SMP & student loans
in 2024 I was made redundant from my job T 28 weeks pregnant. In November 2024 I received any wages owed to me, plus holiday pay etc and then in December I received my SMP in a lump sum. As you can imagine, I was taxed a lot and also they took £650 for my student loan. To put that into context, I normally paid about £30 a month if I didn’t receive a bonus etc and I’m on plan 2. I spoke with a friend about it who advised me to wait until the end of the tax year and apply for a refund through the SLC website. I did this and after literal months, I received an email saying I wasn’t eligible for a refund. I find this pretty unfair considering if I’d been paid that money monthly then I wouldn’t have paid anything as I wouldn’t meet the threshold. If you look at my earnings throughout the year then technically I’ve only over paid by about £60. But my point is as above, I wouldn’t have met the threshold and it would normally have been spread over 2 tax years as well, so I still wouldn’t have earned enough on paper. I guess what I’m trying to ask is does anyone know the SLC’s take on it? is it worth ringing or pointless? obviously this wasn’t my choice and HMRC strongly advised my employer against it, but they did it anyway. it left me in a financially crippling position that I’m still paying for now. I’ve just had my tax back that I overpaid, which was a great help!