We ask a lot of our young people. To work hard at school. Get the best grades they can. Find an avenue of further study, education, apprenticeship or direct employment. Pay taxes, save, buy a home, perhaps marry and start a family.
But we don’t make it easy for them. And for those who chose to go to university in England – particularly between 2012 and 2023 – we have saddled them with a system of generational unfairness through a student loan system which taxes them for decades.
It is an attack on aspiration, hard work and doing the right thing. That is why Prosper UK has this week launched Fair Fees, a campaign for reform of the student loan system in England. The campaign will support graduates, students and parents who believe the student finance system is unfair, unsustainable and needs urgent reform.
Our Fair Fees website has a loan repayment calculator tool that can provide an estimate on repayments, interest and the amount by which the debt balance could increase. We have also launched a petition that calls on the Chancellor and the Government to commit to changing the broken system. If you are a student, graduate or parent who believes reform is needed then please sign it.
Right now, graduates are paying thousands of pounds each year in repayments, only to see their overall debt grow. This uniquely unfair interest rates regime which students operate under sees around £15 billion of interest added each year. In fact, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says that graduate earnings typically need to reach £66,000 per year before the debt reduces at all.
The result is millions of graduates facing marginal tax rates of 51% once their student loan payments are dumped on top, and faced with a bill they can be paying for either 30 or 40 years, depending on the scheme their repayment is under.
