postgraduate loan income and UC..while on LCWRA

filifou
filifou Community Member Posts: 32 Connected
in Universal Credit (UC)

Hi everyone,

I’m on Universal Credit with LCWRA (no work-related requirements) and I receive PIP. I’m currently doing a part-time postgraduate master’s degree and I receive a postgraduate master’s loan.

DWP are counting 30% of my maximum postgraduate loan as maintenance income in my UC award, and this has been upheld after Mandatory Reconsideration.

I have been looking at Regulation 89 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013, which states (in relation to claimants subject to no work-related requirements):

a claimant is not to be treated as having student income where that income is a postgraduate master’s degree loan and the course is not a full-time course.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/743/regulation/6/made

I just wanted to ask:

  • How is Regulation 89 being applied in practice for people on LCWRA?
  • How is “not a full-time course” interpreted for postgraduate study in UC?
  • Does Regulation 89 mean the postgraduate master’s loan should not be treated as student income in these circumstances?

Any insight or experiences would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 4,676 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists

    Hi @filifou

    Universal credit and studying/student loans can be really complex so it would be better to contact the Disabled Students Helpline as they are in specifically trained in this area and can give your specific advice and information around this😊

  • Emilee
    Emilee Community Member Posts: 552 Pioneering

    @filifou

    Some universities run “part-time” master’s courses that are academically equivalent to full-time study spread over a longer period.

    The first thing to determine is that your course is actually considered part time by the university.

    The main things DWP typically look at are:

    • how the university classifies the course
    • how the student finance body classifies it
    • and whether it is designated as full-time or part-time in the course documentation

    Page 12 here may help too: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68e788f9187483de54d7668f/adm-ch-h6.pdf

Categories