Student loan queries

MinnieCooper

Hi,
I am hoping to change career very soon (due to a change in working hours) and may need to take a student loan out to help myself, and my family, survive for a year without my income. I have a place on a distance learning MSc (one year course) but there is no bursary.

I am 45 now so quite old to be even thinking of doing this (the new career is related to what I do now though but in a different area, with better working hours). I have read that they don't start taking payments until 3 years after graduation.

(1) Does the interest start accruing from the date you take the loan out or 3 years later?
(2) What happens when I reach 66?

Ed-1

MinnieCooper wrote: »

Hi,
I am hoping to change career very soon (due to a change in working hours) and may need to take a student loan out to help myself, and my family, survive for a year without my income. I have a place on a distance learning MSc (one year course) but there is no bursary.

I am 45 now so quite old to be even thinking of doing this (the new career is related to what I do now though but in a different area, with better working hours). I have read that they don't start taking payments until 3 years after graduation.

(1) Does the interest start accruing from the date you take the loan out or 3 years later?
(2) What happens when I reach 66?

Interest accrues from the date the payment is made at RPI+3% (so 6.1% from 1st September 2017). The March RPI is used from 1st September each year to set this rate.

Nothing happens when you reach 66.

The loan enters repayment on 6th April after leaving the course (but not until 6th April 2019 at the earliest).

Any postgraduate loan repayment is 6% of earnings above a threshold which is currently £21,000 (e.g. earn £22,000 and pay £60 a year).

Any loan balance left 30 years after it enters repayment is forgiven.