Student Loan Repayment Guide 2023

What does this Guide say about?

Pursuing higher education is an investment for your future, and it always comes with the burden of loans, and one must take this risk to fulfil their dreams. In the UK, the government offers various student loans so that the financial issues can only prevent children from being literate (Mgaiwa, and Ishengoma, 2023). But the repayment of the loans comes with some complexities that the students must understand before applying for the loans. This blog will help you to understand the process and enable you to grab the opportunity and achieve financial stability to continue your courses and studies. Students, before applying for loans, must go through the guidelines which the student’s repayment guide says. This guide is crucial for students planning to pursue Undergraduate courses, postgraduate courses, or Higher education or if they seek to learn any short-term courses. First, the two most important points one must focus on are certain eligibility criteria and repayment procedures, which the students must carefully read. In the further sections, you can find some of the important points that this guide says about, and this also contains some important information on the portion of maturity of a loan, if you wish can save for the future. This guide will provide essential information, strategies, and resources to manage your student loans effectively and plan for a debt-free future. In this blog, we have also mentioned details of the Education Regulations 2009 and Education Regulations 2016. All the required information is amended in the respective regulation, which the students can refer to who wish to apply for a loan.

Loan Contract

Students, while taking the loan, must agree with the term and conditions of the repayment scheme that applies to the loan repayment. In the UK, there are four types of loan repayment: Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 and Plan 5. If you know why we have jumped to Plan 4 by skipping Plan 3, then you know that Plan 3 is a repayment plan for PG courses in England and Wales (Hout., 2023). The only difference between this is that a Postgraduate loan in England and Wales is associated with plan 3, where the student must repay a smaller present of their threshold earning.

Understand your Loan Type: It is crucial to understand your loan type, which loan plan you have opted for, and its respective repayment terms and conditions. So understand carefully Plan 1 applies to the loans taken before September 1, or in other words, we can also say that it’s the loan taken between September 1998 and 30th August 2012, in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The same applies to Plan 4, but it only applies to the students of Scotland. And Plan 2 applies to loans taken out on or after September 2012, and it must be before or on 31st July 2023. This loan applies to the students of England and Wales. Knowing the specific loan types and details will help you plan according and thus make sound decisions for repayment strategy.

What should be your Repayment Threshold:

In the UK, the repayment of the loans begins when the students start earning above a specific threshold income. For plan 1 loans, the threshold income is £22,015 per year (£1,834 per month or £423 per week) before tax. While on the other hand, the threshold income for Plan 2 loan is £27,295 per year (£1,274 per month) before tax. However, the threshold keeps changing, so staying updated with these threshold values as they change each tax year is essential. You can repay your loan once you reach the threshold amount. But if sometimes out for any reason your fall under the thresholds, there are ways by which you can reach the threshold, which involves bonus and overtime. Thus in this way, an individual can meet the threshold and thus end by making the loan repayment possible. However, if, at the end of the financial year, you are still stuck with an income below the threshold, you will get the opportunity of a refund.

How you can calculate the Repayment Calculation

The loan repayment in the UK depends on an individual’s income, not the amount they borrowed. For Plan 1, you will repay 9% of your income above the threshold, while for Plan 2, it’s 9% above the threshold. This repayment percentage applies to both employed and self-employed. These amounts are automatically deducted by the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from your salary, and those who are self-employed deduct this amount from your self-assessment tax return.

Plan 1 Loan Repayment

The loan repayment initiates as soon as you complete your course and join your job. But this is not mandatory; if you are employed, you must repay the amount, and your income must be above the threshold income level. Currently, the threshold income is £22,015 a year, £1,834 a month or £423 a week in the UK. Suppose you are worried about how you will repay your amount if your income doesn’t meet the threshold income. Here is the solution for you; according to the UK government policy, if you don’t meet the threshold income, you can repay your loan when your income exceeds the threshold income.

Plan 2 Loan Repayment

If your course plan is full-time, your loan repayment time will start on completing the course.
If you are pursuing any short-term courses, your loan repayment will also start from the course’s end date.
And loan repayment will start after the end date of April if you are a part-time student.

Who plays a vital role?

1. Student Loan Company (SLC)

The Student Loan Company (SLC) manages student loan repayments. They are responsible for managing online accounts and monitoring the repayment status. And also they help the students with any query. They offer loans to Scotland, Northern Irish, England and Welsh students.

2. HM Revenue and Customs (HRMC)

HMRC collect the repayment amount from individuals’ employers through the UK tax system. And the loan repayment collection procedure for the self-employed individual is quite different, and the HMRC deduct the amount from the self-assessment after the individual completes their tax return.

3. Employer

The employer collects the loan repayment; they deduct the required amount from the individual’s salary. And further, they deposit the collected amount to the HMRC.

Your Responsibilities

1. You must not fake

While applying for the loan, you must provide relevant and accurate information, making the repayment process easier. If you fail to provide the correct information, the individual may be penalized and have to pay a charge, which will be a lump sum cost to the individual. So to keep yourself on the safe side, you must provide SLC with the correct information.

It is also essential that the students must inform about the changes in their details if they want to change any application process details. In other words, the borrowers must keep in touch with the SLC with updated details. And if they neglect, they will be penalized with an extra 3% of RPI along with the interest rate, and they will not consider your annual income.

There are some points mentioned below which one must inform the SLC of:

• If you change basic details, (name, contact details, address and banks details)
• If you change your academic places
• If you get marries
• If you have any planning to leave the city
• If you switch the employment status (i.e, employed to self-employed)

Repay your Loan

If you are taking a loan to complete your higher studies and when you become capable of earning and returning the loan, it is your responsibility to repay the loan, and in addition to that, you must follow the loan contract and regulations. You must be loyal to the HMRC and SLC. For the employed individual, their repayments automatically get deducted from their PAYE, but those who are self-employed must repay the loan through Self-Assessment.

Liabilities of Loan

Becoming liable means the payment made to the college, university, or your institution will be added to the outstanding balance of your loan. Part-time undergraduate and postgraduate master’s students may be obliged to begin debt repayment before they have completed or left their programme. Whether or not you complete your course or earn a certificate, you are still responsible for repaying any loans that were given to you.

Conclusion

Pursuing higher education is a dream for every student, but achieving this dream always comes up with an investment of a huge amount. And many students face challenges in arranging for this money. The UK government has introduced a Student loan for those students who want to continue their studies, but due the financial instability, they are forced to break the connection with their education. This blog has discussed the Student Loan Repayment Guide 2023. There is various loan plan based on the course type of courses. Four types of loan plans are Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 and Plan 5. The students must understand which types of loans they must take and follow the rules and regulations before e applying for the loan. There are certain eligibility criteria that the students must adhere to. And the loan repayment starts when the individual earns an income above the threshold. And if someone’s income doesn’t meet the threshold, they can repay the amount to SLC after reaching that amount.

References

• Mgaiwa, S.J. and Ishengoma, J.M., 2023. Financing higher education in Tanzania through students’ loans scheme and its impact on equitable access. Heliyon, 9(3).
• Hout NV, ‘Here’s Your Simple Guide to Student Loan Repayments’ (Save the Student, 6 April 2023) <https://www.savethestudent.org/student-finance/student-loan-repayments.html> accessed 16 June 2023

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