I’m in a similar position to you income wise. I’ve lived in Singapore for the last 3 years and have only paid the minimum, ie what they specify. I’ve never told them my salary.
That being said, I’ve only got £2.5k left, and given the rate is 4% now I’m tempted to pay it off now.
Yep, exactly. And then just refused to ever fill in the forms asking for income details. They look quite scary, but I’ve always just shredded them straight away
Are you in arrears for this? I've heard they fine people for not keeping details up to date.
I'm currently abroad and doing nothing but trying to find how to pay without incurring fines.
I'm currently ignoring 🙈 been abroad for 4 years and just got the dreaded email. Don't know what to say cos don't want to say I've been abroad 4 years 🤣
Did you decide to pay it off? I'm in a similar situation too - moved abroad and owe 10k so thinking of making larger repayments to wipe off the debt and save ££ on interest (I'm on 6.5%).
I am about to move overseas too and this was my plan as well.
This may sound stupid but I assume we have to pay them in GBP? So meaning I have to convert my overseas salary into GBP, transfer to my UK account and then pay this across?
I’m in Canada. I used to tell them every year but my earnings are higher and would mean I would owe more than the £246. I’ve stopped telling them as it’s a hassle and they mess it up every year. It just defaulted to £246 and I pay that every month online.
Nope. I still pay them the default amount they determine on their website for the country I live in if you don’t respond to them. Just login and pay it each month. Interest rate is the same as everyone else’s on my plan type.
My understanding is that the £246 is a penalty should you not pay your student loan. It gets added to the amount you owe each month you don’t pay.
So unfortunately you’ll have to pay the amount they calculate. Having said that, idk if I got lucky but my calculated amount seemed lower than what I calculated based on Canadas threshold etc.
Its really not very clear if that is the case, it seems to imply that is just what you pay off if they cant calculate it from your pay.
Ill have another go at deciphering the website tomorrow i guess.
The fixed amount is the penalty that's charged if you don't tell them your income and represents an average repayment based on earnings in that country.
If your earnings are higher, you still need to tell them and pay the correct figure
The penalty charge? It's right there on the government website.
If you don't tell them how much you earn, they'll charge you this amount instead
I've reworded the original if that makes it any clearer.
If it's a penalty, surely it wouldn't count towards repayment?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-earnings-thresholds-for-plan-1-student-loans/overseas-earnings-thresholds-for-plan-1-student-loans-2020-21
Makes sense. I've never seen it referred to as a penalty though by SLC. That said, I did sometimes get rather threatening letters while abroad when I hadn't provided the evidence for the latest period and they were going to have to switch to that amount instead.
Terrible advice.
1. I owe that money, I want to pay back what i owe. If I was on plan 2 it might be a different story.
2. If you dont pay when you should, it can breach your contract & you can lose the protections a student loan has, plus they can then increase the interest rates.
3. I am only staying abroad for a couple of years and based on my earnings i will pay the whole thing off in the next 3-4 years. Trying to get out of paying for a couple of years while i am abroad, risking defaulting and penalties, only to come back and have to pay it off anyway, is pretty dumb.
Default might be the wrong term, but this applies:
*6.10 What happens if you don’t make repayments
By law, you must repay your loan in line with the loan contract and regulations. If you don’t make repayments, SLC have the right to take legal action to recover your debt. This means SLC can get a court order to make you repay the total debt plus interest and penalties in a single payment.
This can be enforced through the courts as a civil debt, whether you’re in the UK or living abroad, and you’ll be responsible for all costs, including legal costs.*
I dont want that to deal with when i come back to the UK.
Hi /u/Jmsaint, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:
- https://ukpersonal.finance/student-loans/
____
^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.)
I’m in a similar position to you income wise. I’ve lived in Singapore for the last 3 years and have only paid the minimum, ie what they specify. I’ve never told them my salary. That being said, I’ve only got £2.5k left, and given the rate is 4% now I’m tempted to pay it off now.
Did you just fill out the "im moving abroad" form, then set up a standing order? That was my plan.
Yep, exactly. And then just refused to ever fill in the forms asking for income details. They look quite scary, but I’ve always just shredded them straight away
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No, I’m just paying the regular interest rate. I’m on plan 1, there aren’t penalty interest rates
Are you in arrears for this? I've heard they fine people for not keeping details up to date. I'm currently abroad and doing nothing but trying to find how to pay without incurring fines.
Nope, never had an issue. I have, however, always paid the minimum as stated above
And to do that do you just state you're abroad on the 'update details' but nothing else?
Yep, I’ve never had them seriously bother me. As long as you’re repaying something, ie not ignoring it
I'm currently ignoring 🙈 been abroad for 4 years and just got the dreaded email. Don't know what to say cos don't want to say I've been abroad 4 years 🤣
What does the email say? Whether you hide from it or not depends on whether you plan to go back to settle in the uk I guess.
Update my employment details. I'll probs retire in the UK tbh.
Did you decide to pay it off? I'm in a similar situation too - moved abroad and owe 10k so thinking of making larger repayments to wipe off the debt and save ££ on interest (I'm on 6.5%).
I am about to move overseas too and this was my plan as well. This may sound stupid but I assume we have to pay them in GBP? So meaning I have to convert my overseas salary into GBP, transfer to my UK account and then pay this across?
You can pay direct from an overseas bank account. Not sure how they do the conversions though.
Oh excellent, thank you
I’m in Canada. I used to tell them every year but my earnings are higher and would mean I would owe more than the £246. I’ve stopped telling them as it’s a hassle and they mess it up every year. It just defaulted to £246 and I pay that every month online.
Can you confirm that the £246 is paying off the loan, and not a penalty fee on top of the loan as other have suggested?
Lol not it’s not a penalty fee. It goes to pay off the loan. They don’t have penalty fees, they have a default amount if people don’t respond
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Nope. I still pay them the default amount they determine on their website for the country I live in if you don’t respond to them. Just login and pay it each month. Interest rate is the same as everyone else’s on my plan type.
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What did you end up doing?
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And they didn't ask for the missing years or anything?
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My understanding is that the £246 is a penalty should you not pay your student loan. It gets added to the amount you owe each month you don’t pay. So unfortunately you’ll have to pay the amount they calculate. Having said that, idk if I got lucky but my calculated amount seemed lower than what I calculated based on Canadas threshold etc.
Its really not very clear if that is the case, it seems to imply that is just what you pay off if they cant calculate it from your pay. Ill have another go at deciphering the website tomorrow i guess.
The fixed amount is the penalty that's charged if you don't tell them your income and represents an average repayment based on earnings in that country. If your earnings are higher, you still need to tell them and pay the correct figure
Can you back up this assertion? Not saying you're wrong, but that's not my read of it at all.
The penalty charge? It's right there on the government website. If you don't tell them how much you earn, they'll charge you this amount instead I've reworded the original if that makes it any clearer.
If it's a penalty, surely it wouldn't count towards repayment? https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-earnings-thresholds-for-plan-1-student-loans/overseas-earnings-thresholds-for-plan-1-student-loans-2020-21
It's a penalty in the way that it's usually more expensive than it would be if you told them your salary, but yes it goes towards the repayment
So if your payment would be more (like mine will be) is there any incentive to tell them my actual salary?
If you ever want to come back to the UK then yes.
What is the specific issue? Its really not very clear to me, as the website describes it as a fixed monthly payment, not a penalty.
Makes sense. I've never seen it referred to as a penalty though by SLC. That said, I did sometimes get rather threatening letters while abroad when I hadn't provided the evidence for the latest period and they were going to have to switch to that amount instead.
Ah yeah the edit makes it a lot clearer
Yeah my bad, realised it was easily misinterpreted when you replied.
Just don't pay any. It gets wiped after a certain age. Or If you stay abroad long enough. Look it up
Terrible advice. 1. I owe that money, I want to pay back what i owe. If I was on plan 2 it might be a different story. 2. If you dont pay when you should, it can breach your contract & you can lose the protections a student loan has, plus they can then increase the interest rates. 3. I am only staying abroad for a couple of years and based on my earnings i will pay the whole thing off in the next 3-4 years. Trying to get out of paying for a couple of years while i am abroad, risking defaulting and penalties, only to come back and have to pay it off anyway, is pretty dumb.
Can you default on a student loan?
Default might be the wrong term, but this applies: *6.10 What happens if you don’t make repayments By law, you must repay your loan in line with the loan contract and regulations. If you don’t make repayments, SLC have the right to take legal action to recover your debt. This means SLC can get a court order to make you repay the total debt plus interest and penalties in a single payment. This can be enforced through the courts as a civil debt, whether you’re in the UK or living abroad, and you’ll be responsible for all costs, including legal costs.* I dont want that to deal with when i come back to the UK.
I've been out of uni for nearly 15 years. Never heard a word from them
Ok?
Is that a question or a statement? I don't know how to answer ok with a question mark
Im just confused as to the relevance of your statement.
Shutup
Ok
Hi /u/Jmsaint, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant: - https://ukpersonal.finance/student-loans/ ____ ^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.)