It depends on which repayment plan your UK student loan falls under and when you first became due to repay. Here’s a concise guide to common write-off rules:
- Plan 1 loans (older UK loans, typically for students in England/Wales who started before certain dates): written off 25 years after the April you were first due to repay, or at age 65 if that happens first (depends on when you started). Postgraduate Plan 1 loans follow the same write-off rules.
- Plan 2 loans (most students who started university from the 1998/99 intake onward in England/Wales): written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
- Plan 4 loans (Scotland): written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
- Plan 5 loans (post-2012 English and Welsh students who took out additional English/university fees): written off 40 years after the April you were first due to repay.
- Postgraduate loans (England/Wales): written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
- Northern Ireland: write-off rules follow Plan 1 for postgraduate loans; otherwise, NI-specific terms apply.
- Scotland: postgraduate loans follow Plan 4 write-off rules.
Key points to determine your specific write-off date:
- Identify your repayment plan (Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4, Plan 5, or Postgraduate Loan).
- Determine the first April after you were due to start repaying.
- Add the corresponding number of years (25, 30, or 40) to that April, or apply the age-based rule if your plan uses that trigger.
What you can do next:
- Check your official statement or your Student Loans Company (SLC) account to confirm your plan type and the first April you were due to repay.
- If you’re unsure about your plan, you can contact your loan servicer or use the official government guidance to confirm write-off rules for your specific circumstances.
If you’d like, share your repayment plan and the year you first became due to repay, and the assistant can estimate your approximate write-off year.
