When do CSA payments stop - I thought I knew.. but

Hi all. I know this is a recurring question and I thought I knew the answer but my latest CSA statement has me confused.

My Son lives with his mother and I have had no contact with him (or her) since 2009.

I believe his mother still works full time.

He will be 18 mid August (one of the youngest in his class) and will finish 6th form this year. He''s a clever lad and I believe he plans to go on to University.

I pay through a deductions from earnings order and always have had with no issues.

I receive a statement from the CSA each November setting out the payments for the next 12 months.

I was under the impression from government information that payments would stop in the September after he finished ''standard'' education i.e. A Levels.

I had planned to put the money currently paid to my sons mother into a separate account when official payments stopped so that he would have a nest egg for when he finished University (I never had it so won''t miss it).

My confusion has come because the last statement I received from the CSA went up until November this year as usual.

Is this correct? Do I need to contact them when he finishes school or is it just standard to issue a 12 month statement? I have no problem if the payments are due but I must admit I would rather make them to him than his mother or put them aside as I had planned to do.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

As far as I understand it CSA finishes once the child ceases full time education (ie 6th form or equivalent) and when the child benefit ceases. It can be paid until the child is 20 years old as long as they''re in full time education. Have you notified the CSA that he has left full time education? They do tend to send things out as standard - or they blame the computer. My child left full time education 2yrs ago and they rang me saying I was owed 2 years CSA money - I explained to them my child had left full time education they replied by saying they hadn''t been informed. I presumed my ex would have rung them and hadn''t - obviously it was sorted but they told me my ex should have rung them to clarify the situation.
Ring them and see what they say - if your son has finished full time education explain this to them and see what they say. Sorry probably not much help - maybe someone else will help more.

When they issue the 12 month payment plan they will assume that payments will be continuing.

If your son leaves FT non advanced (A level or equivalent) education at the end of this school year then CSA payments will cease on the first Monday in September which this year is the 5th.

Hi there, unless he mucks up his exams I expect him to finish this June/ July. It looks like it may be a good idea to contact them around this time.

You might be better to wait until he gets his results? Just in case - sometimes if the results aren''t as good as expected they do an extra year at 6th form - I presume if he intends to go to university he will have had made applications by now - will he be applying for student finance? Depending on his circumstances and who he lives with he could get extra grants, bursaries etc..
WYSpecial is correct that if he does leave FT education the payments should stop when CB does at the beginning of September.

In all honesty, I have no idea on how far his plans have progressed. I haven''t seen or heard from either him or his mother since 2009. My parents used to see them two or three times a year up until last June but that seems to have stopped.
I do write every six weeks or so but have never had any replies.
I was given access to the school online student pages so know what he is doing now but that is about it.
I suppose it might be an idea to email the school to find out how he has done once the results are out or just to log onto the site in September and see if there is a timetable there for him.

The money is not an issue but I would rather know he would be getting it than his mother.

I wouldn''t hold my breath on his mother letting the relevant authorities know of any change based on her past behavior.