Going to university can i still get benefits?

DD224

At the moment me and my husband receive joint job seekers and housing benefit, I am due to start university to do social work however Im concerned that going will mean losing my husbands right to claim his jobseekers money and leave us homeless because we wont be getting any income at all, the only money I will be receiving will be a student loan to pay my course fees and a bursary to help pay for my course costs.

any help would be appreciated.

PippaGirl_2

No, he can still claim and have the same eligibility. Your income needs to be delcared to the DWP and the LA however.

Credit-Crunched

Did this not cross your mind before enrolling?

Get a part time job?

I know its a crazy idea, but other than benefits there are loads of ways to earn money, waitressing, bar work, shop work..endless

princessdon

PippaGirl wrote: »

No, he can still claim and have the same eligibility. Your income needs to be delcared to the DWP and the LA however.

Is this new? I always understood that the loans affected Income based JSA.

PippaGirl_2

princessdon wrote: »

Is this new? I always understood that the loans affected Income based JSA.

The only loan the OP is applying for is the tuition fees loan which goes directly to the University and doesn't count as income.

They will need to declare the social work bursary and that will be taken into account, minus allowances for travel and books.

There are other student finance loans and grants available but it seems the OP is choosing not to apply for them, probably on the premise of not saddling themselves with high debt when there are other means of living.

princessdon

PippaGirl wrote: »

The only loan the OP is applying for is the tuition fees loan which goes directly to the University and doesn't count as income.

They will need to declare the social work bursary and that will be taken into account, minus allowances for travel and books.

There are other student finance loans and grants available but it seems the OP is choosing not to apply for them, probably on the premise of not saddling themselves with high debt when there are other means of living.

Certain loans are treat as income even if you don't take them out, for exactly the reasons you say

benefitbaby

Loans paid for tuition fees only are ignored for IJSA purposes. However your partner's JSA would be reduced from couple rate to single person rate.

Loans (other than student fee loans, professional and career development loans) are apportioned over a period of 'benefit weeks' how this is done is based on the length of your course (less than a year, 1 year, longer than a year) and different rules apply to each.

Many 'course costs' are called bursary's however if this is actually provided from the Learner Support Fund or the Access to Learning Fund then how this is treated by DWP will depend on whether this is paid in a lump sum or installments. If it paid in a single lump sum payment then it is treated as capital. If it is paid in installments it is treated as income and is disregarded in full unless it is paid for 'daily living expenses' in which case then they ignore £20 per week.

If the 'bursary' is not from the LSF or ALF but is intended to cover specific items or expenses (eg books, materials etc) then it should be ignored but you would have to show that the payment is necessary for you to be able to attend the course. If you cannot show this then it will count as income.

PippaGirl_2

It's a social work bursary and is specific. They've changed the way they pay it which stuffs up people on benefits. You do a 6 month placement in both year 2 and 3 of the course, travelling miles to and from work and you used to be able to claim up to £500 in travel from the bursary fund if you provided receipts and there was an additional amount for other expenses. Now the bursary includes the £500 travel allowance but the rules state only £120 is disregarded for travel and the rest counted as income for benefit purposes meaning you can get yourself in a pile of debt just getting to placement. Hey ho.

Dunroamin

The fact remains that the OP should be eligible to take out the student maintenance loan and this will be used to assess means tested benefits, whether she chooses to take it out or not.

benefitbaby

Dunroamin wrote: »

The fact remains that the OP should be eligible to take out the student maintenance loan and this will be used to assess means tested benefits, whether she chooses to take it out or not.

Very true the DWP can consider income/capital that was available to you and treat you as having it if you do not apply - less any statutory disregards.

DD224

hi all thanks for the replies, I understand that the student fees loan wouldnt be considered income however my concern was the government bursary from DHSSSP would be considered income and therefore I would be required to support my husband although I had read on the NI benefits advice website that those types of bursary are not considered income. Im just really concerned because atm both mine and my husbands benefit has been suspended and Im worried we could be made homeless because of this. And yes my husband has been trying for a job unsuccessfully so the go get a job advice isnt helpful at all