Thousands of former teacher trainees could claim more than £100 each after payments were wrongly taken for student loans, analysis from Tes reveals.

While the cash will not address teachers’ financial problems in full, it may be of some help to those struggling during the current cost-of-living crisis.

Figures obtained by Tes reveal that, in the past five years alone, 4,440 former initial teacher training (ITT), school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) and postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) trainees started repaying student loans before they had to, meaning they are eligible to claim money back. But only 400 of these former trainees have done so.

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Why can teachers claim student loans money back?

Most workers start repaying their student loan once they hit a certain wage threshold, but this only kicks in from the April after they leave university.

This includes graduates and those who leave their studies part-way through a course.

But sometimes the student loan repayments are taken too early, due to administrative errors.

In this case, borrowers can contact the Student Loans Company to reclaim the money; it will not be offered to them proactively.

Where repayment money is reclaimed, that sum is added back on to the balance of the loan - but in most cases it will never have to be repaid. This is because student loans are wiped after a set number of years, with many never repaying them in full.

Hannah McEwen, of MoneySavingExpert.com, said that reclaiming overpayments “could be a compelling money-saver for those with student loans”, but warned that this depends on the particular loan “plan”.

You can find the plan that you are on using this government list, and a list of the thresholds in different years on the government website.

Who could have repaid early?

Anyone with a student loan who started their study from 1998 onwards should only start repaying their loan from the April after they leave their studies, even if they hit the repayment threshold earlier.

You are most likely to have hit that threshold earlier if you started a job before the April after leaving your studies and you earned over the threshold - for example, if you started teaching in September, after leaving a course that summer.

But the threshold changes each year, and also varies by student “plan”.

How to reclaim

An SLC spokesperson said: “If a customer has a repayment deduction taken by their employer before this time, they are entitled to request that this money be refunded.

“Customers can check if a repayment deduction has been taken on their payslip or by logging into their student loan online repayment account.”

If you think you have overpaid, you can reclaim by ringing the SLC on 0300 100 0611 and asking a customer service agent to refund you. There is no time limit for doing this, so those who repaid years ago can still do it.