Do student loans count as debt?

eliakim

Hi, I'm new here so apologies if this has already been discussed or whatnot.

My student loans are around £15k (plan 1). Apart from that I have virtually no debt at all. I'm paying the loans back but my mandatory contributions have never done much more than pay off the interest - at this rate it would take hundreds of years.

Does this count as "debt free"?- and more importantly should I be more aggressive about paying this off? It certainly is a debt to be paid, but it's hardly the same as a mortgage or a loan and there aren't many people chasing for this money or even saying it should be a priority. Again sorry if this is the wrong forum, I'm just curious.

Karonher

I would say it is a debt as you have to (and are) paying it. If you are making the right payments, no one will chase you for it. When you stop it may be a different matter depending upon the reasons.

While you are only paying off the interest, you could be paying it for years and pay back well more than £15000.

jonnygee2

Personally I consider my student loan to be more like a temporary higher tax band than a debt.

It doesn't really function like a normal personal debt does, because of the way payments are tailored to your income level.

In terms of paying this off early, it is rarely worth it, especially as in your case as it is very possible you will never need to repay the full balance, so it could be a waste of money.

Clouds88

This prompted me to have a look online and I’ve got £7,000 left so looks like I’ll deff repay it all and by 7 ish years I reckon at max... interesting lol

JayRitchie

eliakim wrote: »

Hi, I'm new here so apologies if this has already been discussed or whatnot.

My student loans are around £15k (plan 1). Apart from that I have virtually no debt at all. I'm paying the loans back but my mandatory contributions have never done much more than pay off the interest - at this rate it would take hundreds of years.

Does this count as "debt free"?- and more importantly should I be more aggressive about paying this off? It certainly is a debt to be paid, but it's hardly the same as a mortgage or a loan and there aren't many people chasing for this money or even saying it should be a priority. Again sorry if this is the wrong forum, I'm just curious.

Have you checked the interest rate and the year in which the debt is written off? Last time I looked the interest rate was low enough to not worry about.

Karonher

Isn't it 25 years for some loans and 30 for others? There will be a lot paid back if it runs its course.

ryanm8655

25 years if you started your course between 2007 and 2011 IIRC. 30 years after.

Date is from the first April post graduation.