University graduates with a student loan may be able to get back hundreds or even thousands of pounds they’ve overpaid, Martin Lewis has claimed. The Money Saving Expert founder said there are four different ways Britons who have a student loan may be paying back too much of it unneccessarily.
Recent graduates can face staggering student loan debts which in some cases rise above £60,000 following years of tuition fee rises. Leavers have to start paying back the money once their income reaches certain thresholds, though write off periods under the various available plans mean after a certain period the debt disappears.
Mr Lewis shared the first reason people are overcharged in a promo for The Martin Lewis Podcast shared on X.
“Are you one of up to five million people who has overpaid your student loan? If you’re a university leaver and commonly in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, you may be able to get back hundreds, or possibly thousands of pounds,” he said.
“Now there are actually four different ways you can have overpaid your student loan.
In the clip, the personal finance guru explained: “The most common [reason people are overpaying] is that, even though you only have to repay the student loan if you earn over the annual threshold (for some on a typical Plan 2 loan that’s just under £29,000), money is taken for the student loan by the month if you earn over the monthly threshold.
“So there are many people who have irregular incomes, or only work part of the year, or are on commission, who earn over the monthly amount in some months, so it’s taken from them, but they earn under the total annual amount in the year, so they shouldn’t have repaid.”
The money-saving expert says “in some cases I’ve seen this is up to £3,000 overpaid”.
He directed Britons to his BBC podcast where he breaks down the four main reasons why students may be overpaying.
Student loans are primarily provided by the government-owned public body, Student Loans Company (SLC), in England and Wales.
You can find out more about the rules for each plan type and how much you should be paying here.
Steven Darling, Customer Experience Director, at SLC, said: “At SLC, we’re committed to delivering a modern, simple and digital experience that works for customers. The Digital Refund Service is a great example of how service improvements are helping repayment customers manage their loans more easily.
“This service has been designed to support customers who are eligible for Below Threshold refunds — the most common type of refund — and provides a straightforward process to request a refund through their online account. With over 1.1 million refund requests submitted since launch, it’s clear that the service is both valuable and accessible.
“To ensure customers don’t miss important updates about refunds, I would also encourage customers to ensure that their contact details are up to date and remind them that they must update their bank details in their online account to submit a refund request.”
