How much, if any, universal credit will I get?

JumpingJames

I am a first year mature student.

I currently get universal credit of: 

Standard allowance

£368.74

You get a standard amount each month. You said you're single

Limited capability for work and work-related activity

£390.06

You said your health affects you at work or prevents you from working

I get a special support student loan of £11,374 from 29th September. The loan letter says "The DWP won't count £4221 of the maximum maintenance loan for living costs as student income when they work out what means-tested benefits you can get."

Does anyone know how much UC I would get from September onwards? Thank you.

poppy123456

I don't think a benefits calculator will help here because it doesn't acknowledge the student maintenance loan.

For UC they base it over the total amount of months starting from the start of your course to when it finishes. Summer holidays are not included. I found a very good guide here which explains it really well. https://www.uwe.ac.uk/courses/funding/full-time-undergraduate-funding/student-income-and-universal-credit

You will likely only be entitled to a small amount of UC each month. During the summer holidays your UC will then increase to the full entitlement.

JumpingJames

poppy123456 said:

I don't think a benefits calculator will help here because it doesn't acknowledge the student maintenance loan.

For UC they base it over the total amount of months starting from the start of your course to when it finishes. Summer holidays are not included. I found a very good guide here which explains it really well. https://www.uwe.ac.uk/courses/funding/full-time-undergraduate-funding/student-income-and-universal-credit

You will likely only be entitled to a small amount of UC each month. During the summer holidays your UC will then increase to the full entitlement.

Yeah I found this too, in their example it says the person has £684.77 student income to be taken into account in the calculation of the monthly Universal Credits award. If this is the case how much UC will they get after £684.77 is taken into account?

poppy123456

It will depend on how much their maximum UC entitlement is and everyone's circumstances are different. If their UC is less than the £684.77/month then there will be no entitlement to UC.

For you it will depend on how many months your course is based on. If your UC doesn't include help with any rent then you'll be entitled to a small amount of UC each month. (assuming the calculation in that link is correct)

You can contact the Disabled student helpline who will be able to advise you further on this. Students and UC are extremely complicated. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/disabled-students-helpline

The Disabled Students Helpline provides advice to Disabled students, apprentices and trainees in England.

Disabled Students Helpline - 0330 995 0414

Email: students@disabilityrightsuk.org

poppy123456

If your course is based on 9 assessment periods and your maximum UC entitlement is £758.80/month. Then the calculation will be as follows.

£11,374 - £4221 = £7,153/9 = £794.77 - £110/month disregard = £684.77/month deduction in UC.

Total amount of UC payable is £74/month.

If the course is based on less assessment periods then your UC will be more each month.

JumpingJames

poppy123456 said:

If your course is based on 9 assessment periods and your maximum UC entitlement is £758.80/month. Then the calculation will be as follows.

£11,374 - £4221 = £7,153/9 = £794.77 - £110/month disregard = £684.77/month deduction in UC.

Total amount of UC payable is £74/month.

If the course is based on less assessment periods then your UC will be more each month.

Thank you.

itsROARY

I would definitely apply for disabled student allowance, which is done through the university (I believe so). during my time at university I pushed for a dyslexia diagnosis and I was able to do that with the student support at my university (was 2017 at Winchester). From that I got extra support, where I had a councillor, got some equipment and I had a mentor. However my mental state was horrendous and I ended up dropping out, but I’m thinking of applying to university again and I’ve been doing some research on benefits and such. 

I know being a student means you’re no longer eligible for universal credit but I don’t know how it works with the limited capability to work parts. I do know that your PIP (if you have it) will continue regardless if you’re working or a student because it’s an award and not a benefit. 

It might also be worth looking at what your university can do to help and the DSA is worth wile applying for. 

poppy123456

itsROARY said:

I know being a student means you’re no longer eligible for universal credit

That's not quite correct. If you're a full time student, providing you have a PIP/DLA/ADP award and you've already been found to have at least LCW then you can continue to claim UC. However, as i advised previously in the thread, if there's a student maintenance loan available to you then it will affect your UC even if you decide not to take that loan.

A DSA will be ignored for UC purposes.