Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE)

For new undergraduate students from 2027, you’ll have a loan entitlement up to the equivalent of four years of post-18 study, which you can use for different courses at different times.

This means you could:

  • study a full degree in one go
  • spread your funding across shorter courses, modules or professional training
  • upskill or retrain later in life without having to self-fund
  • access support for tuition fees and, in many cases, maintenance costs.

You’ll be able to apply for LLE as of September 2026 for courses or modules starting in January 2027.

Loan entitlement

If you haven’t received government support to undertake higher-level learning before, you’ll be able to access a full entitlement equal to 4 years of full-time tuition. This is currently equal to £38,140, based on the current maximum fee limit of £9,535 per year (2025-26 fee rates).

If you have previously received government support to undertake higher-level learning, you may only have some or none of your entitlement left, depending on previous funding received.

How does repayment work?

You must start repaying your loan when you have left the course and earn more than a certain amount. This is known as the repayment threshold.

Repayment of LLE loans will follow the new system of student loan repayments, known as Plan 5. This means repayments will only start once you earn more than £25,000 a year before tax, equal to £2,083 a month or £480 per week.

Your repayments will depend on what you earn over the threshold, not the total amount you owe. For most people, this is automatically deducted from their salary at the same time as Income Tax and National Insurance.

The regional funding bodies for Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland have not announced plans to change funding, comparable to LLE.

For more information about Lifelong Learning Entitlement, please visit the government website.