Over 60's age discrimination funding problem PLEASE HELP!!!!

katielouisa1992

I am currently studying at university and am very proud of my mum who is 61 and returning this year also to study a Bsc! After being made redundant and suffering from deep depression she has picked herself up and gone to university and is a new person altogether HOWEVER. student finance will only give £3300 A YEAR to live off and her government benefits have been stopped so she cannot afford to live. Basically student finance have stated that people over 60 are not eligible for the full amount. My mum is going to university to better herself so she can get a better job and in her later years do something with her life instead of sitting around waiting for retirement. Can someone please advise me what financial aid is available out there for over 60's? I'm trying to help her as much as i can but as a student myself working part time there is only so much i can do. And after so many years of seeing my mum is such deep depression then to see her exuberant full of life and engaged, only to loose it all I cant take it and I don't think her mental health can either.

Reply 1

jelly1000

21

Original post by katielouisa1992

I am currently studying at university and am very proud of my mum who is 61 and returning this year also to study a Bsc! After being made redundant and suffering from deep depression she has picked herself up and gone to university and is a new person altogether HOWEVER. student finance will only give £3300 A YEAR to live off and her government benefits have been stopped so she cannot afford to live. Basically student finance have stated that people over 60 are not eligible for the full amount. My mum is going to university to better herself so she can get a better job and in her later years do something with her life instead of sitting around waiting for retirement. Can someone please advise me what financial aid is available out there for over 60's? I'm trying to help her as much as i can but as a student myself working part time there is only so much i can do. And after so many years of seeing my mum is such deep depression then to see her exuberant full of life and engaged, only to loose it all I cant take it and I don't think her mental health can either.

Try posting in the student finance forum but I do believe there isn't anything available for over 60's, my guess is because the likelyhood of anyone that age ever paying anything back is very high.

Reply 2

999tigger

19

What Jelly said you are much better off posting in the student finance areas as there will be people who have that expertise. If you dont get the answers next week then I will try and look it up for you. Just a quick look seems to suggest it was only from this academic year that the over 60's got access to any maintenance grant at all.

In the good side she's unlikel to be paying a significant amount of it back.

Maybe you could also pst it on the mature students section.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

Tiger Rag

22

Moved to Student Financial Support

Reply 4

katielouisa1992

OP

4

Original post by Tiger Rag

Moved to Student Financial Support

Thank you I have also posted in mature student pages and finance pages. Have also started my own campaign

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 5

999tigger

19

Original post by Reue

It's great that your mum wants to find another job however is spending tens of thousands of tax payer money on a uni degree really a good idea for someone who in all likelihood will only continue working for a few years afterwards?

Plenty of young people bever pay back the loan, plenty just get married and have no career. Doesnt stop them. Presumably she has alread been a taxpayer for several years compared to most students who are fresh from school.

Reply 6

Reue

20

Original post by 999tigger

Plenty of young people bever pay back the loan, plenty just get married and have no career. Doesnt stop them. Presumably she has alread been a taxpayer for several years compared to most students who are fresh from school.

Correct, of course. However it is a large expenditure and I think needs to be considered against the averages. There isn't an unlimited pot of money to be spent, I can't help but feel money spent paying for uni for someone 60+ could have greater returns if invested elsewhere.

Reply 7

999tigger

19

Original post by Reue

Correct, of course. However it is a large expenditure and I think needs to be considered against the averages. There isn't an unlimited pot of money to be spent, I can't help but feel money spent paying for uni for someone 60+ could have greater returns if invested elsewhere.

If id been a tax payer for many years, then id feel it was mine by right. We live much longer these days so how do you know they wont have a prpoductive life or career after? I think the number of people who pay off student loans is full is about 48%, but id have to look it up. It was from some research done by Sutton Trust.

I see where you are coming from but if you fo down that line then you might as well decide we can only do STEP degrees etc.

Reply 8

Reue

20

Original post by 999tigger

If id been a tax payer for many years, then id feel it was mine by right. We live much longer these days so how do you know they wont have a prpoductive life or career after? I think the number of people who pay off student loans is full is about 48%, but id have to look it up. It was from some research done by Sutton Trust.

I see where you are coming from but if you fo down that line then you might as well decide we can only do STEP degrees etc.

being a tax payer does not automatically entitle you to all services funded by taxes.

I think we SHOULD be limiting funded degree types. Abolish uni fees for students but restrict the degrees to those actually in demand. *

Reply 9

katielouisa1992

OP

4

For someone who has worked for 50 years and paid their taxes and wants to get back to work and do something proactive rather than retire I think is a better choice to many people are forced into retirement when they still want to work why shouldn't they have the same opportunities doesn't matter if you are 21 or 60 if you want to further yourself then you should be able to and if your getting paid to work and not claiming state pension for those years and paying back your university fees off your own back then surely that's a more pro rice approach on the tax payer than simply retiring and living off state pension wanting to work and not being able too

Reply 10

katielouisa1992

OP

4

Original post by Reue

being a tax payer does not automatically entitle you to all services funded by taxes.

I think we SHOULD be limiting funded degree types. Abolish uni fees for students but restrict the degrees to those actually in demand. *

By the way it's not funded by the tax payer all that is available to students is a loan which that pay back in full with interest so where is the issue with the tax payer exactly ?

Reply 11

Klix88

17

Original post by katielouisa1992

By the way it's not funded by the tax payer all that is available to students is a loan which that pay back in full with interest so where is the issue with the tax payer exactly ?

At present it is estimated that only 48% of student loans are repaid in full, due to the relaxed repayment criteria. Student Finance is a genuine pull on government funding when over half of it is never repaid.

Reply 12

Reue

20

Original post by katielouisa1992

By the way it's not funded by the tax payer all that is available to students is a loan which that pay back in full with interest so where is the issue with the tax payer exactly ?

By the way; it is funded by the tax payer. Leaving aside the fact that the loan is heavily subsidised.. many unis receive direct funding from the government for each EU student.

Reply 13

katielouisa1992

OP

4

Original post by Klix88

At present it is estimated that only 48% of student loans are repaid in full, due to the relaxed repayment criteria. Student Finance is a genuine pull on government funding when over half of it is never repaid.

Yes because 54% of 48% you quoted were reported to have not gotten well paid enough jobs because of lack of experience to pay it off and 15% go abroad and don't have to pay it back because they are untraceable. What is wrong with rewarding those who have experience and have worked hard their entire lives to venture forth and for full their lives whilst might I add going into further employment and paying their tax and national insurance. I know to many young people who have gone to university because they don't want to get a job three people on my course are there for that very reason my mum can go to university and become a senior lecturer in her field from previous experience she has and give back to a younger generation with the aim of working until her late 70's.

Reply 14

Beadazzled

2

Hi
I think I can help but not ta degree level. There is a fund called 19plus learning loan. This has no upper age limit and funds registered courses at level 3 to 6. I am 62 and am currently studying art and design at level 3. You pay the loan back when earning 21k.
My course is classified as a foundation course. I am loving it.
As I have. A degree I cannot get funding for another degree but am thinking of going for. Masters. However that has an age limit of 60.
Hope this helps. Ps I am in a class of about 30 17 to 18 year olds.

Reply 15

murpo

Universities Forum Helper

19

Original post by Beadazzled

Hi
I think I can help but not ta degree level. There is a fund called 19plus learning loan. This has no upper age limit and funds registered courses at level 3 to 6. I am 62 and am currently studying art and design at level 3. You pay the loan back when earning 21k.
My course is classified as a foundation course. I am loving it.
As I have. A degree I cannot get funding for another degree but am thinking of going for. Masters. However that has an age limit of 60.
Hope this helps. Ps I am in a class of about 30 17 to 18 year olds.

It's called Advanced Learner Loan

By the way here's what funding over 60s get for SFE funding

Original post by murpo

I wanted to post this and clear it up as I've seen some users telling over 60's that they wouldn't get funding. From 16/17 and beyond Anyone who wishes to study and is over 60 CAN get maintenance loan and tuition fees. What you can get You can get a means tested maintenance loan and tuition fees Maximum maintenance loan of £3469 Minimum maintenance loan of £50 How to apply Either paper form from here http://media.slc.co.uk/sfe/1617/ft/sfe_pn1_form_1617_d.pdf OR Online by going here https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance

Reply 16

Beadazzled

2

Yes that is correct unless you have a degree. I have a degree from over 30 years ago when the system was different and I had a grant cheque. So I am not eligible for a student loan.

Reply 17

Klix88

17

Worth pointing out that the new over60 Maintenance Loan is pretty sparse. You can get a maximum of the under60 minimum amount, and based on household income you might get as little as £50 a year. It's more of a grudging gesture than a facilitating bit of encouragement.

Reply 18

Reality Check

22

@katielouisa1992 I'm not sure here whether you want to rant about the iniquity you see in the current system or whether you're posting to ask if there is any other funding available.

If the former, then I don't really have a huge amount to add. I entirely agree with @Reue in that funding is not limitless (though of course we all wish it were) and it thus has to be targeted to where it will have the greatest impact to society. It's difficult to argue that funding someone in their 60s is going to have the same impact as funding an 18-year old, and I think the system is about the best we could hope for given the funding pressures. It's not just 60+ learners who are not financially fully supported: anyone wanting to take a second undergraduate degree (with a few select exceptions) doesn't now receive any public funding for it, regardless of their age.

However, despite the broad argument above, I understand that in your circumstances it must be very difficult to see your mother's hopes of studying put in any doubt. You do have my sympathies here - I just wish it could be different for you.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 19

textile tart

4

Hi,
Great to hear of another"newbie' in their 60's. We're a bit thin on the ground.
At 64, i too am enjoying an art and design Foundation course at college. A totally new departure for me. Its gone so well that I've applied for Huddersfield Uni. Tuition fees are paid even if you already have a degree, as I have, but Maintenance loans not. Hope things work out for you.

Over 60's age discrimination funding problem PLEASE HELP!!!!

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