Claiming benefits

If you’re eligible to claim means-tested benefits you can’t substitute these for your student support – student loans, maintenance grants and so on will be taken into account as income for welfare benefits whether you take them or not.

If you can claim welfare benefits you should always put in a new claim to  Jobcentre Plus (there is a national number for Jobcentre calls - 0800 055 66 88) or your Housing Benefit Office or the Social Security Agency if you live in Northern Ireland) at the beginning of September and the end of June (claim in advance in mid June) to make sure that you get everything to which you are entitled.  To find out how to apply for a rate rebate/rate relief  in Northern Ireland check the Land and Property Services website or the Northern Ireland Housing Executive site.

Remember that you must always tell the Government about any change in your circumstances if you are receiving benefits. This is particularly important when you first become a student if you have been receiving means-tested welfare benefits as you could end up being overpaid benefit and.

How is student income calculated for means-tested benefits?

If you’re a student who can claim means-tested welfare benefits some, but not all, of your student income, with certain disregards, is taken into account for either 42/43 weeks per year from the beginning of September until the end of June. This means that you may find that your student income is too high for you to receive any benefits except for about ten weeks in the summer. *

But, as a medical student with longer terms, you may be able to receive full benefits even though you are still attending your course in the summer.

If you have a non-student partner who can claim welfare benefits on behalf of you both your student income will be taken into account in the same way.

* If you are receiving an NHS Bursary your bursary income is treated in a slightly different way. If you have queries about this contact one of the organisations listed under the Find out more about Benefits and Tax Credits or Getting Advice Sections of the website.

What if my circumstances change while I am studying?

If, while you’re studying, you have to take time out from your studies because you are ill, become pregnant or have to care for someone else, for example, contact one of the organisations listed under the Find out more about Benefits and Tax Credits or Getting Advice Sections of the website as soon as possible.  The staff  in the organisations listed there should be able to tell you what financial help you may be entitled to through the student funding and welfare benefits system and when to claim so that you do not miss out on any benefits.

You should do this before you actually withdraw from the University or suspend your studies if at all possible.

If you decide to take a year out for no particular  reason you’ll be treated as if you were still a full-time student for welfare benefits as you won’t have abandoned or been dismissed from your course. You’ll have to support yourself through working if your family can’t help you.