UK student loans are 'income-contingent'. You only start repaying when your income exceeds the threshold for your plan, and repayments are 9% of income above the threshold (6% for Postgraduate loans). If your income drops, repayments drop or stop.
Balances are written off after a set number of years — 30 years for most Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers, 40 years for many Plan 5 borrowers, and other periods for other plans. Because of write-off, many borrowers never repay in full — and paying extra voluntarily is often not worthwhile.
Student loans are not included in typical debt solutions like DMPs or IVAs. They don't affect your ability to get a mortgage in the same way as consumer debt, though the monthly deduction does affect affordability.
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