Repaying Student Loans 2009/10 guide discussion

Poolie

gillstar wrote: »

Hi.. I am overseas and so have started to pay off my load (although I do not make over the required15k). I owe roughly 10k and also have saved this amount. What shouldI do with it? What are the best investments or is it best to let it just sit in a bank account?? Thanks

If you are overseas, have you told slc? Where overseas are you because SLC do not set the £15k to all countries because of excahnge rates and standard of living in those countries.

If you have the £10k saved keep it in your bank till August and then pay your loan off as you will not be charged any interest till 1st September 2010.

Poolie

Max_Dread wrote: »

Hi, I have 3 student loans (years 1994-97). I was 19 when I started in 1994. I have deferred payment every year (13 years) as I have never earned over the threshold. However, I am considering a job where the income will be £29K (over the threshold no?) BUT this will only be for 1 year starting in March. After that I will return to an income under the threshold and it is unlikely to ever go up substantially again.

Am I right to think that I would have to start repaying the loan as soon as my income exceeds the threshold?

Also, my main concern is if this will affect the 25 year write off period. Does this time limit only apply to when you first left university, or does it restart if/when your last payment was to the loans company?

Any help will be gratefully received

The deferment threshold for 2009/2010 is £27,050. Once your current deferment has ended you will need to start making the repayments for the time you are earning. Once you have stopped you could request a new deferement and prove that your income is below the threshold.

this will not affect the 25 year write off period as anything left to pay will be automatically written off if you have paid it back or not.

Loans from 1990 which would become repayable 1993/4 will be not become eligible to be written off till 2019 so a few more years for the original loans.

Tunstallstoven

"this will not affect the 25 year write off period as anything left to pay will be automatically written off if you have paid it back or not"


Hi, thanks for your answer.

I just wanted to double check that I have understood correctly-

1) Student Loans measure the 25 years from the date when the loan/s first become PAYABLE (which is when you graduate or have an income over the threshold?) as opposed to when you take the loan out.

2) This 25 years is ALWAYS measured from this date (as above) regardless of if/when payments are made? So if money is still outstanding after 25 years they will write off the rest of the balance regardless if you are/have been/or have never paid anything.

Also, how easy is it to get Student Loans to defer taking payment when income drops? Can this be done part way through the financial year or is it only possible each April?

Thanks again.

Poolie

1) Not 100% sure if it is when you took it out orginally or when it becomes repayable. I would have thought repayable as why would they give 3 years were they can't get repayments. Better to check your terms and conditions.

2) Yes, you loan will be written off if it is paid or not.

You would need to provide evidence to student loans that your income has dropped so would need to be a letter from your employer or lsat 3 months payslips. You should be able to defer at any point during the financial year although the majority are done April time.

dtic

I was wondering if I can still defer my pre - 98 loans? I work for a local authority, on a grade that normally pays approx £25 k pa. They recently moved me under ringfencing to a post where I now work shifts, including weekends and sleep-ins. Though my grade and therefore basic has remained the same, I now get shift allowances and a payment for sleeping over. This has brought my gross monthly income up a considerable bit, though it does fluctuate depending on sleep-ins I do. The gross pay on my age slip is now over the £2254 per month for deferrment.

Do I have to start paying it back? The thing is, without the shift allowances I'd still be eligible for deferrment. I could get moved back to a 9 -5 post, on the same grade.

Do SLC take these things into consideration?

Thanks

Poolie

Since you are pre 1998 then the deferement threshold of £27,050 applies for the year 2009/2010. Student Loans will not allow you to defer as it is based on your gross salary including sleep ins and shift allowances.

If you moved back to a 9 - 5 job and were below the threshold you could defer you payments again.

Until such time as you make the move you will be expected to make the fixed monthly repayment.

dtic

Poolie wrote: »

Since you are pre 1998 then the deferement threshold of £27,050 applies for the year 2009/2010. Student Loans will not allow you to defer as it is based on your gross salary including sleep ins and shift allowances.

If you moved back to a 9 - 5 job and were below the threshold you could defer you payments again.

Until such time as you make the move you will be expected to make the fixed monthly repayment.

Many thanks. Wish it wasn't true but it's not really that bad all things considered. They finally got me after 15 years! Im sure the extras outweigh having approx £80 pm taken off me. I was hoping they didn't take into consideration shift allowance, looks like I was wrong.

Cheers!

Rita_be2

My son is graduated from uni a couple of years ago and is now thinking about moving abroad. He seems to think that if he lives abroad for a few years then he won't have to pay back his loan! I can't quite see how this works myself, is there some rule about moving abroad?

Poolie

Rita_be2 wrote: »

My son is graduated from uni a couple of years ago and is now thinking about moving abroad. He seems to think that if he lives abroad for a few years then he won't have to pay back his loan! I can't quite see how this works myself, is there some rule about moving abroad?

Your son should advise student loans that he is going overseas and provide evidence how he is supporting himself ie payslips or copy of contract.

SLC will work out what is due based on where he is going as extra country has a different threshold due to the difference in exchange rates.

If he fails to tell SLC he is putting himself at risk of being charges £216 per month interest on his loan. If he returns to the UK in the furture they may start asking questions were he has been and may request immediate payment. If they have to trace him overseas then he will be liable for the charges.

Basically it is not worth the risks as SLC are really clamping down on overseas people now.

ems22

Hi, Im currently in my 3rd year of my undergraduate degree but will be completiing a PGCE next year and will be getting another loan from SLC for that. Will this be part of my previous loan or completely seperate and therefore be at a different interest rate?