Hi there,
I had to withdraw from my Masters after a month. I received the first payment of my loan. Will I have to pay this back straight away or will monthly payments be taken like my undergraduate degree?
"It's one reason those who are relatively near retirement, who don't have a degree and want one, will find doing one very appealing. This is because unless they've a huge pension, they know they'll never have to repay."
and
"...if you were aged 59 taking a course, unlikely to ever go back to full-time employment and living off pension earnings of under £21,000, you'd never need to repay this cash, so borrowing more would be a big win – at taxpayers' expense."
My reading of the guidance is that the size of your occupational pension income makes no difference to repayments - it isn't normally considered, unless it is subject to NIC1 payments or you have to complete tax self-assessment with unearned income of more than £2000. See under the heading "Student Loan deductions and Occupational Pensions" at the student loan repayment website FAQ for Plan 1 (sorry, can't post links yet). I can’t find any information published about Plan 2 and pension income.
"It's one reason those who are relatively near retirement, who don't have a degree and want one, will find doing one very appealing. This is because unless they've a huge pension, they know they'll never have to repay."
and
"...if you were aged 59 taking a course, unlikely to ever go back to full-time employment and living off pension earnings of under £21,000, you'd never need to repay this cash, so borrowing more would be a big win – at taxpayers' expense."
My reading of the guidance is that the size of your occupational pension income makes no difference to repayments - it isn't normally considered, unless it is subject to NIC1 payments or you have to complete tax self-assessment with unearned income of more than £2000. See under the heading "Student Loan deductions and Occupational Pensions" at the student loan repayment website FAQ for Plan 1 (sorry, can't post links yet). I can’t find any information published about Plan 2 and pension income.
Is my interpretation correct?
Yes you're right. For some reason MSE think pension income counts.
Ah, sorry I'm new here. I thought the forum was the way to contact them - I was directed here by a link in the original guide. What's the right way please?
I was going to say click on the Contact us link at the bottom of the page but it doesn't seem to be working at the moment. Hopefully that's a temporary glitch and it will eventually work again.
My physiotheraphy postgraduate Masters will cost 12K per year and there are 2 years. I am only 21. The student finance England company only offer around 5K per year. How best should I make up my funding loss or should I just approach a bank for all the money. The 12K doesn't include any living allowance. Any thoughts please?
Ah, sorry I'm new here. I thought the forum was the way to contact them - I was directed here by a link in the original guide. What's the right way please?
My physiotheraphy postgraduate Masters will cost 12K per year and there are 2 years. I am only 21. The student finance England company only offer around 5K per year. How best should I make up my funding loss or should I just approach a bank for all the money. The 12K doesn't include any living allowance. Any thoughts please?
Have you applied to your Uni for a Scholarship? A Masters is usually one year, not two, so if this part time? You should be able to work as well as study if this is the case.
Replies
I had to withdraw from my Masters after a month. I received the first payment of my loan. Will I have to pay this back straight away or will monthly payments be taken like my undergraduate degree?
"It's one reason those who are relatively near retirement, who don't have a degree and want one, will find doing one very appealing. This is because unless they've a huge pension, they know they'll never have to repay."
and
"...if you were aged 59 taking a course, unlikely to ever go back to full-time employment and living off pension earnings of under £21,000, you'd never need to repay this cash, so borrowing more would be a big win – at taxpayers' expense."
My reading of the guidance is that the size of your occupational pension income makes no difference to repayments - it isn't normally considered, unless it is subject to NIC1 payments or you have to complete tax self-assessment with unearned income of more than £2000. See under the heading "Student Loan deductions and Occupational Pensions" at the student loan repayment website FAQ for Plan 1 (sorry, can't post links yet). I can’t find any information published about Plan 2 and pension income.
Is my interpretation correct?
Yes you're right. For some reason MSE think pension income counts.
Have you informed them of the error? It's very unlikely that they will see it here.
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Have you applied to your Uni for a Scholarship? A Masters is usually one year, not two, so if this part time? You should be able to work as well as study if this is the case.