Yahoo Finance Male nurses clobbered with higher student loan debts than lawyers and bankers
Male graduates in lower-income roles such as nurses and midwives will be faced with paying back thousands more in student debt than their counterparts working in the law and finance sectors, findings reveal.
According to a report carried out by the University and College Union (UCU), many graduates are likely to be hit by a “mid-life tax crisis” due to the burden of massive student loan debts, combined with higher national insurance rates than if they hadn’t graduated from university.
MORE: Income inequality in the UK has actually fallen since the financial crisis
MORE: The best cities in the world to be a female entrepreneur
Male nurses and midwives are “disproportionately impacted” by student loan repayments according to the report, specifically because of how long it takes for these graduates to repay the loan and the accumulation of interest on the outstanding loan balance.
For example, in social work, nursing and teaching men lose 3.2%, 3.6% and 3.6% of average salary to loan repayments over their working life, compared with 2.1%, 2.0% and 2.5% for legal, financial and medical professionals.
The UCU’s general secretary Sally Hunt said that the report showed “there are no winners under the current student loan system, just different ways to lose.”
“As some better-paid graduates reach their 30s and 40s they will be hit with marginal tax rates of 51%,” she said. “Meanwhile men on lower salaries working in our public services like teachers, nurses and social workers will never pay their debt off fully and will end up paying more money back in total.
MORE: State pension age to be raised seven years earlier than planned
“That money should be going into saving for retirement, towards a mortgage or even starting a family. This generation of graduates sees debt wrack up from their first day of university and some will never pay it off.”
The report also revealed that female graduates fare worse than their male equivalents, particularly in terms of length of time on higher tax rates, spending an extra three years paying the 51% marginal tax rate.
Meanwhile, a female medical professional graduating from university will pay back a total £192,000 in loan debt over the course of her career, compared to the £142,000 paid back by a male colleague, while a female finance professional will pay back £127,000 over her career, compared to her male counterpart’s £86,000.
MORE: Brexit no-deal will spawn ‘legal morass and economic disaster’
Report author Maike Halterbeck from London Economics added: “This analysis provides robust evidence of the impact of the current fees and funding – and supports what many people have been saying since the introduction of £9,000 fees in 2012/13.
“Both the very high rates of taxation affecting many professions – as well as their extended duration – will have an ongoing impact on graduates’ disposable income over their entire working lives. To address these impacts, an in-depth review of the current system should be undertaken as soon as possible.”
