MARTIN LEWIS: 5M OWED £100S EACH IN LOAN REFUNDS

Once you’ve thrown your mortarboard up in the air and collected your degree, you face the prospect of paying back what you owe to the Student Loans Company.

But in the latest Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter, Martin Lewis has highlighted new figures showing that a whopping 1.1 million UK graduates actually overpaid their student loans during the 2024/25 tax year.

When this is added to previous overpayment figures, it pans out that at least 5 million people across the country are due a refund of £100s or even £1,000s.

If you suspect this total may include you, rest easy, because the nation’s trusted finance guru has issued advice on reclaiming the excess.

And thankfully, he notes that ‘whether it’s an overpayment this past year or before, it’s easy to get your money back.’

One MSE reader who thought she’d paid the correct amount said she received a £949 refund within a week of claiming, so it’s certainly worth checking if you fit the bill.

In 2024, the average debt among students in England who graduated that same year was £53,000 – no small sum.

However, government figures suggest that only around 56% of this cohort will ever repay their loans in full, since the debt is wiped after 30 years.

Why you might have overpaid

Because UK student loans are income contingent, you only repay a percentage of your earnings over a set threshold (currently 9% of anything above £24,990 annually for those on plan 1).

If you’re an employee, your repayments will automatically be taken from the payroll in the same way as tax, which means no faffing around with paperwork or setting up direct debits.

But because deductions are estimated on a month-to-month basis, if your salary has fluctuated over the year, you may have accidentally overpaid.

This might’ve happened if, for example, you only worked for nine months of the tax year, meaning your earnings were under the threshold.

Admin errors or incorrect information about your payment plan can also lead to discrepancies, potentially making you eligible for a refund.

And thanks to a new online system, it’s easier than ever to see what you owe or get back what you’re owed.

How to claim back student loan overpayments

If you believe you’ve paid despite not earning enough during tax years up to 2022/2023, you can request a refund via the government website. Simply log in with your customer reference number or email address, password and secret answer to get the ball rolling.

From there, the Student Loans Company will check for any refunds you’re eligible for as far back as the early 2000s, and the money should be in your account within 28 days.

If you’re concerned you’ve overpaid because you’re on the wrong payment plan or you started repaying the loan too early, you’ll need to contact SLC to get the refund processed.

Explain your situation, referencing your payroll number or PAYE number if you have them – you should be able to find these on payslips or P60 documents.

How much you can reclaim

There are no restrictions on how far back you can claim (although extra money you voluntarily paid towards your student loan above the required amount is exempt).

Basically, it’s worth a shot even if you graduated years ago.

According to MSE, some graduates have previously received as much as £3,773 back, with the typical refund amount over the last year at £240.

Earlier this year, one MSE devotee wrote to Martin and his team to let them know that she ‘spent 15 minutes on the phone and got £555 back’, adding that the cash ‘couldn’t have come at a better time.’

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2025-11-12T11:58:38Z