To not pay off my student loan (current SAHM) even though we can afford it?

[SwissSarah]

I got my degree 10 years ago and have about £10K to pay from my student loan. I never earned enough to pay back any of it pre kids (did low paid community work) and have been a SAHM for 5 years and plan to be for at least the next 5. I anticipate never working full time and probably doing lots of voluntary stuff in the community as that's what I love doing. (DH earns well so no pressure to earn myself)

My DH thinks we should pay it back as I borrowed it. I think that I am contributing massively to my local community and giving back in so many other ways and if I'm not earning enough then I shouldn't worry about not paying it back. What do you think??

Those of you who have questioned why people aren't earning enough to pay it back despite getting a degree, it depends when you graduated. I graduated in the mid 90s and need to gross around 2600 a month in order to pay it back - as I have been part time since having kids 10 years ago, this means I have never earned enough to pay it back, and nor will I, as I'm getting to the 25 years fairly soon and then it's written off. It does NOT mean, as some of you have implied, that I wasted my time or got a shit degree - just that I am not motivated by money and didn't choose high paid work.
OP - I wouldn't pay it back until you have to. Just follow the rules!

Mine will expire in a few years too and I have absolutely no intention of paying it back.

My loan is from one of the first years that they were required. The scheme was flawed from the outset. It costs more to administer than they will ever get back because the terms were so generous. But the scheme was the thin end of the wedge, more idealogical than financial. It opened the door for the increased loans that are now required.

I feel no guilt whatsoever in not paying back something that was never designed to be paid back by the majority of people who took them out.

21k is when you start paying, to pay it all back you would have to earn about 50k. A job paying about 30k would never pay it all back, just a portion

I wouldn't until you have to.
Mine are pre 1998 loans and I'll probably never have to as written off after 25 years. I'd be daft to pay them when my earnings are nowhere near the threshold.

You're just following the terms of the loan.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-repay

But Sheba, the agreement with the student loans company as the lender says you don't have to repay unless you earn x amount.

I agree with PP that the Starbucks analogy is helpful here - the OP is following the rules by not paying at this point in time as she's not earning. If people have an issue with the fact that the repayment rules for student loans are based on each individual's income as opposed to household income, then their anger should be directed at the student loan rules, not the OP.

It's taken out at the source of income anyway to avoid this very debate - when/if the OP is earning, she'll have no choice but to pay because it will be taken automatically.

Martin Lewis says no

No, don't do it. It's not intended to be paid back by those on a low income. What your DH earns is irrelevant. If your DH has a spare 10k sitting around can I suggest that you start a personal pension in your name? Interestingly Martin Lewis wants it to be renamed "graduate contribution" instead of student loan repayment to reflect the fact that the repayment terms are more like a graduate tax than a traditional loan.

If DH left you for a new partner you could be left with a lowish wage, having been out of the job market for years, and a student loan to pay back

but it is depressing to see pages of educated women who are happy to never earn a reasonable wage.

Not to go off on a tangent but the threshold for repayment is around £20k. My job pays around £30k at my current level but I'll be going back two days a week so will earn 40% of that - less than the threshold of £20k. A lot of women are in the same situation. I don't see £30k as an unreasonable wage but maybe I lack ambition? Or is it depressing that I plan to work part time? Should I work full time when I don't have to? Please elaborate on what is depressing there because I think I've got a pretty sweet deal....

To pay back the current loans you would probably have to earn a lot more than the average graduate job.
This is why a graduate tax would be preferable to loans. Under the loan system, the richest pay for a while then stop. Everyone else gets to pay for longer!

I'm confused. Surely if you earn 21k for long enough you'll pay it back?

Very good point about pt wages

If Martin Lewis is your moral compass I think you need a reset. 😂

Op I agree that you have no legal or moral requirement to pay it back, but it is depressing to see pages of educated women who are happy to never earn a reasonable wage.

What's your definition of a reasonable wage? I paid some of mine back when I was still full time, and I did consider myself modestly paid then- am well educated but in a very worthy field. Since going part time, I've also progressed (probably as it coincided with me getting more experienced) and been able to earn not far under the threshold for part time work giving me plenty of time for caring commitments and some volunteering.

Personally I consider my hourly rate to be reasonable, especially given that I live in an area where my part time wage can cover a considerable proportion of my family's expenses. I've no idea what I'll want in the future, but am certainly happy enough with the current arrangements, which I consider perfectly acceptable. The threshold for 1999-2012 loans is 17.5k and I believe for the earlier ones it's well into the 20s. That can actually buy you quite a lot in many parts of the country, especially if it's the second income in the family.

Haven't read the whole thread (hanging offence I know), but it stands out to me that the OP is leaving herself in a very vulnerable position by not having a means of being financially independent from her husband. I personally could not feel at all secure, even in the most loving and happy relationship, if I didn't have my own access to money if I needed without my partners permission. Regarding the SL: the loan will taken from your income regardless if your husband has fucked off/been made redundant and if you have kids to support.

But these threads always have loads of women boasting about their incredibly wealthy husbands that support them.

It's a vulnerable position, but some people are willing to take that risk.

OP, don't worry about paying it back, you are not legally required to, anyone who says 'pay your debts' is lying to themselves and everyone else that they would rather pay a debt back that was not required by law instead of use the money for emergencies like boiler/broken down car/leaky roof or even save it towards your kids education. Come on we pay huge amounts of taxes! You and your husband have done your bit.

So why get a degree (that costs money), not work, have kids, fanny about with voluntary work, and not pay what that degree cost? (and still not work). Oh the life of some people!!!

Agree with pps who think it's better to put the money in a pension or invest for your kids.

I went to uni when it was free and I got a full maintenance grant because my parents were divorced. Deciding to charge fees etc was a political decision that i strongly disagree with. No way would I pay the loan back if i didn't have to.

No you don't have to earn at least 50k. I graduated in 2006, my first salary was £24k so the repayments kicked in. Over the years my salary has increased to £45k, that's only in the last 2 years though. My last repayment was last year.
I think if you consistently work for 10-15?years and earn somewhere between 25k and 35k you will pay it off
I borrowed £9k

not work, have kids, fanny about with voluntary work

Having kids is work. She's raising the taxpayers of the future, they'll pay our pensions and for our healthcare when we're old. And it was probably more than 'fannying about' to the people the helped by volunteering, not to mention the boost it'll give her CV if she does go back to paid work outside of the home.

maddiemookins16mum volunteering is fannying about???? It saves the government vast amounts, helps vulnerable people and supports communities!!!

The threshold was (I think) 19 grand when I started working in 2003. I have always earned above that, but never more than 31 grand a year and paid off my loan in December after 13 years. I took about 13 grand in loans. So you don't need to be earning mega-bucks to be having deductions or paying it off.

The threshold is different depending when you left uni. Those of us who left in the mid 90s have to earn quite a lot (well over 30k) before paying it back. I didn't earn that much pre-kids, & definitely won't now as I work part time.