Student Loans... income assessment
Discussion
A very murky one indeed.
Had my household income assessed as £62K+.
This is actually because my father was working out in the USA. In particular, during the tax year being assessed, he moved out there. BAE systems secondment to Lockheed Martin to work on the F35. He was given allowances for furnishing the apartment during this time. As such, "income" looks inflated, but actually it isn't income. It's just how the company does expenses - expenses related to moving out there.
I've already had a response to the SLC level 1 complaint. They say of the relevant legislation (Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011):
here is that the expenses were under tax, and tax equalisation was applied - international tax law...
Also, seeing as how the relevant legislation doesn't actually define seperated, I would take issue with the fact that they do not consider the added costs of running two homes - not least American car insurance without any NCD over there...
Fortunately, I have an easy way out. Current tax year assessment. However, if the secondment hadn't finished early, I would be well and truly sd, and others won't be so lucky.
Had my household income assessed as £62K+.
This is actually because my father was working out in the USA. In particular, during the tax year being assessed, he moved out there. BAE systems secondment to Lockheed Martin to work on the F35. He was given allowances for furnishing the apartment during this time. As such, "income" looks inflated, but actually it isn't income. It's just how the company does expenses - expenses related to moving out there.
I've already had a response to the SLC level 1 complaint. They say of the relevant legislation (Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011):
SLC said:
As you can see from the above, the income must be taken into consideration of a student parent's spouse whether or not they are living together. The only case in which we would not look at this person's income would be if they were merely a partner (not a spouse) and not living together as if they were the spouse, or if they were separated.
The term "separated" is not defined in The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 however, we have checked with the Department for Education (DfE) who advised that the policy intention is that parents should be considered separated if their relationship has (irretrievably) broken down.
I would question the definition of household income. The The term "separated" is not defined in The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 however, we have checked with the Department for Education (DfE) who advised that the policy intention is that parents should be considered separated if their relationship has (irretrievably) broken down.
here is that the expenses were under tax, and tax equalisation was applied - international tax law...Also, seeing as how the relevant legislation doesn't actually define seperated, I would take issue with the fact that they do not consider the added costs of running two homes - not least American car insurance without any NCD over there...
Fortunately, I have an easy way out. Current tax year assessment. However, if the secondment hadn't finished early, I would be well and truly s
d, and others won't be so lucky.So youre not getting your free money in the form of grants?
Theres another way, self assessment. I had to do it that way because my household income was above that threshold however I had earned the right amount to be considered self supporting or something. So I got my grants.
PS cool story.
Theres another way, self assessment. I had to do it that way because my household income was above that threshold however I had earned the right amount to be considered self supporting or something. So I got my grants.
PS cool story.
Not grants, maintenance loan. If it went through as it is, it would mean about £1400 extra financial burden on my parents per year. Their income just isn't that high, and it's unfair to expect them to pay more than somebody else who is a mid-level manager at Tesco earning the same amount because we were making huge sacrifices for the good of the country and the company covered additional expenses from running two homes. We weren't being made rich.
It would be like military personnel stationed overseas having to pay for accommodation. Then that being considered income. I know the US military can end up with a rent allowance. But the UK military can subsidise housing in the UK, actually reducing rent expenditure! The fact is that my father, while working for a private company, was working on a defense project.
Also, I'm not confident of SLC correctly combining the two pays. They may have thought that it was two independent pays - it wasn't. I don't understand tax equalization, but it's st complicated and not as simple as 2+2.
It would be like military personnel stationed overseas having to pay for accommodation. Then that being considered income. I know the US military can end up with a rent allowance. But the UK military can subsidise housing in the UK, actually reducing rent expenditure! The fact is that my father, while working for a private company, was working on a defense project.
Also, I'm not confident of SLC correctly combining the two pays. They may have thought that it was two independent pays - it wasn't. I don't understand tax equalization, but it's s
t complicated and not as simple as 2+2.MikeGoodwin said:
So youre not getting your free money in the form of grants?
Theres another way, self assessment. I had to do it that way because my household income was above that threshold however I had earned the right amount to be considered self supporting or something. So I got my grants.
PS cool story.
Its not grants or free money. If you want to get a loan then want to know how much money your parents earn. If its "too much" the amount you can borrow is reduced (i.e. your parents should pay).Theres another way, self assessment. I had to do it that way because my household income was above that threshold however I had earned the right amount to be considered self supporting or something. So I got my grants.
PS cool story.
98elise said:
Its not grants or free money. If you want to get a loan then want to know how much money your parents earn. If its "too much" the amount you can borrow is reduced (i.e. your parents should pay).
Precisely. As they assessed it, it's £3912 per year (tuition fees are payed for all the time). If your parent(s) earn <£25000 p/a, it's £8430 p/a.So my parents are being expected to fork out at least £4518 p/a. The same as Lord Sugar's children. We're just not big earners that way/
Solocle said:
Precisely. As they assessed it, it's £3912 per year (tuition fees are payed for all the time). If your parent(s) earn <£25000 p/a, it's £8430 p/a.
So my parents are being expected to fork out at least £4518 p/a. The same as Lord Sugar's children. We're just not big earners that way/
Aren't you taking the course? Why are your parents 'forking out' £4.5k? So my parents are being expected to fork out at least £4518 p/a. The same as Lord Sugar's children. We're just not big earners that way/
I don't see why parent's income has anything to do with the decisions their adult children make?
R8Steve said:
What sacrifices?
What country?
Well, living apart for a year (meant to be 3) was a huge strain on family relations. I only saw my father 3x a year, a year younger than that would normally happen from uni. More of an issue, the same went for my mother.What country?
As for country, it's not just one country. The F-35 program benefits the USA, the UK, Italy and the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Turkey, Israel and Singapore. In order of level of partnership in the program.
drdino said:
Boeing is using some interesting ways to promote the JSF program. 
My father is involved in the program, writing software. I'm not trying to promote it, I'm just really pd off that my family was very nearly burdened financially because of a defense project's requirements.R8Steve said:
I'm struggling to imagine a seconded systems engineer for BAE working on a trillion dollar project in a foreign country making the same as a middle manager in Tesco.
We barely touch the upper income tax band.So, yes, the base salary of a Tesco Store manager is £50,000. My father barely touches £40,000.
Edited by Solocle on Wednesday 12th July 12:42
Firstly; pursuing an argument that they were 'seperated' is a non starter and will only serve to confuse the situation. In context of relationships it means they don't live together and offer no/limited mutual financial support.
The most obvious argument is to show that the year was an outlier; based on non-standard circumstances. Previous years pay, information from the company outlining the terms of the secondment and that notional salary is the same.
Also even at 40k household income, you aren't going to get the full maintenance loan anyway.
The most obvious argument is to show that the year was an outlier; based on non-standard circumstances. Previous years pay, information from the company outlining the terms of the secondment and that notional salary is the same.
Also even at 40k household income, you aren't going to get the full maintenance loan anyway.
xxChrisxx said:
Firstly; pursuing an argument that they were 'seperated' is a non starter and will only serve to confuse the situation. In context of relationships it means they don't live together and offer no/limited mutual financial support.
The most obvious argument is to show that the year was an outlier; based on non-standard circumstances. Previous years pay, information from the company outlining the terms of the secondment and that notional salary is the same.
Also even at 40k household income, you aren't going to get the full maintenance loan anyway.
True, but the £1400 should cover utilities. The £3900 only covers basic rent. My phase 1 complaint made it clear the year was an outlier, and they do have a procedure for such circumstances (unlike a long while back when my Mum's father passed away during her A level year, and his income was the basis of grants). Of course, while I have the ultimate recourse of the secondment having ended, I am concerned for anybody who doesn't have that. To make matters worse, when SLC sent a representative to my school, that representative assured me that my father's income wouldn't be included.The most obvious argument is to show that the year was an outlier; based on non-standard circumstances. Previous years pay, information from the company outlining the terms of the secondment and that notional salary is the same.
Also even at 40k household income, you aren't going to get the full maintenance loan anyway.
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