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This information is very general, and aims to highlight which students may be eligible for benefits. Anyone on benefits considering studying should seek accurate, full advice about entitlement, for example from their local citizens advice bureau or other advice agency.

What benefits are there?

The main benefit for people of working age is:

  • Universal credit. It provides support for living costs, rent, children, childcare costs if you are working, and extra needs if you are disabled or a carer

You cannot usually make a new claim for the ‘old’ benefits UC is replacing, but if you are already on these benefits you can stay on them.

They include several benefits for basic living costs – you can claim one of these for yourself (or with a partner if you live with a partner):

  • income support (mainly for lone parents and carers),
  • income-related employment and support allowance (for people with a disability), or
  • income-based jobseeker’s allowance (for people looking for work)

A benefit to help pay for rent

  • housing benefit

Extra money for the costs of children

  • child tax credit

And to top up low-paid work

  • working tax credit

These six benefits and tax credits in the bullet points above are gradually being replaced by universal credit. As mentioned above, you usually cannot make new claims for any of these benefits.

Other benefits for specific purposes can be paid alongside UC or the ‘old’ benefits – eg, child benefit, contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) for ill or disabled people, carer’s allowance (this will gradually be replaced by carer support payment in 2024/25) for people caring for disabled people, and adult disability payment for disability costs.

What benefits can students get?

Special rules restrict full-time students from claiming most benefits. Instead, students are expected to fund themselves through student funding - eg, loans and grants, rather than benefits. You need to start by working out who is a full-time and who is a part-time student (sometimes termed ‘receiving education’). See CPAG’s Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook for more information.

Part-time students can usually continue to get their benefits as before, although this may include having to continue looking for and being available for work if you are claiming universal credit or jobseeker’s allowance.

Full-time students usually cannot get benefits for living cost support at all, but there are exceptions. These exceptions mainly apply to parents, disabled students, and young people with no parental support.

Some benefits are not affected by studying. The main ones unaffected are child and working tax credits, child benefit, and disability benefits such as adult disability payment.

Full-time students cannot get carer’s allowance. Most full-time students, however, will be eligible for the new carer support payment. For more information see CPAG in Scotland’s factsheet Students and carer support payment 

Main groups of full-time students who can claim benefits

The following groups are usually eligible, but see the next section for how student funding might affect the amount of benefit paid.

Note: most new claims are for universal credit. Where ‘old’ benefits (income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), housing benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit) are listed below, these are mainly for existing awards. New claims cannot usually be made for these benefits. There's an exception for people in certain types of supported or homeless accommodation, who can still make new claims for housing benefit.

Students who are eligible for universal credit

Parent students, some disabled students, students with a non-student partner and young people in further education who have no parental support in certain circumstances (eg, because they are estranged) may be able to get universal credit. For more information see CPAG in Scotland’s factsheet Universal credit and students  

Benefits for lone parent students

Lone parent students can continue to get income support, as long as they have a child under five, and can continue to get housing benefit, child tax credit, and child benefit. If a lone parent student is not already on income support, housing benefit and / or child tax credit, they should get advice about claiming universal credit.

Benefits for disabled students

Disabled students can get (or continue to get) disability benefits such as adult disability payment, personal independence payment or disability living allowance. They can also continue to get housing benefit and ESA, although to continue to get income-related ESA they must also get a disability benefit. If a disabled student is not already on income-related ESA and / or housing benefit, they should get advice about claiming universal credit.

For more information see CPAG in Scotland’s factsheet Benefits for disabled students 

Benefits for student couples

Student couples (ie, where both are full-time students) who have a child can continue to get housing benefit, child tax credit, and child benefit. If a student couple is not already on housing benefit and / or child tax credit, they should get advice about claiming universal credit.

Students who can claim housing benefit

Lone parent students, some disabled students, students with a non-student partner and young people in further education may be able to make a new claim for housing benefit. Other full-time students cannot get housing benefit, although if a student has a non-student partner, the partner can claim. In either case a new claim for housing benefit is only possible if someone lives in certain types of temporary or supported accommodation – eg, homeless accommodation. 

Effect of student funding on benefits

Universal credit, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related ESA and housing benefit are affected by most student funding that someone has. Student loans for maintenance, grants and bursaries count as income. Education maintenance allowance (EMA) does not count as income. Tax credits are not usually affected by student funding.

Examples

Leona is a lone parent with a two-year-old child in further education. She gets universal credit and child benefit. She gets a small bursary, and her universal credit is reduced by a small amount each month.
Leona moves onto a course of higher education and gets a student loan. Her monthly amount of universal credit reduces substantially during the academic year.

Jeff is 17 and is estranged from his parents and living in his own council flat. He gets universal credit. He is on a full-time course of further education and gets an EMA. The EMA doesn't affect his universal credit.
 

Further information