UC and stipends for a PHD

HI folks

My niece is doing a PHD at our local Uni and she receives a stipend from them for it, paid quarterly. She is not classed as a student and is not eligible for any Student Finance.

She is married with a 18 month old daughter, and her husband cares for the baby full time. They therefore claim Universal Credit to top up their income while Jess finishes her PHD.

Until recently UC have told them that a stipend does not count as income for UC purposes and it has therefore been disregarded completely when calculating their entitlement. However they have recently changed their minds and are now telling them that a stipend is income for UC purposes; they have recalculated their entitlement which is vastly reduced and are recovering all their previous payments as an overpayment.

I cannot find anything in the UC guides on Gov.uk about how to treat a stipend or someone doing a PHD and have no idea where to look next. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Thank you, Ali!

Hi Alison

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum

Thank you for your question, it is not something I have come across before on the forum.

Your question is outside the remit of the forum, I would advise your niece to contact her student advice service at her university or their local Welfare Rights Organisation or Law Centre; advicelocal.uk or lawcentres.org

Gary