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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that mums should get some sort of concession for student loan repayments?

323 replies

bubbleymummy · 29/05/2009 10:19

I just got my student loan statement and yet another big whack of interest has gone on. I haven't been able to make any payments since I went on maternity leave 3 years ago because I only worked PT after ds. Now I have ds2 and who knows when I'll be back to ft work. dh on the other hand has paid back over half of his. It just seems a bit discrimatory to me...most women will have to take a salary drop at some stage to have a family and won't hit the threshold for repayments while the interest just piles on...shouldn't we get a bit of a break?

OP posts:
Umlellala · 31/05/2009 08:03

sorry
this article

MummyDragon · 31/05/2009 08:04

To answer the OP: YABU to expect the interest to be frozen because you made a choice to have children. Sorry.

And yes, I did have a student loan myself and yes, I did pay it off ... YANBU to not want to be in debt, but a loan is a loan, mounting interest is the nature of the beast, and if you didn't understand that at the start you shouldn't have taken the loan out. Again, sorry for the bluntness but there 'tis.

Umlellala · 31/05/2009 08:07

Oh yes, I do agree. Don't take it out, if you don't agree to the terms!

(but there is no interest from September- pre-1998 loans will actually decrease...)

MummyDragon · 31/05/2009 08:08

Agree that Money Saving Epxert is very useful - they do weekly emails which are helpful.

tiredemma · 31/05/2009 08:44

Can I ask- when do you start paying it back? (I qualify as Nurse in Sept and owe about 7k to SLC)

Original poster
bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 09:03

I don't have a problem with the idea of paying back a loan - i borrowed it - i owe it BUT it seems unfair that women will have to pay back more than men because they take time out to raise a family. My husband and I borrowed the same but I will end up paying back a lot more than him because I will be working below the 15k threshold. This is true for most women. It feels like being penalised for having a family. I do think of it like a tax and. like umlellella I prob won't pay it back fully unless I won the lottery - although there are plenty of other thing I would do first . I take it no one understands my point about it being unfair that most women will end up paying back more than men even if they borrowed the same amount to begin with. (therefore different than a normal loan because you would pay back the same amount)

OP posts:
Original poster
bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 09:09

Sorry about terrible typing - baby on lap!

OP posts:
fizzpops · 31/05/2009 09:13

I paid mine off a couple of years ago BUT I took my first one out in 1992 and could only take a fraction of what would now be available to me as it was meant to top up my grant (a laughable amount before anyone gets jealous).

I deferred for years and years and eventually decided that I just wanted to get rid of it and paid it off at £43 a month for years and years. I had the option to defer though I think these days it comes straight from your salary and there is no choice about it, plus the loans are a lot bigger now. Don't know how I would have coped in those circumstances.

fizzpops · 31/05/2009 09:15

PS I agree that your husband should contribute to paying it off as part of joint finances. Any contributions you make in the future will have a bearing on your joint income so it is in his interests as well not to let the debt build up further.

MadameCastafiore · 31/05/2009 09:18

You took out the loan - don't have kids until you can pay it back - the government is not a bank with a never ending pot of money you know.

sarah293 · 31/05/2009 09:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 09:41

right madamec - I should have held off having children until i was in my late 40s

OP posts:
Original poster
bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 09:45

riven - it depends when you got it. I fall into the post 1998 pre-2007 bracket where mine won't get written off until I'm 65...joy!

OP posts:
lulu25 · 31/05/2009 09:52

um, my darling boyfriend will tell you that his income as well as mine was compromised by me taking time out to have children

i wouldn't have contemplated having children when i was on less than the repayment rate (but i'm getting on a bit, so it may be higher now because loans are bigger)

lulu25 · 31/05/2009 09:53

sorry, not his income, but what was left over to pay back loans and stuff after supporting me and the baby

violethill · 31/05/2009 10:14

OP - I think if this is the first time you've encountered a situation where you feel you're losing out financially because you have kids, then quite frankly - get used to it!!

The reality is that statistically women are more likely than men to have more periods not working, or working part time. However, you chose to accept a loan with those terms and conditions. You cannot expect everyone's individual circumstances to be taken into account and the rules rewritten for them.

There are loads of things that have pissed me off financially - the fact that when my kids were preschool, we had to pay the entire childcare bill out of taxed income (no nursery vouchers then!) the fact that none of my kids can get EMA (they would if DH and split up or if I took a little part time job rather than earning a full income) the fact that my adult DC can't even apply for a full maintenance loan for Uni because apparently me and DH earn over the threshold and we should be supporting them...

TBH having children is a choice, and even though it sometimes seems tough, there are many far more unreasonable scenarios than the one the OP describes. I think you just need to see it as a joint household responsibility.

tiredemma · 31/05/2009 10:26

will I start paying mine straight away? basic salary will be just under 21k when I start my job in sept

Quattrocento · 31/05/2009 10:30

YABU.

Don't see at all why interest relief should be restricted to mums.

Original poster
bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 10:30

VH - completely agree that there are much worse things. Still not sure if people understand my point though. As women, we are at a disadvantage to men with this type of loan because we will have to pay back more. It's not really a fair system. I suppsoe technically, women will always be at a disadvantage because the majority will earn less than men anyway...regardless of whether they have children or not.

FWIW I'm not losing sleep over this or anything. It's just an observation and I still think it's unfair even if you all don't

Also, in relation to hubby helping out, still unfair to be paying two student loan repayment on one income!

OP posts:
Quattrocento · 31/05/2009 10:33

I don't think you're getting my point - which is that it's your choice to stay at home - with all the inevitable financial consequences (including those of being paid less when you get back to work).

violethill · 31/05/2009 10:35

But as the majority of women will statistically earn lower than men throughout their life, bubbley, then why single out student loans as the issue? On your basis, you should then cut every other expense for women, because statistically they are likely to never earn as much.

Unrealistic.

Original poster
bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 10:49

Quattrocento - all you said before was 'Don't see at all why interest relief should be restricted to mums' - not sure which part of that you think I didn't get Glad you decided to expand on that.

I just happen to be talking about mums - I'm sure other people could quite happily argue for unemployed/sick people etc.

As far as it being my choice to stay at home etc - you're right - I could put my sons in childcare and go back to work if I was that worried about it but tbh we'd probably be worse off financially after childcare expenses, travel etc...not to mention I would hardly see them.

Oh well - I guess no one else minds that you have to pay back more if your a woman instead of a man. Maybe more finance companies should base the amount of interest you pay on what sex you are. No one seems too bothered...

OP posts:
Original poster
bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 10:50

You have to start somewhere VH

OP posts:
violethill · 31/05/2009 10:59

True bubbley, but I think you're over simplifying. Quattro makes a good point. Ultimately it is your choice to stay home. And you need to accept that it brings disadvantages financially. And actually if you swopped round and your partner stayed home, then he would be the one disadvantages, so it's not about the fact that you're a woman, it's about the choice you make.

I agree that going out to work can cost almost all of one income. I returned part time when my kids were pre school and nursery fees took virtually everything I earned - but sometimes you need to look at these things longer term. Now that my kids are older, and I earn a good income, I can see the advantages compared to many of my contemporaries who are struggling to get back into good jobs. However, as I said in my previous post, even earning good money comes with diadvantages - if I packed it in and took a little part time menial job, I'd be entitled to all sorts of things that I can't get now!! Mad really. One day, maybe we'll have a Government that invests in education, and then actually allows you to benefit from using that education, so that there is financial as well as personal incentive to do well and get a good job.

But that's probably a whole other thread!!

Quattrocento · 31/05/2009 11:09

You're linking this to gender when it isn't a gender issue.

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