The write-off rules, plan by plan
Straight from gov.uk, the loan is written off:
- Plan 1 (first loan on or after 1 September 2006): 25 years after the April you were first due to repay. First loan before 1 September 2006: when you are 65.
- Plan 2 (English and Welsh undergraduate loans, 2012 to 2023): 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
- Plan 4 (Scottish borrowers, first loan on or after 1 August 2007): 30 years. Earlier loans: age 65 or 30 years, whichever comes first.
- Plan 5 (new English undergraduates from August 2023): 40 years.
- Postgraduate loans (England and Wales): 30 years.
The clock starts from the April you were first due to repay, which for most people is the April after finishing the course. Whatever is left when the clock runs out is written off in full.
Why the date changes everything
The balance on a student loan statement looks like a debt. For many borrowers it does not behave like one, because the question that decides what you will actually pay is not the balance. It is whether your earnings will clear that balance before your write-off date. If they will not, the balance is partly, sometimes mostly, a number that will never be collected.
None of this is a loophole or a trick. It is the design of the system, and it was part of what Parliament's Treasury Committee examined in July 2026 when it concluded most borrowers will never repay in full and that the way Plan 2 loans were promoted amounted to mis-selling. There is no compensation scheme for that. But knowing your own end date, and refusing to pay extra into a balance that is already dying, costs nothing.
Student loan challenge templates are coming.
Records requests, refund letters and complaint packs for accounts that did not stop when they should have. Join the list to hear the moment they launch.
When the end date arrives: what should happen
At write-off, the loan ends. Deductions should stop, and money taken beyond the total owed is refundable under gov.uk's own rules: "you've paid more than the total amount you owe" is the first refund ground on its list.
"Should stop" is doing some work in that sentence. Payroll systems, HMRC and SLC do not always synchronise cleanly, and deductions that continue past the end of a loan are precisely the kind of quiet error nobody notices unless they are watching. If your write-off date is approaching, or you believe your balance is cleared, watch your payslips, and if money keeps leaving, act. The other errors worth checking at the same time are in the deduction errors guide.
Cancellation: death and disability
- Death. SLC cancels the loan. It does not pass to the estate or family. Notify SLC, and challenge any deduction or demand after the date of death.
- Permanent unfitness for work. Gov.uk says SLC may be able to cancel the loan of someone permanently unfit for work through illness or disability who claims certain disability benefits. If that describes you or someone you help, it is worth pursuing seriously, with medical and benefits evidence, because cancellation ends the loan entirely rather than pausing it.
The honest bottom line
Three numbers define your student loan: your threshold, your balance, and your write-off date. Everyone is told the first two. Almost nobody works out the third, and it is the one that decides what the other two mean. Find your date, project your earnings honestly against it, never pay extra without doing that sum, and make sure the deductions actually stop when the law says they must.
Checking the deductions themselves: the deduction errors guide. Templates for the records requests and complaints: on the Student Loan Errors page.
The letter for this
Advanced Learner Loan Write-Off Request
Written for this specific ground, with the law cited and the evidence demands built in. Complete the placeholders and send it.
Included free with the letter
- How Student Loan Complaints Work
- Your Advanced Learner Loan May Already Be Written Off
Frequently asked questions
When is a Plan 2 student loan written off?
30 years after the April you were first due to repay. For most people that means 30 years after the April following the end of their course. Whatever balance remains at that point, however large, is written off. Nothing further is owed and deductions should stop.
When are the other plans written off?
Plan 1: 25 years after the April you were first due to repay if your first loan was taken on or after 1 September 2006, or at age 65 for earlier loans. Plan 4: 30 years, or for pre-August-2007 loans, age 65 or 30 years, whichever comes first. Plan 5: 40 years. Postgraduate loans in England and Wales: 30 years.
Does the balance matter when the write-off date arrives?
No. The write-off applies to whatever is left, whether that is £200 or £60,000. This is why the balance on a statement can be a misleading number: for many borrowers the real question is not "how much do I owe" but "how much will I actually pay before the write-off date", and those can be very different figures.
What happens to a student loan when someone dies?
The Student Loans Company cancels the loan. It does not pass to the estate or the family. Someone dealing with a bereavement should notify SLC, and deductions or demands after the date of death should be challenged.
Can a student loan be cancelled because of disability?
Possibly. Gov.uk says SLC may be able to cancel your loan if you are permanently unfit for work because of illness or disability and you claim certain disability benefits. If that could be you, it is worth pursuing properly with evidence, because cancellation ends the loan entirely.
Should I make voluntary repayments to clear my loan faster?
Be very careful. Gov.uk is explicit that you cannot get a refund for extra repayments you chose to make. If your balance is on course to be written off before you would ever clear it, voluntary payments reduce a balance that was never going to be collected in full. Whether paying extra makes sense depends entirely on your earnings trajectory and your write-off date. Work that out before parting with a penny.
Sources: gov.uk, Repaying your student loan (write-off and cancellation; refunds); House of Commons Treasury Committee, Student loans: Broken and unfair?, 7 July 2026. Rules last checked 19 July 2026. Rules change: check gov.uk for the current position.