MARTIN Lewis has revealed an “unbeatable” loan – and you only pay it off if you meet three criteria.
The personal finance whizz, 51, explained all about it on his ITV show where he was responding to a question.
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A viewer tweeted to the show: “If you’re likely to pay back your student loan, should you pay it off as soon as possible, or even consider taking out a loan at a lower rate than the SL (student loan)?”
Mr Lewis was firmly against taking out a loan.
He said: “Definitely do not take out a loan, even if it’s a lower rate. There’s a number of reasons.
“First of all, the student loan interest rate is based on inflation. Sometimes inflation plus three per cent. Certainly, the new student loan is based on inflation.
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Mr Lewis explained that while inflation was high at the moment, over the long run, the interest rate on a student loan was cheap, adding: “Over 20-30 years that’s probably cheaper than a commercial loan.”
He advised not to look at the rate today but what it would be in the long run.
In addition, Mr Lewis called student loans “unbeatable” due to their terms.
He said: “There’s no commercial product that said if you don’t earn enough you don’t have to pay.
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“If you lose your job you won’t have to pay.
“That it’ll be wiped after 30 or 40 years.
“So you don’t want commercial loans.”
Mr Lewis advised caution in overpaying on your loan even if you were likely to pay your student loan back.
He said: “You have to question what your other financial priorities are.
“If you’re saving for a house deposit, keeping the money aside for a house deposit is more powerful and more helpful than overpaying a student loan that has those favourable terms.
“But if you’ve got your house, you’re never going to borrow another loan again and you’re earning enough to pay off your loan before it wipes then yes, pay it off as quickly as you can.
“But there are a lot of caveats before I got to say yes.”
To be able to qualify for a student loan you have to be a prospective student on a qualifying course which is run by university or college.
Plus you have to be a UK national or Irish citizen or have “settled status”.
Mr Lewis’ comments come a week after he urged anyone with an outstanding student loan to check if they have been paying the wrong amount.
A freedom of information request he filed found that a million people overpaid their loans in 2022/2023 in that year alone.
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He then followed it up with a segment on his ITV show last week explaining four ways that those with student loans could be paying the wrong amount and whether they could reclaim cash.
It was revealed in July this year that university student debt stands at £182billion — with some owing almost £200,000 each.
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