Pensioners stung by student loan repayments

CONCERNS: Whanganui budget adviser Sandy Fage says an income rise of $1 means more pensioners must repay student debt.

Retirees struggle to manage income

A BUDGET adviser in Whanganui is seeing an increase in pensioners being stung by student loan deductions after receiving just over $1 more a day in superannuation since April.

On April 1, the maximum annual gross income a pensioner living alone could receive in superannuation increased from $21,931.52 to $22,417.20.

Student loan debtors receiving any more than a gross income of $19,083 have repayments deducted.

Wanganui Budget Advisory Service co-ordinator Sandy Fage said several pensioners had recently raised concerns about managing their income, following student loan deductions.

"It might only be a small amount, $19 a fortnight or something like that, but when you're on the super, $19 is a lot of money," she said.

An Inland Revenue spokesperson said several factors could have created a perceived increase in Whanganui pensioners being required to pay back their student loans.

These included an increasing number of borrowers reaching retiring age and more retirees with student loans continuing to work.

Manawatu and Whanganui's student loan debt grew by more than $100 million in the past five years to $546.8 million as of June 30, according to Inland Revenue figures released under the Official Information Act.

Ms Fage said some clients owed huge amounts.

"We have a client going into insolvency with a student loan debt of $92,000.

"My understanding is she's got no qualifications - it was allowed to run amok a few years ago, and you could just keep getting more on your loan.

"It's good that the criteria's tightened up and people have to prove they're passing courses to keep receiving the loan now."

It was a good thing for beneficiaries to train but it created more debt, she said.

Ms Fage said case officers often suggested training. "Which is good, I get that: you've got some down time, how about looking at upskilling?

"They go on to Studylink - which is financially just as hard as the benefit - and not only that, while they're studying they incur another debt. We consider training for education a reasonably good debt, but it will become a reasonably bad debt if you go back to work and struggle to pay it back."

Nationwide, student loan debt has grown year-on-year for the past five years to $11.689 billion as of June 30.

University of Auckland sociology professor Alan France said student debt was causing several knock-on financial and social effects.

"There's lots of long-term evidence that shows you will earn more money if you go to university than if you don't, but these days that pay-off takes five to 10 years."