentful myself, to be honest, but I suppose it's the same as if you have money in the bank - if you have over £6k (?) savings, they take an amount as interest and add it as income. If you have £6 debt, they don't count that as extra money required in outgoings.

It is what it is.

However, I am still way better off now than I was before I started Uni, even though I am going to graduate (hopefully!) with £24k worth of debt, it's worth it.

If when I leave, I am lucky enough to make such a good living that to pay a good amount back, then I will be happy anyway - because I will be making good living!

dmg24

Zeldazog wrote: »

I always felt quite resentful myself,

If you compare what you get compared to that of a single person in FTE, maybe you would not feel so resentful. :rolleyes:

missymugwump

Thanks everyone for your replies

Macro well put it makes it easy to understand
This is all just so frustrating trying to budget & the goal posts keep moving
Its driving me crazy

HB were most unhelpful when I tried to get advice
I researched it on a link here in the end

I guess if you are a single parent you naturally have dependent costs
It all relative I know but confusing as hell

This year has been a real learning curve one I would liken to climbing Everest at times :rotfl:

adouglasmhor

I often wonder why if Student loans are income, buying crap from Brighthouse and the like isn't as well?

fluffymovie

Hi there

Student loans are treated as income for HB purposes.

However, the issue of student income is complicated as the way it is treated can vary depending on what year of education you are in etc/

The standard is that we use the full loan available to you per year. We then disregard an amount for books and travel, about £692 this year I think off the top of my head. We then average the loan over the period of study, usually 43 weeks and then take away the first £10. The remainder is used as weekly income.

I think the way it is viewed is that going into full time education removes you from the job market and is your choice. As a result, they give you an income to live on which you repay when you are earning sufficient. Other parts of student finance such as dependants grants, childcare grants are disregarded in full.

As I say, students are equal only to self employed claims and claims from people from abroad in complexity and so it might be that you will need to speak to a supervisor to get the right answer.

Hope this has been of some help