Courses starting in the autumn term lasting more than a year
The student loan is divided over the number of weeks starting from the first day of the first benefit week in September until the last day of the last benefit week in June.1IS Reg 66A(2)(c) IS Regs
JSA Reg 136(2)(c) JSA Regs
ESA Reg 137(3)(e) ESA Regs
HB Reg 64(2)(d) HB Regs
In 2022/23 this is 42 weeks for benefit weeks that begin on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Sunday, and 43 weeks for benefit weeks that begin on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. If your course starts in August, you count the weeks starting from the first day of the first benefit week on or after the start of your course, until the last day of the last benefit week in June. This is the period over which your loan is taken into account as income in the benefit assessment, unless you do not count as a student at all. For example, at the start of your first year, you do not count as being a student until you actually start attending or undertaking the course – ie, in the first year, the loan is still divided over 42/43 weeks, but the weekly amount arrived at is ignored as income until you start your course.
In the final year of study, the loan is divided over the number of benefit weeks starting from the first day of the first benefit week in September (or the start of the last day of the final term if it starts in August) until the end of the benefit week on or before the last day of the final academic term.2CIS/3734/2004
For HB, the start of the benefit week is a Monday. For IS, JSA and ESA, it depends on your national insurance number.
Example: first year higher education student in England
Jean is in her first year at university. She has one child aged four and is claiming HB and IS as a lone parent. She gets a loan of £9,250 for her fees, which is disregarded, and a student loan for living costs of £9,709 for studying in London, which is not. She also gets a special support element of £4,106, a parents’ learning allowance of £1,863 and a childcare grant of £100 a week, all of which are disregarded for IS and HB.
Her first term begins on Monday 26 September 2022. Her IS benefit week starts on a Monday. Her student loan is divided over the weeks from Monday 5 September 2022 until Sunday 25 June 2023 (42 weeks). However, as she is a first-year student, her loan is not taken into account until she starts her course on Monday 26 September. So, from Monday 5 September 2022 until Sunday 25 September 2022, her student loan income is not taken into account for benefit purposes. From Monday 26 September 2022 to Sunday 25 June 2023, her weekly student income is £204.67 for benefit purposes.
The weekly loan income taken into account is:
Loan £9,709
Less disregards for books and equipment (£390) and travel (£303) = 9,016
Divided by 42 weeks = £214.67
Less £10 weekly loan disregard = £204.67
£204.67 is taken into account as weekly income from her loan between 26 September 2022 and 25 June 2023. She also receives £66.85 a week child tax credit (CTC), which brings her weekly income for HB purposes to £271.52.
Her IS applicable amount is £77 and her HB applicable amount is £147.80 a week. From Monday 26 September 2022 to Sunday 25 June 2023, she is not entitled to IS because her income is higher than the IS applicable amount; her HB is reduced by £80.42 a week – 65 per cent of the excess (see here). Jean cannot make a new claim for IS in June, but would be eligible for universal credit (UC). She should speak to an adviser who can help her determine if she should claim UC or remain on HB/CTC, as claiming UC would bring HB and CTC to an end. Example: final year higher education student in Northern Ireland
Graham is in his final year. He is claiming ESA as a disabled student studying at Queen’s University, Belfast. He gets a student loan of £4,480.
His first term started on Monday 5 September 2022 and his final term ends on Friday 9 June 2023. His student loan is divided over the weeks from Monday 5 September 2022 until Sunday 4 June 2023 (39 weeks).
The weekly loan income taken into account is:
Loan £4,480
Less disregards for books and equipment (£390) and travel (£303) = 3,787
Divided by 39 weeks = £97.10
Less £10 weekly loan disregard = £87.10
£87.10 is taken into account as weekly income from his loan between 5 September 2022 and 4 June 2023.
Example: master’s student in England
Holly is a lone parent with a child aged two, and claiming HB. She is starting an MA course in Huddersfield. She gets a postgraduate student loan of £11,836, the maximum available. Only 30 per cent is taken into account (£3,550.80).
As the course only lasts one year, her loan is only taken into account from when she starts the course until the end of her final term. Her first term starts on Monday 3 October 2022 and her final term ends on Friday 9 June 2023. Her student loan is divided over the weeks from Monday 5 September 2022 until Sunday 4 June 2023 (39 weeks) but is only taken into account from Monday 3 October.
The weekly loan income taken into account is:
Loan £3,550.80
Less disregards for books and equipment (£390) and travel (£303) = 2,857.80
Divided by 39 weeks = £73.28
Less £10 weekly loan disregard = £63.28
£63.28 is taken into account as weekly income from her loan between 3 October 2022 and 4 June 2023.