Students and benefits eBulletin - March 2025

Students claiming benefits when a course ends, universal credit managed migration update and student funding update

Hello and welcome to the March 2025 edition of CPAG in Scotland's students and benefits eBulletin, keeping you up-to-date with changes to benefits which are relevant to students. 

In this issue: 

Claiming benefits when a course ends

When you finish a full-time course, you no longer count as a student for benefit purposes, and can therefore claim benefits in the same way as anyone else. The date you can claim from is usually the day after the last day of the final academic year of your course.

You can claim universal credit (UC) online. An ‘assessment period’ of one month follows the date of claim, and payment is usually made a week after the assessment period ends. This means it is usually at least five weeks from claiming UC to being paid. If you are in hardship while waiting for your first UC payment, you can ask for a short-term advance. However, note that this is repayable from your UC award (over 24 months). Alternatively, you could try claiming a Scottish welfare fund crisis grant from your local authority.

Student income is not counted as income in the ‘assessment period’ in which your course ends. This means students eligible for UC (eg, student parents), whose UC stopped during term time because their income was too high, can reclaim UC early - in the last month of their course, when student income is ignored.

Note: student parents with a child/ren under 16, who are making a new claim for UC at the end of a course, should also apply for Scottish child payment from Social Security Scotland. See Scottish child payment for more information and How to apply.

Examples

Jackie’s course ends on 6 June 2025. She is a parent with a six-year-old child, so is eligible for UC while studying, but did not get UC during the course because her student income was too high. She claims UC on Monday 12 May. Her first assessment period runs from 12 May to 11 June. Her student loan is not taken into account as income in this assessment period, as this is the assessment period in which her course ends. Her first payment is made on 18 June, and she receives her maximum UC amount on this date as no student income is counted. She also applies for Scottish child payment.

Kim’s course ends on 6 June 2025. She is single, with no children, and is 25. She is not eligible for UC while studying. She is no longer a student for UC after the last day of the course. She claims UC on Monday 9 June. Her first assessment period runs from 9 June to 8 July. Her first payment is made on 15 July, and she receives her maximum UC amount on this date (assuming she has no other income).

Now that you are no longer a full-time student you may be liable for council tax, but if you have a low income you should claim council tax reduction from the local authority to reduce your bill.

Note: if you live in ‘specified’ supported or temporary (eg, homeless) accommodation you must claim housing benefit (HB) for help with rent. You may need to claim this together with UC for your living costs (unless you already get income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) for your living costs).

Advisers can phone CPAG in Scotland's advice line for advisers and frontline staff on 0141 552 0552 to check what benefits a student can claim, or if you have any other questions about social security benefits. The advice line is available Monday to Thursday, 10am – 4pm and Fridays 10am - 12 noon. You can also email your enquiries to [email protected]

Universal credit managed migration update

Managed migration to UC is nearing its final phase. Most people have already moved from legacy benefits to UC. From April 2025, tax credits will end for everyone. Those on income-related ESA only, or with HB, are last to be migrated. Migration of this final group has started and is expected to be complete by April 2026.

For more on managed migration to UC for students see previous students and benefits eBulletins

Universal credit overpayments

Every year we hear of students who incur UC overpayments. Sometimes this is because the students had forgotten to tell the DWP they had started studying - or had not realised they had to do so.

Other times students have told the DWP, but DWP haven't taken any action:

  • they might have failed to end a student’s UC award where the student is not eligible while studying, or
  • they might have failed to take into account student income that has been reported which should have been taken into account (or have taken it into account wrongly).

Sometimes months later students are told that they have been overpaid UC that they received in error.

Unfortunately, all UC overpayments are potentially recoverable, even if it was not the student's fault. So, what can students do to protect themselves from having to repay large overpayments that are not their fault?

The main thing the student should do is to check (more than once) with DWP that:

  1. they are aware that the person is now a student, and have taken this fact into account when considering whether or not they should still be able to get UC
  2. they have taken into account, correctly, any student income

Regarding the first point, check which students are eligible for UC. CPAG’s Universal credit and students factsheet explains this, as well as chapter 10 of CPAG’s Benefits for students in Scotland handbook (free online).

Regarding whether student income is taken into account, and how it is taken into account, see chapter 15 of CPAG’s Benefits for students in Scotland handbook. CPAG also have a free e-learning course on UC and Scottish student income.

If the decision that the student has been overpaid UC is correct, then it can't be challenged – as it is not wrong.

Instead, the student can ask for the overpayment not to be recovered as it was not their fault, and, importantly, that they did everything they could to make sure their award was correct. This will depend on the facts of the case.

To do this, request a waiver by writing to DWP debt management (to the address on letters the student has about the overpayment). The student should set out any hardship that recovery will cause (with full details of income and expenditure), any concerns about the effect having to repay the money might have on their health and that of their family, and that the overpayment was caused by official error.

If the student has checked (at least once, preferably more than once) with DWP whether their entitlement was correct, they can argue that they had a ‘legitimate expectation’ to assume that it was correct. There was a successful case on this basis where a client had repeatedly asked UC to check their award was correct following a change of circumstances – it found that the client had a legitimate expectation to rely on this. Here's information about this case, with advice for advisers on how to base an argument on it.

Student funding update

From the academic year 2025/26, the higher education dependants’ grant from SAAS is abolished. This grant was paid for an adult that you cared for. Student carers may be eligible to apply for carer support payment instead, which (unlike carer’s allowance, which it replaces) has no restrictions for full-time higher education students. See carer support payment for more information.

Previously announced plans to restrict access to maintenance loans for full-time students who are not eligible to get their tuition fees paid has been paused for now. Scottish Government plan to consult before making any changes in this area.