student finance andESA

ET22

hi, i am in thesupport group for esa and receive ESA and UC. If i waned to study paart time masters level, would my entitlement to these benefits stop? The courseis 10 hours per week. The rulesseem unclear when i have tried to work it out and i cant get through to the uni student finance/help department. Does anyone have any knowledge around this apparently messy situation x

marcia_

ET22 said:

hi, i am in thesupport group for esa and receive ESA and UC. If i waned to study paart time masters level, would my entitlement to these benefits stop? The courseis 10 hours per week. The rulesseem unclear when i have tried to work it out and i cant get through to the uni student finance/help department. Does anyone have any knowledge around this apparently messy situation x

 universal credit will count your masters loan as income.

TimeLord1

Loan, this will likely be considered as income for your ESA. However, the way it's treated can be complex. Historically, for postgraduate loans, only a percentage (often around 30%) is counted as income, with deductions for travel and books. The remaining amount is then spread over the academic year.  


 If you inform DWP they may want to assess your ESA as studying may be classed as an improvement in your condition. 

poppy12345

TimeLord1 said:

Loan, this will likely be considered as income for your ESA. However, the way it's treated can be complex. Historically, for postgraduate loans, only a percentage (often around 30%) is counted as income, with deductions for travel and books. The remaining amount is then spread over the academic year.  


 If you inform DWP they may want to assess your ESA as studying may be classed as an improvement in your condition. 

The ESA will be New style which isn't means tested. This means it will not be affected by any student loan. See link. https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-11/CPAG-scot-factsheet-benefits-disabled-students-Oct-2023.pdf

ET22

If ive got it right, New style ESA wont be affected but UC will? The student loan tuition fees would wipe out the UC altogether so I wouldnt be able to manage financially but thankyou all for your help x