Benefit problem when son starts university

Deva2005

Hi all

I am back here after some dark times and a mental health breakdown.

I have had great news as our son got 2 × A* and a B in his A-Level exams and is going to King's College University next month.

However, because of this, obviously his child benefit stops as does the Child Tax Credit payments.

I have been on a zero-hours contract which has slowed down incredibly in the past weeks.
In effect, we are some £80 per week down now due to the change in benefits.

I am getting housing benefit, and been told I am at the maximum level for this.

Therefore, I am wondering IF there is anything else we can apply for?

Our son is going to be living at home during his time at university.

Thanks in advance for any advice that anyone can offer.

Cheers
David

w06

Congratulations to your son

If he's living at home the most sensible thing would be for him to pay you £80 a week in bed and board, from his loan and also get a part time job (many people work whilst an undergraduate it's perfectly feasible even on the most demanding courses)

xylophone

Congratulations to your son.


Does this help at all?

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Working-hours-benefits-rules/Which-benefits-are-affected-by-hours-worked

You say that your son will be living at home - he could pay board and lodging from his student loan perhaps?

calcotti

Check whether you are in a UC area https://ucpostcode.entitledto.co.uk/ucdate.

If you are you may want to consider applying for UC. If you do your Housing Benefit will stop and your help with rent will instead come through UC.

UC is cumbersome but it is more responsive to variable earnings that the old benefit system. Because it is calculated every month based on your actual earnings your benefit will increase when your earnings are low. You will be expected to look for additional work to increase your earnings if they are consistently low. You can use a benefits calculator to see what you might get based on different incomes https://www.entitledto.co.uk

Whether any of this is relevant will depend on how much your partner is earning.

PersianCatLady

Your son's student loan will exceed what you were receiving in CTC and CB so as he is not paying for his accommodation, he needs to pay you board.

Tobermory

Has your son applied for a Student Loan?

His University may also offer a Bursary/Grants is he meets certain criteria, e.g. low income family.

Comms69

david.richards27 wrote: »

Hi all

I am back here after some dark times and a mental health breakdown.

I have had great news as our son got 2 × A* and a B in his A-Level exams and is going to King's College University next month.

However, because of this, obviously his child benefit stops as does the Child Tax Credit payments.

I have been on a zero-hours contract which has slowed down incredibly in the past weeks.
In effect, we are some £80 per week down now due to the change in benefits.

I am getting housing benefit, and been told I am at the maximum level for this.

Therefore, I am wondering IF there is anything else we can apply for? - I know this may sound rude; but what about a different job?

Our son is going to be living at home during his time at university.

Thanks in advance for any advice that anyone can offer.

Cheers
David

That's not a dig, just that when times are tough a move may be exactly what you need.


(especially with the lack of security of Zero hours)

sangie595

I agree. I've just skimmed your previous posts, and you've obviously had some tough times, so well done on both coming through them and your son getting into university- despite the assumptions to the contrary it's still hard for young people from less privileged backgrounds to get into university and do so well on their exams. But... He's an adult now, and he needs to begin to place value on paying his way before spending on "wants". So he should be contributing to the household.

PersianCatLady

OP - One thing that you should be aware of is that as a full time university student, your local authority SHOULD NOT make a non-dependent deduction (NDD) from your HB / LHA unless he works over a certain amount in the summer holidays.

This should seem pretty obvious but I know of a few people who did not know this and had an amount deducted from their HB / LHA for NDD.

PersianCatLady

OP - Did your son leave sixth form / college this summer?

calcotti

PersianCatLady wrote: »

OP - One thing that you should be aware of is that as a full time university student, your local authority SHOULD NOT make a non-dependent deduction (NDD) from your HB / LHA unless he works over a certain amount in the summer holidays.

This should seem pretty obvious but I know of a few people who did not know this and had an amount deducted from their HB / LHA for NDD.

Unfortunately as UC continues to roll out, as far as I can see, this rules does not appear to have been carried over into UC and I believe non-dependent deductions will be made for student. Would be glad if someone could prove me wrong.