Study debt interest rate to rise to 0.4 per cent

Study debt interest rate to rise to 0.4 per cent

From January, the interest rate on study debts will rise to 0.4%. This will raise the monthly amount for lenders. The rates are likely to rise faster next year.

For six years now, students and former students have had to pay no interest on their student loans, but Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf says that it is ‘realistic’ to end this. Meanwhile, 100,000 students have signed a petition to prevent interest rate hikes.

The Financieele Dagblad newspaper calculated that students and lenders will pay 0.4% interest next year. The rate could be calculated now because it is linked to the interest rate on Dutch Government loans which run from October to October.

The new interest rate means that on an average study debt of EUR 20,300, you will have to pay around EUR 82 in interest a year. Each month, you will then pay EUR 52 in interest and repayment to DUO. For a relatively high study debt of EUR 60,000, the monthly amount is EUR 153.

HOP, Peer van Tetterode