University payments to live off (partners)

You will get assessed on your household income, which will be that of you and your wife. You are automatically independent as you are married.

If your household income is below £25k you will get maximum help (and the calculations of figures will be the same as if you were assessed on your parents income and they earned under £25k, there is no other "tariff", it's just as you're married it's *your* income that's assessed).

This will mean maximum maintenance grant, with the maximum maintenance loan, which will amount to just over £7k *each* (if studying outside London). You will also very likely get a decent bursary, but this will depend on the university. This will again be each.

You also should look into the Adult Dependant's Grant. I'm not too sure on the income thresholds, but could mean around £1.5k a year.

On a side note, you mentioned an Access course for both of you. Have you considered how this will be financed as you will not be eligible for any benefits while studying an Access course?

Most likely with struggling I guess. All the maintenance loan and the grant, the 7k each should cover us from when till when? Thanks. So I can work out how much it goes for each month on rent and bills.

Thank You

It would be to cover 1 academic year, so from course start to end - Sept/Oct through to May/June usually. In your 3rd year though you would get slightly less, as it doesn't account for maintenance over the Summer months - you would be ineligible to apply for benefits over the Summer in years 1 and 2 as a continuing student.

So pretty much maintenance and grant excluding anything else we receive as a bonus, minimum is 14k a year, 1160 pound a monthish? This is including the grant and loan of 2 people living away from parents? Sorry just trying to clear it up.

Thanks

Yes. As you will be assessed off each other's earnings (which will effectively be 0 if you're not working, and from the information given will surely be below £25k) you would be entitled to the following:

Maximum maintenance grant: £3250
Maximum maintenance loan: £5500 (studying outside London) - £1625 (50p of the loan for every £1 in grant) = £3875

Total = £7125

x2 = £14250

It will come in 3 payments, one at the beginning of the course, one just after Christmas and one around Easter time.

Depending on the bursary your university gives, you would be eligible for the maximum each, and these are usually paid Jan/Feb.



Like I mentioned before you should look into the ADG, however I'm not sure if income from student finance would count as "your partner's earnings", as this needs to be below £3796 to qualify. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/Typesoffinance/DG_171617

Edited: Ah, I've just done a little reading, and it seems a "dependant adult" can't be someone that is receiving support from SF themselves, so if both of you were a student you wouldn't be eligible.