Help understanding APR of student loans - Plan 5

LondonD

Can someone explain how the interest rate for Student Loans (Plan 5) is calculated.

On the Gov website (educationhub blog gov uk/2023/08/01/how-are-student-loans-changing-everything-you-need-to-know/) it says:

"The interest rate is set at the start of each academic year and is linked to the rate of inflation as measured by RPI (retail price index).  

Previously, for loans taken out under Plan 2 (post-2012) loans, the interest rate was set at RPI plus 3 percent during study. From the April after you finished your studies, interest rates would vary on a sliding scale from RPI only to RPI plus 3 percent depending on how much you earn.  

However, under Plan 5, the interest rate is just set at RPI only both during and after study.  

This means the amount you owe increases over time but only by about as much as the price of retail goods and services."

March '24 APR was 4.3% from what i can see whilst the rates are set at 8% (which happens to be the cap.  I've bolded the section on the gov website where it says the APR should be RPI so i can't figure out the descrepency. Any ideas?

LondonD

Scrap this - i was mislead on the current rate - it's the prior rate that was 8% and not 4.3%. Apologies that i can't delete the question.