A campaign for Plan 2 student loan reform is gaining momentum, and Sam Patterson, Head of Proposition at Equilibrium Financial Planning, has asked for the profession to come together and put our weight behind it.
Unsurprisingly, Sam Patterson‘s phone went ‘mental’ in the weekend just gone, largely due to an article published in The Sunday Times, that yet again put Plan 2 student loans under scrutiny.
His personal experience of rising balances despite years of repayments has struck a chord with paraplanners, planners, and industry leaders who are increasingly recognising the impact of student finance on long‑term financial wellbeing.
The call for meaningful reform of the Plan 2 student loan system has a real advocate in Sam and he very much has energised a growing movement within the financial planning profession.
Sam’s story really highlights the flaws in the current structure. Having borrowed £42,000 for his degree, he has already repaid over £10,500, yet his outstanding balance now exceeds £51,000. Sam recently commented: “Let me be clear; I absolutely should repay my loan, including a reasonable level of interest. Graduates aren’t asking for a handout, we just don’t want to be ripped off.”
The current system applies interest at RPI plus up to 3%, with higher earners charged the highest rate. It also imposes a frozen repayment threshold, meaning repayments rise automatically as salaries grow, even though that threshold was originally intended to track earnings. The result is a loan that behaves far more like a graduate tax than a traditional borrowing arrangement.
Sam was one of a few graduates’ stories shared by The Sunday Times in their most recent article but what has set Sam apart, is the way he has connected it to the values of the financial planning profession. He has now very openly asked our profession to back The Times’ campaign, urging us to stand with the very demographic the profession says it wants to reach – the next generation.
The campaign centres around three focused reforms:
1 – ending the threshold freeze and link to earnings, as promised.
2 – linking interest to RPI, scrapping the additional 3%.
3 – capping lifetime interest to 20% of the original loan, in real terms.
By speaking out, Sam has articulated the frustration many are feeling feel but often do not voice voice. Sam’s recent features in articles, his LinkedIn posts and wider conversations, have really resonated because they combine technical understanding of our profession with lived experience, giving the debate both credibility and urgency.
This is a pivotal moment for the profession to demonstrate its commitment. Supporting reform is not just a gesture, it can be a practical step toward creating a more stable financial landscape for the clients that the advice profession will be supporting for decades to come.
As Sam has emphasised, if the profession wants to engage the next generation, it must show up for the issues that directly affect them. Student loan reform is one of those issues, and now is the time for the pr0fession to show up and indeed put some much needed weight behind a campaign that truly matters.
