Benefits and tax credits
Social Security Benefits provide assistance to people who are unemployed and looking for work and those on a low income who are bringing up children, retired, care for someone, are ill or have a disability. You can find out more about benefits and financial support on the direct.gov.uk website.
Although most full time students are not entitled to Social Security Benefits, some students, e.g. lone parents and some disabled students may be eligible.
Part time students usually remain eligible for certain benefits, depending on individual circumstances.
Benefits such as income support and housing benefit are means tested and will take into account your student loan.
You should be aware that eligibility for any benefit is dependent on individual circumstances and is awarded at the discretion of the benefit office in question. You can find contact details to speak to someone about benefits at www.direct.gov.uk and on this list of useful contacts.
Full time students who may be able to claim benefits or retain the right to them are:
- Single parents
- Couples who are both full time students and responsible for a child
- Disabled students who satisfy certain conditions
- Students waiting to return to their course after taking approved time out due to illness or caring responsibilities which has now come to an end
- A person from abroad with Limited Leave to Remain in the UK without recourse to public funds and your funds from abroad are temporarily disrupted but are likely to resume
- Someone fostering a child under 16 through a local authority or voluntary organisation who is not a member of a couple
- A refugee who is learning English in order to obtain employment. You must be on a course of more than 15 hours a week and at the time the course started, you must have been in Great Britain for a year or less. You may be able to get Income Support for a maximum of nine months.
