Reduced income

LittleEnidFan

Hi everyone. I have just supplied evidence to support my son's student finance application and my income is pretty low for 2010/11. My husband was made redundant in January 2011 but had been earning well until then so if he supplies information for 2010/11 as requested, my son will not be eligible for a grant or a decent maintenance loan. Does anyone know whether supplying information based on tax year 2011/12 (my son starts uni in September 2012) and which will show that our household income is now approximately 85% less than it was in 2010/11, will affect the amount my son is likely to be able to borrow?

Hope this is a little clearer than mud....

devildog

You can either download/ask for a current year assessment if your income for this year is likely to be less than (I think) 15 % than that of last year or if you have already submitted financial info based on year 10/11 income you can request a change of circumstances form.

Jdubb

devildog wrote: »

You can either download/ask for a current year assessment if your income for this year is likely to be less than (I think) 15 % than that of last year or if you have already submitted financial info based on year 10/11 income you can request a change of circumstances form.

I can confirm the 15% is correct as I was just about to start the process for my daughter and I've just read it at "direct.gov.uk/en/educationandlearning/universityandhigherleveleducation/studentfinance/gettingstarted" it said, inter alia, "If you’re expecting a 15 per cent drop or more in your income, you can ask to be assessed on the current tax year.".

Jdubb

devildog wrote: »

You can either download/ask for a current year assessment if your income for this year is likely to be less than (I think) 15 % than that of last year or if you have already submitted financial info based on year 10/11 income you can request a change of circumstances form.

Do you know, is there anywhere that tells you what happens if you go with this option but then your income is NOT 15% below last year's - is any "over payment" clawed back somehow? Have no problem with paying back if I claim incorrectly, and pretty sure this will be my true position, just too early to tell. Also I know all the hassle it can be dealing with such things. Many tks

devildog

I am not 100 % certain but reading through the regs they state that once Student Finance England has excercised it's discretion to make a current year assessment it cannot later revise it's decision if it transpires that residual income is more than 85% of income in previous year, so that would suggest that it wouldn't be clawed back.

There is also something re current year assessments(which I don't fully understand) that if you ask for a current year assessment that figure will be used for three years unless your income drops a further 15 % and then you can ask for another current year assessment. I seem to recall a post from someone who asked for a current year assessment last year(?) but I seem to think that ultimately they didn't really come out on top(but can't for life of me remember why)

Taiko is the man in the know so he may have to correct me

Jdubb

devildog wrote: »

I am not 100 % certain but reading through the regs they state that once Student Finance England has excercised it's discretion to make a current year assessment it cannot later revise it's decision if it transpires that residual income is more than 85% of income in previous year, so that would suggest that it wouldn't be clawed back.

There is also something re current year assessments(which I don't fully understand) that if you ask for a current year assessment that figure will be used for three years unless your income drops a further 15 % and then you can ask for another current year assessment. I seem to recall a post from someone who asked for a current year assessment last year(?) but I seem to think that ultimately they didn't really come out on top(but can't for life of me remember why)

Taiko is the man in the know so he may have to correct me

:TThanks so much for that helpful response. Found Taiko elsewhere and asked him the same

Voyager2002

Jdubb wrote: »

:TThanks so much for that helpful response. Found Taiko elsewhere and asked him the same

It would help if you could add Taiko's response to this thread so we can all see, or maybe give a link to it so that we can find it.

devildog

The only word of caution I would add(until/if Taiko responds) is that if it was that simple more or less any/everyone could have a go at saying their income was going to be 15% less for the current year. Which would indicate that you would either need a really good reason for them to allow it or somewhere else in the regs it allows for a recovery.

mintymoneysaver

I haven't got as far as filling the forms in yet ( at the moment the form tells me I'm not linked with my daughter!) but last year I was with my husband, and now I'm not. When I get that far, do I still fill in just my single income, or will I have to include our joint income for last year?

devildog

Technically it should always be the previous years income, however if you are now separated you will either need a change of circumstance or current year assessment(but not totally sure which is best/correct)

Taiko

Overpayments would be clawed back, either by a request for payment if it's final year, or through reducing future entitlement if there are additional study years remaining.

If you are awarded a current income assessment, that tax year would then be used even if at the end of the year you'd suddenly earned more than you had in 10/11. The final income used in the current year assessment is then carried forward to the next two academic years.