Martin Lewis warns parents over believing common 'myth and nonsense'

Martin Lewis has issued a warning to parents of children who are of university age - urging them not to believe "myths and nonsense". The BBC Sounds podcast star spoke out on Twitter, now X, on Thursday (November 7) as he promoted his show.

Mr Lewis wrote: "If you're planning on going to Uni, or your children are at some point, or you're already there. This is the stuff you need to know. So many myths and nonsense spoken about student loans..." Earlier, he had promoted his latest podcast episode.

Mr Lewis typed to his followers in an advert for the episode: "New Pod: Student finance debunked! How it really works, impact of tuition fee rise, how much it'll cost parents, what if u don't pay it off & more | UK base rate cuts | Worst ever impulse buys. Do listen."

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In reply, a Twitter/X user said: "you avoided Adrian's key question, no matter what the interest rate there will be a huge amount of unpaid debt. who picks up the cost , I think it's the taxpayer at a projected cost of £6b a year . please highlight this"

Mr Lewis replied: "No I didnt. I explained that 19p in the pound is paid by the state - that's the key. It used to be 100p before tuition fees, then 44p in the last system. So its far less. But the idea this is due to 'unpaid debt' is the issue."

A second asked: "I have a question about my particular circumstances (mature student, paying off loan since graduation). I can't join the forum to ask. Is it worth me clearing it off early if I can and use the monthly repayments for saving? Plan 2, repaying £100 pm."

"Don't do it, it's an extra 10% tax on your salary for the rest of your life on top of income tax, national insurance, and any pension. Nearly Half your salaries gone even earning under 50k," wrote another social media user in response.

Another asked: "Please campaign for the removal of parental assessment (and stepparents) for an adults’ loan. Also, does paying towards uni fees/maintenance count towards gifting money to children?"