How do we know student loans earning threshold will always be index-linked?

arsenalbarnie

silvercar wrote: »

Continues taking 9% of income over £21000 indefinitely. Currently after 30 years the debt would be written off, so at the age of 51 or 52 you would find you no longer have to pay student loan repayments. How easy would it be to announce in 20 years time, that the country can't afford it and payments will continue until retirement?

So you would think they would want people to pay off their loans early not penalise them for doing so as is possibly going to be the case. I have two on the current loan at uni and three to still go at some stage, it scares me to death.

PaulW1965

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Not sure what you mean by the "first student loans" but my pre 1998 loans were written off last year.

Pre-1998 ? I didn't know they had loans before 1998. Was that for maintenance ?

Desperado99

PaulW1965 wrote: »

Pre-1998 ? I didn't know they had loans before 1998. Was that for maintenance ?

Yes, maintenance.

I started uni in '92 and the maximum amount of the loans were increased as the grants were phased out. I was lucky enough (or poor enough ) to receive a full grant, but by the end of my course, it didn't even cover my rent.

FrankieBoyle

silvercar wrote: »

Continues taking 9% of income over £21000 indefinitely. Currently after 30 years the debt would be written off, so at the age of 51 or 52 you would find you no longer have to pay student loan repayments. How easy would it be to announce in 20 years time, that the country can't afford it and payments will continue until retirement?

Well, in years to come the children will be adults. They will remember that a large proportion of pensioners voted for them to pay large tuition fees. I'm sure they will enjoy using their voting power to strike revenge! And who could blame them!

PaulW1965

silvercar wrote: »

Continues taking 9% of income over £21000 indefinitely. Currently after 30 years the debt would be written off, so at the age of 51 or 52 you would find you no longer have to pay student loan repayments. How easy would it be to announce in 20 years time, that the country can't afford it and payments will continue until retirement?

Especially when there is this to consider

In the UK, the maths is particularly scary. By 2050, the number of British citizens aged over 65 will be 50 per cent higher than now. But we'll have only two people working for each pensioner, compared with four today. In other words, the "dependency ratio" will double. The effect of this on our public finances is beginning to sink in. Across the Western world, politicians now talk about the future impact of the demographic "time bomb" on state pensions and health care - even if they take no action.

I suspect governments will be looking for every penny they can get.