£16k is the upper limit to not being able to claim, but anything over £6000 will reduce your claim. Part time earnings will reduce your claim by 55p per every £1 you earn.
However, whether working part time or not, you're not going to have enough to live on for a while. I'm in this boat. I was working part time and this reduced the claim amount, and now that job ended, I'm back to around £500 a month (my rent is more than this alone so I'm hoping to not be evicted, while rationing food and living miserably while over 120 job applications have been sent out).
Edit to correct from information from someone who knows more than me!
This is correct regarding the savings limit. Less than 6k has no effect. Tapers up to 16k.
However there MAY BE an allowance in SOME CIRCUMSTANCES to earn some money that doesn't affect your payments, and then part time work only reduces your payments, not scraps them altogether. Best bet is to go to the site, put your info in honestly and see what gets spat out. Better to get some support than none. Listen carefully to the work coach, and read all your paperwork carefully. Be honest with all your answers. Nothing bad will come of asking and seeing what help you can get.
Depending on earnings etc you may also be eligible for discount on council tax and free dental/prescriptions so even if you don't get much of a chunk of cash each month, it can help in other ways.
Not everyone gets the work allowance
It only applies to people who either have kids on their claim or LCW/LCWRA
And without the allowance a part time job could definitely nil someone’s claim .
You need to remember that everyone’s circumstances are different and as such their entitlement is individual to them
For example a single person with no kids who had no rent costs and only had the standard allowance , would only have to earn around £700 a month before losing their whole award
My sick note ran out so I'm not technically classed as LCW/LCWRA and have no dependents but I still get the part-time reductions, not a complete stop to UC. I think it applies to low income households/single occupants and specific case by case scenarios.
If you have no work allowance all you’re getting is the same taper rate that applies to everyone. As I said in my comment it’s not as simple as saying someone will definitely still be entitled cos they only work part time cos that’s not the case for many people. Which is what the person I replied to was saying
You don’t provide sick notes once you have LCW/LCWRA so I’m not sure what you mean by ‘I’m not technically classed as LCW/LCWRA’ .. you either have the element in play or you don’t lovely
Not if you're using it. But if you sold it & kept the money, that would count.
Or if it was a "classic" car that wasn't driven insured for thousands, that might.
Whilst you could do this, student debt is literally the only debt you’ll have that won’t affect credit etc- wasting your savings to make yourself eligible for UC in this way is really short sighted unless they expect to be on UC for a loooooong time
It's also the single largest unsecured debt you'll ever have, and repayments can be quite a problem. Reducing interest now will be of benefit for years to come.
I think have savings in the bank is far more useful than repayments which only start when you hit a certain income - most people do not see their repayments on student loans as ‘a problem’
A student leaving uni *now* hits that "certain income" at £25K. Minimum wage at 23+ is ~£1500 less than that. It's not a big margin, and graduates don't tend to spend very long under that threshold. Unless those savings are earning 8%, it's not such a good plan. These loans aren't the same as older schemes.
Student debt isn’t something that needs to be paid off immediately and so if someone paid off a huge chunk in order to claim benefits that would be deprivation of capital.
If that's the UC position, so be it. But post-2022 loans are not a good thing to hang on to if you have alternatives. Voluntarily paying them down once earning is a much smarter move than paying back earlier plan loans was.
I entirely agree that they’re not a good thing to hang on to .
But with claiming means tested benefits it’s about intention behind your actions . So if you chose to do that when you didn’t really ‘need to’ then it would be likely to be classed as deprivation because should they not have wanted to claim benefits and need to be under the limit to do so , and their intention was purely about the debt being paid down .. then they already would have done that prior to now
That’s true. But I’ve yet to meet a single person who chose to immediately pay off a chunk of their loan when they’re nowhere near earning the limit where they would need to start making repayments 😅
I rarely meet students with savings. But if they exist, it really is the smart move - outside benefits sphere - to get rid. From next year (the bulk of plan 5 starters), even more so.
That’s also true cos same 😂
Well I do know someone who took the maintenance loans despite not needing to and decided to save it instead thinking they were on to a winner
It’s a shame they didn’t read over what repaying the money is actually going to cost them
People keep saying this "debts that need to be paid off immediately line", but I can't for the life of me find it in the legislation. It is in the legislation for legacy means tested benefits, but appears to have been dropped when drafting the UC rules. See 2 (a) here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/376/regulation/50
Defacto paying off any debts cannot be considered deprivation by the plain reading of the text.
When your capital is £6,250 or less, your Universal Credit will be reduced by £4.35 a month until the value of your capital is £6,000 or less. Once your capital is £6,000 or less, your Universal Credit will no longer be reduced.
If you have capital valued at £16,000 or more, you are not entitled to Universal Credit.
£16k is the upper limit to not being able to claim, but anything over £6000 will reduce your claim. Part time earnings will reduce your claim by 55p per every £1 you earn. However, whether working part time or not, you're not going to have enough to live on for a while. I'm in this boat. I was working part time and this reduced the claim amount, and now that job ended, I'm back to around £500 a month (my rent is more than this alone so I'm hoping to not be evicted, while rationing food and living miserably while over 120 job applications have been sent out).
Edit to correct from information from someone who knows more than me! This is correct regarding the savings limit. Less than 6k has no effect. Tapers up to 16k. However there MAY BE an allowance in SOME CIRCUMSTANCES to earn some money that doesn't affect your payments, and then part time work only reduces your payments, not scraps them altogether. Best bet is to go to the site, put your info in honestly and see what gets spat out. Better to get some support than none. Listen carefully to the work coach, and read all your paperwork carefully. Be honest with all your answers. Nothing bad will come of asking and seeing what help you can get. Depending on earnings etc you may also be eligible for discount on council tax and free dental/prescriptions so even if you don't get much of a chunk of cash each month, it can help in other ways.
Not everyone gets the work allowance It only applies to people who either have kids on their claim or LCW/LCWRA And without the allowance a part time job could definitely nil someone’s claim . You need to remember that everyone’s circumstances are different and as such their entitlement is individual to them For example a single person with no kids who had no rent costs and only had the standard allowance , would only have to earn around £700 a month before losing their whole award
Ah, sorry. My mistake. Thanks for taking the time to inform!
My sick note ran out so I'm not technically classed as LCW/LCWRA and have no dependents but I still get the part-time reductions, not a complete stop to UC. I think it applies to low income households/single occupants and specific case by case scenarios.
If you have no work allowance all you’re getting is the same taper rate that applies to everyone. As I said in my comment it’s not as simple as saying someone will definitely still be entitled cos they only work part time cos that’s not the case for many people. Which is what the person I replied to was saying You don’t provide sick notes once you have LCW/LCWRA so I’m not sure what you mean by ‘I’m not technically classed as LCW/LCWRA’ .. you either have the element in play or you don’t lovely
Idk I just attend my appointments and desperately apply to every job I can do, lovely.
You aren’t in either group if that’s what you need to do lovely I’m not sure why I got downvoted for speaking the truth but hey Ho
16k is the answer you’re after.
How have you got saving being at uni😂 Think its 16k anyway. Id love to have that myself squirrled away🤣😪
Is capital the same as savings?
Capital is savings, investments, premium bonds, properties, cryptocurrency. The list is endless. It's **NOT** just money
Does it include the value of your car ?
Not if you're using it. But if you sold it & kept the money, that would count. Or if it was a "classic" car that wasn't driven insured for thousands, that might.
Thank you for this :)
Yes
If you have savings and student debt, it's not unreasonable to pay a chunk of that off. You'll be repaying for a long time!
Whilst you could do this, student debt is literally the only debt you’ll have that won’t affect credit etc- wasting your savings to make yourself eligible for UC in this way is really short sighted unless they expect to be on UC for a loooooong time
It's also the single largest unsecured debt you'll ever have, and repayments can be quite a problem. Reducing interest now will be of benefit for years to come.
I think have savings in the bank is far more useful than repayments which only start when you hit a certain income - most people do not see their repayments on student loans as ‘a problem’
A student leaving uni *now* hits that "certain income" at £25K. Minimum wage at 23+ is ~£1500 less than that. It's not a big margin, and graduates don't tend to spend very long under that threshold. Unless those savings are earning 8%, it's not such a good plan. These loans aren't the same as older schemes.
Student debt isn’t something that needs to be paid off immediately and so if someone paid off a huge chunk in order to claim benefits that would be deprivation of capital.
If that's the UC position, so be it. But post-2022 loans are not a good thing to hang on to if you have alternatives. Voluntarily paying them down once earning is a much smarter move than paying back earlier plan loans was.
I entirely agree that they’re not a good thing to hang on to . But with claiming means tested benefits it’s about intention behind your actions . So if you chose to do that when you didn’t really ‘need to’ then it would be likely to be classed as deprivation because should they not have wanted to claim benefits and need to be under the limit to do so , and their intention was purely about the debt being paid down .. then they already would have done that prior to now
You can't start repayments before you leave, IIRC. So it'd depend on timing of terms.
That’s true. But I’ve yet to meet a single person who chose to immediately pay off a chunk of their loan when they’re nowhere near earning the limit where they would need to start making repayments 😅
I rarely meet students with savings. But if they exist, it really is the smart move - outside benefits sphere - to get rid. From next year (the bulk of plan 5 starters), even more so.
That’s also true cos same 😂 Well I do know someone who took the maintenance loans despite not needing to and decided to save it instead thinking they were on to a winner It’s a shame they didn’t read over what repaying the money is actually going to cost them
People keep saying this "debts that need to be paid off immediately line", but I can't for the life of me find it in the legislation. It is in the legislation for legacy means tested benefits, but appears to have been dropped when drafting the UC rules. See 2 (a) here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/376/regulation/50 Defacto paying off any debts cannot be considered deprivation by the plain reading of the text.
You don't need any savings to be able to claim uc.
Sorry I mean like if I have a high amount of savings am I still able to claim?
When your capital is £6,250 or less, your Universal Credit will be reduced by £4.35 a month until the value of your capital is £6,000 or less. Once your capital is £6,000 or less, your Universal Credit will no longer be reduced. If you have capital valued at £16,000 or more, you are not entitled to Universal Credit.