Which Student Loan Plan Am I On?
Your repayment plan determines your threshold, interest rate, and write-off period. Here is how to identify yours.
Why Your Plan Matters
Your student loan plan type is not just an administrative label — it determines three critical factors that affect how much you repay over your lifetime: your repayment threshold (the salary level at which repayments begin), your interest rate (how quickly your balance grows), and your write-off period (when the remaining balance is cancelled). Two graduates with identical salaries and identical starting balances can end up repaying vastly different total amounts simply because they are on different plans.
For example, a graduate earning £35,000 on Plan 4 (threshold £33,795) repays just £108.45 per year, while the same graduate on Plan 5 (threshold £25,000) repays £900 per year — more than eight times as much. Over a career, this difference compounds to tens of thousands of pounds. Knowing your plan is the essential first step to understanding your student loan.
Quick Lookup Table
Use this table to identify your plan based on when and where you studied:
| When You Started | Where You Studied | Your Plan | Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before Sept 2012 | England or Wales | Plan 1 | £26,900 |
| On or after Sept 1998 | Northern Ireland | Plan 1 | £26,900 |
| Sept 2012 – Aug 2023 | England or Wales | Plan 2 | £29,385 |
| On or after Sept 1998 | Scotland | Plan 4 | £33,795 |
| From Aug 2023 onwards | England | Plan 5 | £25,000 |
| From Aug 2023 onwards | Wales | Plan 2 | £29,385 |
| From 2016/17 onwards | Postgraduate (any UK) | Postgraduate | £21,000 |
Note: Welsh students starting from August 2023 onwards remain on Plan 2 — only English students moved to Plan 5.
Plan 1 — Pre-2012 England, Wales & Northern Ireland
Plan 1 applies to English and Welsh students who started their undergraduate course before 1 September 2012, and Northern Irish students who started on or after 1 September 1998. If you went to university in England between 1998 and 2011, you are almost certainly on Plan 1. Tuition fees during this era were initially £1,000 per year, rising to £3,000 from 2006 and eventually £3,375 by 2011. As a result, Plan 1 balances are typically much smaller than Plan 2 — usually between £10,000 and £25,000.
Plan 1 has a repayment threshold of £26,900 per year (2026/27), a flat interest rate of 3.2%, and a 25-year write-off period. Because balances are smaller, many Plan 1 borrowers will repay their loan in full before the write-off kicks in — particularly those who entered higher-earning careers. If you are close to repaying in full, it may be worth considering whether overpaying saves you money.
EU students who studied in England or Wales before September 2012 are also on Plan 1. Advanced Learner Loans taken in England before 1 August 2023 may also fall under Plan 1 terms. If you converted from a mortgage-style loan in the early 2000s, your loan was moved to income-contingent terms under Plan 1 rules.
Plan 2 — 2012–2023 England & Wales (Most Common)
Plan 2 applies to English and Welsh students who started their course on or after 1 September 2012 and before 1 August 2023. This is the most common plan among current UK graduates, as it covers the decade when the majority of today's working-age graduates attended university. Tuition fees were up to £9,250 per year, resulting in typical debts of £40,000–£60,000+ including maintenance loans.
Plan 2 has a unique income-based interest rate sliding scale, ranging from RPI only (3.2%) for those earning below £29,385, up to RPI + 3% (6.2%) for those earning above £52,885. Between these thresholds, the rate scales linearly. The write-off period is 30 years, and the government's own modelling suggests approximately 70–75% of Plan 2 borrowers will never repay in full — meaning overpaying is a waste of money for the majority.
If you are on Plan 2, the most important question is whether you will be in the 70–75% whose loan is written off or the 25–30% who repay in full. Use our Plan 2 calculator to project your situation. If your loan will be written off, consider salary sacrifice to reduce repayments further.
Plan 4 — Scotland
Plan 4 is for Scottish students who started their course on or after 1 September 1998. It was introduced in April 2021, replacing the previous Plan 1 classification for Scottish borrowers. All Scottish student loans were automatically transferred from Plan 1 to Plan 4 at that point — you did not need to do anything, and the transfer happened behind the scenes.
Because Scottish tuition fees are covered by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), Scottish students typically only borrow maintenance (living cost) loans. This means Plan 4 balances are generally smaller than English Plan 2 balances. Plan 4 has the highest repayment threshold of the standard undergraduate plans at £33,795, a flat interest rate of 3.2%, and a 30-year write-off period. For pre-2007 Scottish loans, the write-off occurs at age 65 instead.
Important: Your plan is based on where you studied, not where you are from. An English student who attended a Scottish university is still on their English plan (Plan 1 or 2). A Scottish student who studied in England would be on Plan 2 (if they started 2012–2023) for the English tuition fee loan, but their maintenance loan from SAAS would be on Plan 4. Read more about the differences in our England vs Scotland comparison.
Plan 5 — Post-2023 England (Newest Plan)
Plan 5 is the newest plan, introduced for English students starting undergraduate courses from 1 August 2023 onwards. It replaced Plan 2 for new borrowers. If you are starting university in 2023, 2024, 2025, or later in England, you are almost certainly on Plan 5. The key changes from Plan 2 are:
- Lower threshold: £25,000 (vs Plan 2's £29,385) — you start repaying at a lower income
- Lower interest rate: RPI only with no additional margin (vs Plan 2's RPI to RPI+3%) — your balance grows more slowly
- Longer write-off: 40 years (vs Plan 2's 30 years) — repayments continue for longer
The combination of a lower threshold and longer write-off means most Plan 5 borrowers will repay more in total than Plan 2 borrowers on the same salary, despite the lower interest rate. The lower interest sounds better but is largely irrelevant for borrowers whose loan gets written off — what matters is the threshold and the number of years you are repaying. See our Plan 2 vs Plan 5 comparison for a detailed analysis.
Postgraduate Loans
Postgraduate Loans are separate from undergraduate plans and cover Master's courses (from 2016/17) and Doctoral courses (from 2018/19). You can hold a Postgraduate Loan alongside an undergraduate loan — they are treated as two separate debts with independent thresholds and repayment rates. The Postgraduate Loan threshold is £21,000 with a 6% repayment rate (compared to 9% for undergraduate loans).
If you have both an undergraduate and postgraduate loan, your total deduction each month is 9% of income above the undergraduate threshold plus 6% of income above £21,000. For example, on a salary of £40,000 with Plan 2 and a Postgraduate Loan, your monthly deduction would be approximately £79.61 (Plan 2) + £95 (Postgraduate) = £174.61. Use our Postgraduate Loan calculator to see your exact figures.
The maximum Postgraduate Master's Loan is £13,206 (2026/27), and the maximum Doctoral Loan is £31,122. Interest is charged at RPI + 3% (currently 6.2%), the highest rate of any plan. The write-off period is 30 years. Read our full guide on student loans for Master's degrees.
How to Check Your Plan
If you are still unsure which plan you are on, there are several ways to confirm:
- Check your SLC online account: Log in at slc.co.uk — your plan type is displayed on your account dashboard alongside your current balance
- Check your payslip: Your payslip shows the student loan deduction type — "SL1" for Plan 1, "SL2" for Plan 2, "SL4" for Plan 4, or "PGL" for Postgraduate
- Check your P60: Your annual P60 certificate from your employer shows the plan type and total deductions for the tax year
- Contact the SLC: Phone the Student Loans Company helpline (0300 100 0611) if you cannot access your account online
- Ask HMRC: Your personal tax account at gov.uk shows your student loan plan type under PAYE details
Can You Be on Multiple Plans?
Yes. If you have both an undergraduate loan (on any plan) and a Postgraduate Loan, you will have two separate loans on two different plans. Both are repaid simultaneously from the same income, but each is calculated independently against its own threshold and rate. This means your total monthly deduction could be 9% above the undergraduate threshold plus 6% above £21,000.
You cannot be on two undergraduate plans simultaneously for the same period of study. However, if you started a first degree on Plan 1 and then did a second undergraduate degree after 2012, the new borrowing would be on Plan 2, while your existing Plan 1 loan continues under Plan 1 rules. Both would use the 9% rate but against their respective thresholds. In practice, HMRC collects the higher deduction and splits it between the two loans.
What About EU Students?
EU students who studied in England or Wales and borrowed from Student Finance England follow the same plan rules as domestic students. An EU student who started in England in 2015 would be on Plan 2. Since Brexit, new EU students starting from 2021/22 onwards are generally classified as international students and are not eligible for UK student finance, though transitional arrangements may apply.
Use the Right Calculator
Now that you know your plan, use the correct calculator to project your repayments and see whether your loan will be repaid or written off: