Repay your student debt in 15 years? Then interest rises to 3.28 per cent

Anyone repaying their student debt over fifteen years – under the old system – will see the interest rate rise to 3.28 per cent. That is considerably higher than the rate for current students.

Student finance provider DUO confirms that the interest rate on student debts for current students will be 2.7 per cent. That is what the Higher Education Press Agency calculated last week for (former) students who are allowed 35 years to repay.

But there are also 740 thousand borrowers under the old system, and even a few thousand students who began their studies a long time ago. They repay over fifteen years, and their interest rate is calculated differently too: based not on a year, but on a single month.

That rate is rising from 2.29 to 3.28 per cent. Rates are fixed for five years, so not everyone will be affected straight away. DUO offers a calculator.

Unfavourable reference point

The National Student Union says it is shocked by the interest rate increase. (Former) students are already in a difficult economic situation, the union says, and this is ‘a kick when they’re down’.

The student union wants the government to implement its plan for a 2.5 per cent cap on interest rates on student debt as soon as possible. It would prefer to abolish interest altogether.