Special Support element treatment for Universal Credit

Short answer

Yes. If your student support includes a Special Support element, whether it is paid as a Special Support Grant or as part of a Special Support Loan, that element should be disregarded when your Universal Credit award is calculated. It is not treated as student income and should not reduce your monthly Universal Credit.

Why the Special Support element is ignored

Universal Credit only takes account of student income that is intended to meet ordinary living and accommodation costs, broadly the maintenance element of a student loan or grant. Amounts provided to meet the specific costs of being a student, rather than day to day living costs, are excluded.

The Special Support element exists precisely to help with the extra costs of studying, such as books, equipment, travel and, in some cases, childcare. Because it is directed at costs of study rather than general maintenance, it falls outside the definition of student income that counts against benefits. Official DWP guidance confirms that a Special Support Loan or Grant will not be taken off your Universal Credit.

This treatment comes from the way student income is defined in the Universal Credit Regulations 2013. When student income is worked out, grants and loans are apportioned across the relevant assessment periods, but sums provided for tuition and for the specific costs of study are excluded from the figure that is taken into account. Standard fixed disregards are then also applied to what remains.

An important distinction on the maintenance loan

Do not confuse the Special Support element with your maintenance loan. Where you qualify for Special Support, your maintenance loan is usually reduced by roughly the amount of the Special Support you receive, but the remaining maintenance loan is still counted as income for Universal Credit. In other words, the benefit of Special Support is that a slice of your support is protected from the benefit calculation, while the ordinary maintenance loan continues to be treated as income.

A further point that often causes problems is that the maximum student loan you could take is normally counted, whether or not you actually apply for it or draw it down. So choosing not to take part of the maintenance loan will not usually increase your Universal Credit. The Special Support element, by contrast, is genuinely ignored.

What to do if it has been counted incorrectly

1. Check your Universal Credit statement in your online journal for the assessment period in question. Look at how your student income has been broken down and whether the Special Support amount has been deducted from the income figure or wrongly included.

2. Compare this against your student finance award notice, which should identify the Special Support Grant or the Special Support element of your loan separately from the ordinary maintenance loan.

3. If the Special Support element appears to have been counted as income, raise it through your Universal Credit journal, stating clearly the amount that is Special Support and asking for the calculation to be corrected. Attach or reference your student finance notification.

4. If the response is unsatisfactory, you can ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration of the decision on how your student income was calculated. This must normally be requested within one month of the decision, though late requests can sometimes be accepted for good reason.

5. If the Mandatory Reconsideration does not resolve it, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support).

Information that would sharpen this answer

The precise outcome can depend on the exact make up of your award, so it would help to know whether your Special Support is paid as a grant or built into your loan, the amount of your ordinary maintenance loan, and whether you have any dependants or childcare costs. If you can quote how your Universal Credit statement has broken down the student income figure, it is usually possible to identify quickly whether the Special Support element has been correctly excluded.

Practical point

If you have not yet applied for Special Support but might qualify, for example because you receive or would qualify for certain means tested benefits or you are a lone parent or have a disability, it is worth checking with Student Finance, because securing the Special Support element protects part of your funding from the Universal Credit calculation and can leave you better off overall.