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Paying Back Student Loans


N.Wood

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I'm in a job earning over £15k a year and therefore should be paying back my loan. However, nothing has been said about it since I left uni. Is anyone else paying theirs back? Do you have to say 'I'm earning over the threshold, can i pay it back please?' I don't really want them to ask for a lump sum in a few years time if possible.

Also, is the £15k a year thing before or after tax?

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IIRC I didnt notify them when I left uni and they started taking money from me straight away, I didnt realise that at the time you had to actually defer every year (I was earning under the cutoff) in writing to them so they just assumed I was earning enough. They couldnt refund me the money they had already taken so I just deferred it until I was earning over the threshold. Mine are all paid off now, I was paying something like 100 quid a month to pay off 6k loans. AFAIK its 15k before tax.

As an example my mate who I went to uni with hasnt paid off any of his after 8 years, they dont know where he lives as hes moved address so many times :D

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I just filled in a P46 for my new job and there was a little 'check this box if you have a student loan and finished your higher degree before the Xth April of whatever'. That unfortunately means I'm now going to have to start paying it back...

It should appear as a separate deduction on your payslip though.

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So they take it from your PAYE as part of income tax without you knowing pretty much?

Dunno if they still do it this way, but when I graduated a couple of years ago they said that they'd start taking repayments off your pay when you reach April in the year after you graduate. Pretty sure they don't actually tell you like just before they're gonna take repayments, but it probably would've been in the stuff when you got the loan. Quite a few people I know should've started paying theirs back but haven't had anything taken off them. It seems a bit hit or miss whether they actually take money off you or not.

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IIRC it's 9% of your gross earnings (IE before tax) over £15 000/annum. If you're only earning just above the threshold it won't actually seem like much. And yeah, it comes out of the PAYE section, and I don't think it's always marked separate. Also I don't think they start taking it until Jan/February after you graduate.

You should get a statement from SLC though, at least every year.

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Advice here is no matter how much it is, don't pay more than they take.

It's the lowest interest rate loan you'll ever get. If you pay more off than requested to get rid faster, you'll only borrow it later to buy a house etc at a higher rate.

Instead, what ever you have extra that could be used to pay more off, save towards a house. Makes more sense.

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