Analysis · GOV.UK · 26 November 2025
Student Loans Interest and Repayment Threshold Announcement for Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans: What It Means for Your Student Loan
Written by Zubair Arshed FIA, Chartered Actuary
Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
Actuarial Post Life and Health Actuary of the Year 2024
GOV.UK has published its annual announcement confirming the interest rates and repayment thresholds for Plan 2 (undergraduate) and Plan 3 (postgraduate) student loans. With the Plan 2 threshold frozen at £29,385 until at least April 2030, this matters because a static threshold combined with rising wages quietly drags more of your salary into repayment each year.
This analysis responds to reporting by GOV.UK. We recommend reading the original alongside it: Student Loans Interest and Repayment Threshold Announcement for Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans ↗
What did GOV.UK actually announce for Plan 2 and Plan 3?
Each year the Department for Education sets two things for student loans: the repayment threshold, which is the salary above which you start repaying, and the interest rate applied to the outstanding balance. This announcement covers Plan 2, the loan most English and Welsh undergraduates who started from 2012 hold, and Plan 3, the label GOV.UK uses for the Postgraduate Master's and Doctoral loan.
The headline point is continuity rather than change. The Plan 2 repayment threshold has been held at £29,385, and government policy is to keep it frozen until at least April 2030. The Plan 3 postgraduate threshold sits at £21,000. Neither number is rising with inflation, which is the detail worth your attention.