I don't even know how much is outstanding. Probably about £20,000 total by now. The first one began in 2003. I've not paid a penny of either of them, nor been asked to. In the UK you don't pay a set amount per month or year like a mortgage: you pay a percentage of your annual income above a certain threshold. So it's more like tax than a commercial loan, and in fact it's deducted from your salary along with your tax.

The percentage is fixed at 9%, and the threshold goes up a bit each year: currently it's £15,795. At no time since the first loan started have I earned enough in a single year to make any repayments. However, this will probably change in a year's time. Thankfully they won't double up and ask me for 18%: the earlier loan will be repaid first, and the later one will wait.

There is interest, but it's (supposed to be) exactly the same as inflation, which makes it interest-free in real terms. I didn't actually need my first loan, as tuition fees were only £1,200 a year back then, but I realised it was the cheapest loan I'd ever get, so I took it out anyway and invested it, hoping for an above-inflation return. It actually worked out pretty well.

If you die or reach retirement age without having paid back the full amount, any balance is wiped.