Student loan overseas thresholds

PaulT58

Thanks but it is only £308.80 in certain Euro countries such as France, Spain, Italy etc… Unfortunately it is £386.00 if working in Germany.

I just find it shocking that they can change the threshold by 20% overnight (and there's no guarantee that they will do the same again next year). I'm already on a tight budget and simply don't have the headroom to absorb such a significant increase.

Despite a recent promotion and pay increase in real terms I'm now worse off.

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81902200#Comment_81902200

Ahh. The first column slid away on my iPad, corrected now. So earning £51,467 over the threshold gives you the max payment and then it won’t increase further. With the threshold dropping to £25,510 from April 2026, that means you hit the max repayment level when you earn £74,977.

If wages keep up with the higher inflation levels, and the government doesn’t raise the max payment levels, people are going to hit that max level sooner than if they were in the UK. It’s already dropping from £79,937 to £74,977. There will be some people who gain with this move.

Worriedgraduate

Hi all,

I’m a UK citizen living abroad and my assessed income for Student Loan Company purposes is £77,000.

Because of the overseas thresholds, my required repayment is about £837 per month (~£10k per year), split between:

• Plan 2: £41,646 balance at 3.2%
• Postgrad: £10,483 balance at 6.2%
• Started repayment in 2017

The repayment feels high because the overseas thresholds are much lower than UK ones.

I have some money in premium bonds and in cash savings.

I’m debating whether to:

• Pay off the postgrad loan in full now (6.2%), which would drop payments by ~£345/month, or
• Just continue regular repayments (it would clear in ~3 years anyway).

I expect to stay at a similar income level.

Would you clear the postgrad loan now, or leave it to amortise?

Thanks — keen to hear rational takes

silvercar

By paying it off now you save paying interest of 6.2%, can you gain 6.2% on your savings net of tax? If not, then I would consider paying it off provided that (a) you are confident you will be earning at a level where you will pay it off within your forecast and certainly before it is written off and (b) you couldn't make better use of the money eg pension, home deposit, rainy day saving etc elsewhere.

Also check that the payment is calculated correctly. There is a max payment if you choose not to declare income.

Worriedgraduate

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81907943#Comment_81907943

Thanks for this. I did check and the amount calculated is correct. Because I am living and working in Africa, the thershold for repayment is very low, and so the payment is very high, relative to my salary. I wish I had not declared my income, making the minimum payments would have been much better… I also think that because I dont have access to financial products that can make me more than 6.2% interest, for now it makes sense to repay the post graduate loan in full due to the high interest, and then just make regular payments towards my undergraduate loan. Does anyone else have any other ideas or guidance? I'm feeling fairly worried about this and what the best decision would be

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915102#Comment_81915102

Nothing stopping you now choosing not to declare income. Bad form of the slc, not to let you know that you were over the threshold and could do this.

Worriedgraduate

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81916355#Comment_81916355

Thanks for your response. I had already declared by the time they calculated by very high rate.. so for now I guess I need to pay..

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81918116#Comment_81918116

You can stop declaring at any time you want…It's a choice not to declare, it's not seen as an attempt at trying to hide your earnings, it's making a choice to choose to pay the amount stipulated for not declaring rather than declare your earnings.

Worriedgraduate

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81918879#Comment_81918879

Thank you for that - how do I do that? I don't see a clear process for doing that anywhere, as now they have on the record, my earnings. Any guidance?

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81919694#Comment_81919694

https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/how-you-repay

Reduce your payments. They’ll soon be in touch if they aren’t happy.