Benefits

Not sure what benefits you're entitled to as a student? Your Students' Union Advice Team can help. We offer a free and confidential service to help you understand your rights and entitlements.

Even whilst as a student, whilst working, whilst having savings, or whilst owning a home, you may be eligible for benefits if you have access to public funds. Find a definition of who is a full-time student for benefit purposes. Benefit entitlement will differ for part-time students.

You can find GOV.UK’s website on Benefits – including eligibility and appeals.

You can also use GOV.UK’s Benefits Calculator to find out what benefits you could get and how much they could be. You may wish to use an alternative Benefits Calculator such as the Turn2us benefits calculator or entitledto.

Universal Credit

If you are single and have dependent children, you may be eligible for some Universal Credit even whilst you study. You can find out whether you are eligible, what you could get, and how to make an application. Find specific GOV.UK guidance on claiming Universal Credit if you’re a student.

If you are already receiving Universal Credit prior to enrolling upon your course at University, you must immediately report a change of circumstances to ensure that you do not receive an overpayment which could significantly financially impact you. This is because Universal Credit counts student loans for maintenance and any grants within your household income so this may impact the amount of Universal Credit that you are eligible for.

Council Tax Support

Many people are eligible for Council Tax discounts, including full-time students. Most full-time students do not have to pay council tax if everyone in the property is a student. If you live with one other person who is not a student, you may be eligible for a council tax discount. Find discounts with your local council and how to apply for them here.

Pension Credit

If you are a full-time student over 66 (having reached this age before 6 April 2016) and you have a low income, you may be eligible for Pension Credit. This is a means-tested benefit and has two parts, guarantee pension credit and savings pension credit. You may be able to get one or both parts depending on your financial circumstances.

Find out eligibility criteria, including any differences in eligibility if you have a partner, what you could get, and how to make a claim. You can also find out how to report a change of circumstances which you must do immediately to ensure that you do not receive an overpayment.

Personal Independent Payment (PIP)

This can help with extra costs if you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability or if you experienced difficulty doing everyday tasks and getting around because of your condition. There are two parts to PIP – a daily living allowance and a mobility allowance, you may be eligible for one or both parts. Find out more about how PIP works here.

You can also find the eligibility criteria for PIP, how much you could get, and how to make a claim. You can also find out how to report a change of circumstances which you must do immediately to ensure that you do not receive an overpayment.

Housing Benefit

Housing benefit has generally been replaced by a housing aspect of Universal Credit. You can make a new claim for housing benefit however if you have reached state pension age or if you are in supported, sheltered or temporary housing. Turn2Us have a breakdown on their webpage of which full-time students are eligible for Housing Benefit.

You can find out eligibility criteria, what you could get, what evidence and information you may need to support your application, and how to make a claim. You can also find out how to report a change of circumstances which you must do immediately to ensure that you do not receive an overpayment.

You may also be eligible for a discretionary housing payment if your Housing Benefit does not cover all of your rent.

New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) – If you are a full-time student, you are only eligible for this if:

You are a lone parent
You are attending a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) related course or scheme for a limited period.

You can find out the eligibility criteria for JSA, how to make an application, what you can expect from an interview and your claim, as well as how to report a change of circumstances which you should do as soon as possible to avoid an overpayment.

Students with Children, Caring Responsibilities, or Dependent Adults

If you have anyone who depends on you, you may be eligible for additional financial support. Find out about this on our Students with Dependents webpage.

You can also find a list of other benefits available to full-time students here.

How can Your Advice Service help you?

As a service, we do not specialise in benefits. We can help by carrying out a basic assessment with you of what benefits you may be eligible for and in briefly outlining the application process, including providing advice on what documentation you may need and how to access this.

For support, you can contact us by completing an Enquiry Form .

For specialised benefit support however, we would recommend that you contact your local branch of Citizens Advice. You can also find information on Benefits on Citizens Advices’ webpages which may be able to answer some of your questions.