When are student loans written off?
It depends on the repayment plan. According to GOV.UK, Plan 2 loans (England and Wales, courses from 2012) are written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay, Plan 5 loans (England, courses from August 2023) after 40 years, and Plan 4 loans (Scotland) after 30 years. Plan 1 loans are written off after 25 years if first paid from September 2006, or at age 65 if earlier.
The Department for Education's student loan forecasts, published on 9 July 2026, expect 55% of full-time undergraduates starting in 2025/26 to repay their loans in full.
Written-off amounts in a given year are small for now, because the first large cohorts have not reached their write-off dates. Long-term cost estimates are forecasts, not outturn.
When is the next figure out?
HESA publishes its main student statistics early in the calendar year after the academic year ends, with finance data later. The Student Loans Company publishes its England release in June and separate releases for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. DfE releases on Explore Education Statistics go live at 9:30am and are pre-announced on the GOV.UK statistics calendar; student loan forecasts appear in the summer and apprenticeship figures several times a year. Home Office study visa figures are quarterly.
Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.
Where the figures come from
- Higher education and student finance statistics (HESA, Student Loans Company, Office for Students and DfE)Official figures on UK student numbers, international students, student loan debt, graduate earnings, university finances and apprenticeships.
- Home Office statistics (immigration, borders and policing)Find Home Office figures on small boat arrivals, asylum, hotels, visas, returns, detention, police numbers and stop and search, and how to read them.
Related questions
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This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about universities and student finance: all Universities and student finance questions.