Answers to the most common questions about UK student loan repayments
Below you will find answers to the questions we are asked most frequently about UK student loan repayments. For a more detailed overview, please read our comprehensive guide. If your question is not covered here, the Student Loans Company website is the best source for information specific to your account.
Your plan type depends on when and where you started your course. If you lived in England or Wales and started before 1 September 2012, you are on Plan 1. If you started on or after that date, you are on Plan 2. Students from Northern Ireland are on Plan 1 regardless of start date. Scottish students funded by SAAS are on Plan 4. If you lived in England and started an undergraduate course on or after 1 August 2023, you are on Plan 5.
If you are unsure, the easiest way to confirm is to log into your Student Loans Company online account, where your plan type will be clearly displayed. You can also check your payslip — it should show which plan your employer is deducting repayments for.
No, you cannot switch between plan types. Your plan is determined by when and where you started your course, and it remains fixed for the life of the loan. The only situation in which your plan type might change is if the government restructures the student loan system, as happened when Scottish borrowers moved from Plan 1 to Plan 4 in April 2021. You cannot voluntarily move from Plan 2 to Plan 5, or any other combination.
If your income is below the repayment threshold for your plan type, you do not make any repayments at all. No money will be deducted from your salary, and you do not need to do anything. Interest will still accrue on your loan balance during this time, but you will not be required to make any payments until your income rises above the threshold.
This is one of the key features of the UK student loan system — repayments are entirely income-contingent. If you lose your job, take a career break, or earn below the threshold for any reason, your repayments simply stop and restart when your income recovers.
This depends on your income during your leave. If your maternity or paternity pay (including statutory pay and any enhanced pay from your employer) is above the repayment threshold, deductions will continue. If your pay drops below the threshold, repayments will stop automatically for those pay periods.
In practice, Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is well below the repayment threshold for most plan types, so many people find that repayments stop or reduce significantly during their leave. Enhanced maternity pay from your employer may still be above the threshold, particularly in the initial weeks when you may receive full or near-full pay. Your employer's payroll system should calculate the correct deduction automatically.
Yes. Overpayments can happen if, for example, you have repaid your loan in full but deductions continued before the SLC updated your records, or if you had multiple employers both making deductions. If you believe you have overpaid, you should contact the Student Loans Company to request a refund. They will review your account and, if you have overpaid, issue a refund.
However, voluntary overpayments are not refundable. If you chose to make additional payments to pay off your loan faster, you cannot later request that money back. Only automatic overpayments caused by system delays or errors are eligible for refunds.
No. Student loans in the UK do not appear on your credit report and have no impact on your credit score. They are not treated as conventional debt by credit reference agencies such as Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. This means having a student loan will not make it harder to get a credit card, personal loan, or other form of credit.
However, mortgage lenders do take student loan repayments into account when assessing affordability. They will consider your monthly student loan deductions as a committed outgoing, which reduces the amount they are willing to lend you. This is an affordability assessment, not a creditworthiness check — the distinction is important.
When you start a new job, you complete a Starter Checklist (formerly the P46) which includes a section asking whether you have a student loan and which plan type. Your employer uses this information to set up the correct deductions through PAYE. HMRC also notifies employers directly through tax codes — your tax code may include a student loan indicator (such as "SL1" for Plan 1 or "SL2" for Plan 2).
If your employer is not making the correct deductions, or is deducting for the wrong plan type, you should contact HMRC to update your records. The SLC can also help resolve payroll issues if there is a discrepancy.
Plan 5 was introduced for students starting undergraduate courses in England from 1 August 2023. The key differences from Plan 2 are a lower repayment threshold of £25,000 (compared with £27,295 for Plan 2), a longer write-off period of 40 years (compared with 30 years for Plan 2), and a lower interest rate of RPI only (compared with up to RPI plus 3% for Plan 2).
The net effect of these changes is that Plan 5 borrowers will generally make smaller monthly repayments (due to a lower threshold), but repay over a longer period. The lower interest rate means balances grow more slowly, but the extended write-off period means more graduates will repay a larger proportion of their loan. Whether Plan 5 is better or worse than Plan 2 depends on your career earnings trajectory.
Scottish students who receive funding from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) are placed on Plan 4. Scottish universities charge lower tuition fees to Scottish and EU students (and fees are often fully covered by SAAS grants), so Plan 4 loan balances tend to be lower than Plan 2 balances. The Plan 4 repayment threshold is currently £31,395, which is the highest of all plan types, meaning Scottish graduates start repaying at a higher income level.
Plan 4 loans are written off after 30 years or when the borrower reaches age 65, whichever comes first. Interest is charged at the lower of the Bank of England base rate plus 1% or RPI, which is typically a low rate. Scottish graduates who move to England (or vice versa) remain on their original plan type — it does not change based on where you live after graduation.
Repayments are based on your income per pay period, not on whether you work full-time or part-time. If your earnings in any given pay period are above the threshold (divided into monthly or weekly amounts), a deduction will be made. If your part-time income is below the threshold, no repayment is due for that period.
For example, if you are on Plan 2 and earn £1,500 per month from a part-time job, this is below the monthly threshold of £2,274, so no repayment would be deducted. If you pick up extra shifts and earn £2,500 in a particular month, a repayment of 9% of the amount above £2,274 (£20.34) would be taken for that month only.
For most graduates, paying off a student loan early is not the best financial decision. Research consistently shows that the majority of Plan 2 borrowers will not repay their full balance within the 30-year write-off period. If you fall into this category, any extra payments you make are effectively money you would never have had to pay — the balance would have been written off regardless.
Early repayment may make sense if you are a high earner who will clearly repay the full balance well within the write-off period, or if you are close to repaying the balance in full and want to stop the monthly deductions. Before making extra payments, it is worth checking your balance and using a forecast tool to see whether you are likely to repay in full. You should also prioritise paying off higher-interest debts first, such as credit cards or personal loans.
The UK does not have a student loan forgiveness programme in the same way that some other countries do. However, all UK student loans are written off after the applicable write-off period (25 to 40 years depending on plan type), and the written-off amount is not treated as taxable income. In practical terms, this means the write-off period functions as a form of automatic forgiveness for those who do not repay in full.
Loans are also cancelled in the event of the borrower's death or if the borrower becomes permanently unable to work due to disability. There are no schemes in the UK that forgive student loans in exchange for working in particular professions or areas, unlike some programmes in the United States.
If a borrower passes away, their student loan is cancelled in full. The remaining balance is written off and does not form part of the deceased's estate. No repayments are required from family members, partners, or anyone else. The Student Loans Company should be notified of the death so they can close the account. This applies to all plan types.
For a detailed overview of how student loan repayments work, including all plan types, interest rates, and write-off periods, visit our complete guide to UK student loan repayments. To calculate your monthly repayment based on your salary, use our free calculator.
For account-specific queries, the Student Loans Company is the best point of contact.