The new year has arrived and so have interest on student loans. The interest rate this year is 2.56. This is more than five times higher than last year, when it was 0.46 percent.
The fact that interest rates have risen does not mean that everyone will pay that rate. For people who have already completed their studies, the percentage is determined every five years.
This means that people who stopped studying in 2018 and 2023 will pay this new rate. A new fixed interest period begins for them. People who graduated in 2017 will still pay 0.46 percent for the next four years.
The percentage will also apply to people who are still studying. For them, the interest rate is recalculated and fixed every year. The interest rate is equal to the average interest rate on five-year government bonds.
People who graduated before 2015-2016 must pay off their debt within fifteen years. The interest rate for this group increases from 1.78 to 2.95 percent. This benefit will apply, among others, to people who graduated in 2013 and 2008. For the group that stopped after 2016, a repayment period of 35 years applies.
The House of Representatives wants to lower interest rates
Last October, the House of Representatives agreed to lower interest rates for people who borrowed during the loan system, the so-called “bad luck generation.”
It is not certain whether the new government will continue with these plans. It is also unknown when and to what extent the interest rate should be reduced.
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