Should the total amount graduates repay be limited relative to the initial sum borrowed?
UK student loans are repaid at 9% of income above an annual threshold (currently £29,385 for Plan 2). Interest is charged (capped at 6% for Plan 2 in 2026/27) and unpaid balances are written off after 30 or 40 years. Many graduates, especially lower earners, repay less than borrowed in real terms while higher earners repay substantially more. Recent government action capped interest rates but froze thresholds, prompting calls for further reform including total repayment limits.
17 Opinions
Young people need to be more financially literate before agreeing to take loans they, currently can't or won't ever be able to, pay back.
System is broken. We bizarrely give £100 Million loans to foreigners who then disappear & renege on debt. We spend £81 Billion on funding low IQ ignorant criminals but can’t properly educate our own. It’s not that a proper system can’t be designed, it’s choices & Politicians & Civil Servants don’t seem to want a fair transparent system. UK State has an uncanny ability to spend what it wants on chosen projects but ignore what’s right for UK. Who is really in charge? Not PM.
Reform is needed of the Plan 2 interest rates, it’s deeply unfair for higher earners to be hit with higher interest rates that keeps them in perpetual debt.
There are many problems with the student loan system and even the concept of student loans in the first place, but this is not a very good way to fix them. Much better would be to scrap fees for UK students entirely and instead roll the costs into taxation - you could even have it as a graduate tax if you wanted to.
Graduates should not have to pay more than was borrowed if they are free of this burden they surely eventually pay it back in taxes by becoming successful in their chosen field of work. I think in this case short-term pain for the Government but a long-term gain.
It already is capped relative to the sum borrowed. That's what interest is! What a silly question
I'm unsympathetic to those who take on a loan without considering how they will pay it back. However, there are egregious examples of crippling debt that look very much like exploitation.
The system needs reform but yes the repayments need to be more proportionate. We also need to look at stopping massive loan amounts being built up while studying subjects of limited or zero real worth
But also we should look at the university courses offered and reduce those that are irrelevant
Loans should be used as a way to nationally encourage talent and training to where the country needs it. For example - encourage nurses and drs, teachers and scientists, discourage self indulgent non useful over subscribed degrees which do not lead to careers.