Martin Lewis sounds urgent reminder to those starting university in England in 2023 after student loans change

Martin Lewis has sounded an urgent reminder to those starting university in England in 2023 after a major change to the student loans system.
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Martin Lewis has issued an “urgent”reminder to those starting university or high education in England that they have just days left to apply for their living costs loans to guarantee they are paid on time. The deadline is this Friday (May 19).

Applying before this date will ensure prospective students get their the instalments paid on time, and is all part of the new student loan system that is about to come into place in England. Posting on his Twitter account, Mr Lewis said: “Urgent. Starting University or Higher Education this September?

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“English students starting this year will be on a brand new student loan system and need to apply by THIS FRIDAY to get their living costs loans to be guaranteed to paid on time (it may still be paid on time after this, but there’s no guarantee so sooner is safer).

The Money Saving Expert later added clarification, saying: “Tweaked the post slightly to be clearer about what the deadline is (it’s about the ‘guarantee’)”.

To finish off your application for maintenance loans, visit your Student Finance England account.

Student loans system in England - what changes are being made?

Student finance is about to become more expensive in England from September as a new loan repayment plan is about to be introduced. The new ‘Plan 5’ student loans will see the yearly repayment threshold lowered and the time increased before it can be written off.

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Under current ‘Plan 2’ specifications, graduates repay 9 per cent of their income above £27,295 a year - but this will be lowered to £25,000. Additionally, graduates with Plan 2 loans have their student debt written off after 30 years but this will now be 40 years for those starting from September.

There is a slight benefit for those starting this year, as current Plan 2 loans are charged annual interest based on the retail prices index (RPI) plus an extra 3 per cent. However, for the Plan 5 loan, the interest rate will just be based on RPI, removing the extra 3 per cent charge.

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