According to data from the Student Loans Company (SLC), over 61,000 borrowers have sums of more than £100,000, and 50 more borrowers each owe more than £200,000.
Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to determine the number of loan holders with debts over average who are qualified to begin repayments, the numbers were made public.
Prior to starting repayments, the SLC reported that the average balance for loan borrowers in England was less than £45,000. According to updated government figures, that sum has now increased to £48,470.
For people who pursue several or long courses, balances can be much greater and often climb quickly with interest.
Around 2.8 million people in England repaid their student loans in 2023–2024, according to government data that was made public following the FOI response.
This indicates that while most people repay their amounts owing more than £50,000, a minority percentage have debts totaling more than £100,000 in total.
It follows the announcement earlier this year that the maximum student debt in the UK was above £231,000. After about three months, that amount has increased to £252,000.
These balances are “alarming,” but they are “in no way indicative of the norm,” according to Tom Allingham of the website Save The Student.
The news was informed by personal financial expert Martin Lewis that loans were to be viewed more as a “limited form of graduate tax.”.
