Is anyone else going to have a student loan until age 65 (Plan 1 pre 2006)?

[studentloanuntil65]

I have a Plan 1 student loan and had no idea that I’d have the debt till 65 when I took out the loan in 1998, at age 18.

I’ve never been a high earner and took time out of employment to look after our children due to the high cost of childcare and no family support.

The interest has snowballed, even while I was working, and I’m never going to clear it before I’m 65.

It feels very unfair when I’m seeing that people on the other loans have theirs wiped out after 25 or 30 years. I’m 46 and have already had this loan hanging over me for over 25 years.

I didn’t realise until seeing a BBC article this morning that other people on plan 1 (2006 onwards loans) get theirs wiped after 25 years! Mine would already have been wiped. And if I’d been a year older I’d have had a full grant as my parents were low earners.

No, I’m not having to pay it back, but it’s still a weight on my shoulders knowing that I owe it. When I became a SAHM they wrote to me and told me that my husband had to write a letter to them confirming that he was supporting me, with evidence via bank statements, which seemed a bit ridiculous as I’m supposed to pay the loan back via PAYE when I earn enough.

Is anyone else in the same boat with Plan 1?

Er, no. I'm the same age as you and my loan was paid off years ago. And I'm not on a particularly high salary.

No, paid mine off but there will be plenty of people in your situation.

Me 👋
I don't even look at it. No idea how much it is these days. I made repayments for about 5yrs I think, then circumstances changed (for the better) and I have either been abroad or under the repayments threshold since then (working part time). Haven't had any letters from SLC in about 10 years ish.

I do remember calculating the write off date and the year I'll turn 65 though, when I took out the loan.

DH and I started uni in 1997 and had loans. They were paid off over 20 years ago so did you borrow a huge amount or did you keep deferring? You mention taking time out of work but are you working now? I think you need to accept you’ll have a debt until 65 and then it’s wiped, or make an effort to pay it back if the mental weight of debt is too much.

Don’t worry about it. It will get wiped. If you’re a SAHM I do find it odd they send those letters out I’ve seen people mention it before. Like what difference does it make.

I'm plan 2 with a postgraduate loan. I don't even give it a moments thought. All I'm bothered about is the number that hits my bank account each month.

Yes me, I do pay towards it too but only a small amount and only in the last couple of years as I didn't earn enough for the past 15 or so years and I won't have paid it off by the time I retire. I just try to forget about it but it is on my mind recently as I'm looking at how student loans work these days and it's so weird looking at helping my DD take one out knowing I've not paid any of my actual loan back only some of the interest.

Mine is also paid off but I do remember reading about 65. Honestly, you just need to forget it. You don’t owe anything if you’re earning under the threshold. I know it’s easier said than done but don’t think of it as a normal debt.

I took a loan in 1996-1998, paid it off in my late 20s, how much did you take OP? I was working overseas but just dropped money in, I was only earning the equivalent of 14k.

I’m pretty sure I was only able to get about 3k a year maintenance and tuition fees in 1998 were only 3k

it will get wiped off so I would just point to the back if your mind.

How much did you borrow? Mine was £3.3k total when I graduated in 2008, which was the maximum loan I could get. I know people whose parents earned under the threshold for more though but I'm not sure how much. It would be interesting to compare how much you'll have paid off by 65 to someone who graduated in 2009, by which time I think tuition had gone up to £3k a year, and who had their loan wiped after 25 years.

My husband and I both paid ours off in chunks, against advice that it was a cheap loan and you should stooze the money. I'm glad we did.

Yes I started uni in 2003 so same loan. I don't earn a lot so haven't paid much back at all. So I'm sure there'll be loads outstanding. But no I can't say it's something I think about

I took out the full loan 1998 for 3 years mine likely won’t be paid off. I’ve only had a couple of years earning above threshold. I’m northern so wages aren’t particularly that high locally and I’ve taken over 10 years as part time for childcare reasons. I don’t understand the angst with plan 1 it was always clear that we didn’t have to pay until the threshold and we were lucky the tuition fees were a lot less than students that followed plan 2 etc.

For those saying dont earn a lot, what degree
did you do and have you used it in employment?

Yep!

1997 loans are very different and are not Plan 1. From 1998 there was no deferring - the payments come out of your wages via PAYE as soon as you meet the threshold, there was no option to defer.

if I’d started in 1997 I wouldn’t have needed a loan as I’d have been entitled to a grant.

Yep, I took mine out in 2002

Yes my job I had for nearly 20 years was in finance my degree was relevant business economics. I see my degree as useful and I look back on my university days great experience. Living away from home gave me confidence to go travelling in my 20s. Having a degree didn’t stop the employer underpaying for talent.

If you took it out from 1996-1998 then you had a different style loan.

I took the max loan as my parents weren’t able to support me at all so I needed it to pay for accommodation, bills, transport, books and everything else.

With the interest added every month it is now far more than it was when I took it out.

Took mine in 1999, paid off about 15 years ago I think .

I took out a Plan 1 loan in 2000 and I still have a fair whack to pay off - my salary rose quite well in London after graduating, but then I moved up north and had babies and it stagnated somewhat!

I think I have about £6k-ish now to pay off, I try not to think about it. I have savings and could pay it off I guess but I think Martin Lewis once told people my age it was the cheapest money we'd ever have and that stayed with me ,😁

I think you're right though OP about a couple of years earlier and we'd have had grants, and a couple of years later we'd have had it written off. Still, I had a cracking time at uni 😁

Just logged in to check mine and it is going down… slowly

I went to uni in 2000, left owing £15.5k and only briefly paid enough a month to actually cover more than the interest. Then went on maternity leave & since been part time so never reached the threshold to pay it off.
when I get a bonus I do pay some that month but I get a refund each year because I’ll never pay it off so would rather have the money now than lose it to a debt which will never be cleared
and PP who asked about degrees, I did something generic which did mean I could get my job because without a degree it was more tricky to get hired but nowadays there are other routes in which don’t need a degree. My salary is ok but clearly not huge 😆

I think it was around 3k a year, the max at the time as my parents could not support me in any way so I needed it for accommodation, bills, transport and books etc. They didn’t earn enough to pay tuition fees.

As I haven’t been paying it off the interest has gone up every month so it is now a lot more than it was.

They haven’t sent me a statement for years and it was taken out from 1998-2001 (original Plan 1), so there is no online account.

I’m academic but not a career person - I work to live rather than the other way around. I’ve opted to stay in stress-free positions within the places I’ve worked, despite people trying to convince me otherwise as they know that I’m capable of more. What I wanted to do with my degree ended up being far too competitive, and I am not a competitive person.