A decade after the first Plan 2 student loan borrowers in England began repaying, some are finding that their balances have grown instead of shrunk.
Here's what to know
BBC News highlighted one 2012 graduate whose original borrowing was nearly 38,000 British pounds (around $50,000) and whose outstanding balance stood at nearly 45,000 pounds (just over $59,000) after a decade of repayments.
The organization published an Instagram investigation marking 10 years of repayments for the first Plan 2 borrowers in England. It said some graduates still owe more than they originally borrowed, as interest has kept building.
According to the transcript, the video compares what graduates across England repay each year with the interest being added to those loans.
The caption said: "This year marks 10 years since the very first Plan 2 borrowers started repaying their student loans. For some, they still owe more than the originally borrowed."
One user responded, "It was basically a total scam," and another said borrowers should "Pay the lowest amount you can."
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More background
Because Plan 2 debt is written off after 30 years if any balance remains, a higher total does not necessarily mean a borrower should start overpaying.
One borrower in the video said, "It feels like, for what? Because I never clear that debt." Even after 10 years of deductions, some borrowers may still feel the balance is not moving toward zero.
The squeeze can also be felt in day-to-day finances.
One user said, "I have £800 ($1,060) left to pay, and I cannot tell you how excited I am to be getting back £500+ per month from November!!!!" Student loan deductions can shape spending on bills, housing, and other essentials.
What can be done?
BBC Education Correspondent Hazel Shearing's investigation presents quicker repayment as a calculation, not an automatic goal. Whether overpaying makes sense depends on income and how the 30-year write-off applies, even if the balance itself looks worrying.
Its advice is direct: "Don't just rush to pay your student loan because you think that feels like a sensible thing to do," the investigation says. "You need to go and do some sums here."
Working that out can be complicated. "And the problem is they are not easy sums to do," the video says. The decision is not as simple as paying off a credit card.
For borrowers outside the highest-earning group, keeping available cash may matter more than trying to erase a balance that might never need to be fully paid. The video said, "particularly if you're a mid- or lower earner, those overpayments are probably not going to benefit you."
Where can I learn more?
Student debt isn't the only place financial pressure shows up. These stories cover AI debt collection, families borrowing for groceries, curriculum fights in Ohio, and environmental harms that hit low-income students hardest.
• Across the U.S., AI debt collectors are quickly becoming routine, even over bills already paid.
• Across the U.S., households are borrowing for groceries while savings drain and bills go unpaid.
• In Ohio, universities face strict new curriculum limits that have students and faculty alarmed.
• In major U.S. cities, tree loss is hitting low-income students' success especially hard.
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