[Solved] WHEN DO YOU STOP PAYING CSA PYTS

Hi Lillie

Its my understanding that -

Its up to the age of 16 if the child has left school.

Up to the age of 20 if the child remains in full time non advanced education or approved training and the parent they live with is still receiving child benefit.

University is advanced so you would not be liable but might still want to support them....that would be an informal agreement as your statutory liability stops.

Hi Lillie.

Thank you for your post. My name is Sarah I am a Child Maintenance Options consultant.

The Child Support Agency (CSA) guidelines state that child maintenance is generally still paid while your son's other parent is still in receipt of Child Benefit payments and your son is aged under 16, or under 20 and in full-time non-advanced education.

When a child leaves full-time education in the summer, Child Benefit generally continues until the first week of September. For child maintenance purposes a child is anyone under 16, or someone between 16 and 20 who is not, or has ever been, married or in a civil partnership. Also, anyone aged 16 or 17 who is not in education, is not working and does not receive employment related benefits, is also defined as a child.

The definition of full-time education is more than 12 hours a week of study, on a course up to and including A level standard. Some examples of non-advanced education are:
O level, GCE, GCSE, A level, AS level
SCE Higher Grade or equivalent
GNVQ, NVQ levels 1 2 and 3
BTEC National Diploma
SCOTVEC National Certificate
Scottish Certificate of 6th Year Studies
Foundation Arts Course
Secretarial Course with GCSE entry
NNEB
Hairdressing Courses

If your son were in advanced or higher education, he would no longer qualify for child maintenance. Some examples of advanced and higher education are:
Degree
NVQ level 4 and above
DHE
HND
BTEC, NHC, HND
SCTVEC, HNC, HND
Teacher Training

The above list is not exhaustive, so if you have any further questions or if you would like to clarify the information above, you may wish to speak to the CSA directly. You can find contact details on any letter the CSA have sent to you. Or, you can find the right number here: https://www2.dwp.gov.uk/csa/v2/en/contact/index.asp.

To find out more about how Child Maintenance Options can help you and access to useful tools and forms online you can visit http://www.cmoptions.org, or if you would prefer a confidential chat you could call the Child Maintenance Options team on 0800 988 0988 (free from a landline).

We also have a sorting out separation web-app, it aims to make it much easier for separated parents to find the support they need, when and where they need it, and encourages parents to collaborate on a range of issues. The link is: http://www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation

Sarah

Hi,

My eldest son finished his A levels in May, he will be 19 in October and has signed up with an agency for various work. Everyone is very secretive on what he is actually doing. I think he plans to take a year out before possible university. When do his maintenance payments stop, and will I still be paying if he goes to university?

If your son has finished his A levels in May and has left school then your CSA payments should continue until September. If he starts paid work before september though, his mothers eligibility for child benefit should stop and that should mean the CSA payments should stop too.

University is considered as advanced education and you will not be expected to pay maintenance.

My sons 16 on the 26th of this month, due to the new law where a child no longer can leave school at 16, does that mean I still have to pay for him until he either leaves school or start an apprentice ?

Whilst he is in non advanced full time education or approved training you are still liable up until he is 20 or he leaves school or training. There's a post about 4 above this one from Child Maintenance Options that explains it in more detail.

My youngest daughter is 19 (dob 1/5/1994). She is starting a degree course at the University of the Arts in London this month. I have just received notification from the CSA that I am still legally required to pay child support until 29/08/2014, when she will be over 20 years old. Last year she left home to study for a Foundation Diploma in Textiles at the University of the Arts. Apparently this was not considered to be advanced education when I raised the matter with the CSA. I am quite willing to directly give my daughter as much support as possible during her studies but resent having to continue to make payments through my former wife. I assume she must still be in receipt of Child Benefit but am reluctant to raise the matter with HMRC again, having made a fool of myself last year in reporting it. Apparently going to University is no longer automatically viewed as advanced education.

If your daughter is starting a degree course at University this is considered as advanced education and you should not be liable for CSA payments. I think you need to push this with the CSA , they aren't not always right!

If you take a look at the stickys at the top of this section you will see one called "appealing CSA decisions"....this mentions your issue specifically and provides a link to appealing the decision.

Just found out my son is working 22 hours a week in asda, finished his a levels, and I think taking a year out before university. I have emailed the csa four times, and they replied once to say they didn't recognise my ref number! No other reply! Can I find out whether the mother is still getting child benefit for him?

I'd ring them rather than email - it's a bit harder to ignore. Your reference number should be your NI number.

Another similar story - I have two children, the eldest has just finished her A-levels and the younger has turned 16, but is autistic and has been attending a special school up until July this year. I do not know if either of them are still at college / going to university etc

Their mother is extremely secretive, to the point that she has requested the schools post no information on their social media or websites that refer to them and she has stopped either of them having any social network presence so I have no way of getting in touch. I have tried to go through her, but have just been ignored to date.

When we separated, in 2007 a court order for child maitenance was put in place and I have paid this on time every month, despite having to unsuccessfully go through the courts to try to maintain contact (their mother ignored any requests by the judge to resolve issues and put so many conditions on any contact that contact was effectively made impossible).

I have no idea where I now stand as regards payments - I suspect my daughter (the older child) is going to university now and the younger child could be either in adult care, attending a special needs college, or even now in a residential unit. Is there any way to find out?

I have tried social services, but they have been told by my ex that I do not have parental responsibility (not true, but how do I prove this?) and so have refused to tell me anything, even when requested in writing.