Add 2026 Plan 2 student loan interest rate thresholds #1420
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Add parameters documenting student loan interest rate rules: - Plan 1: Lower of RPI or base rate + 1% - Plan 2: Income-contingent (RPI to RPI+3% based on income thresholds) - Plan 4: Same as Plan 1 - Plan 5: RPI only (no income-based component) - Postgraduate: RPI + 3% Add student_loan_interest_rate variable that calculates the applicable rate based on plan type and income, with Plan 2 tapering between the lower and upper income thresholds. Fixes #1417 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Lower threshold: £29,385 (2026-09-01), frozen at same value through 2029 per Budget 2025 repayment threshold freeze - Upper threshold: £52,885 (2026-09-01) Source: GOV.UK Student Loans Interest and Repayment Threshold Announcement Fixes #1419 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
…holds - Update lower_threshold.yaml and upper_threshold.yaml to use underscore separators (e.g., 29_385) - Replace Python test file with YAML test file (student_loan_interest_rate.yaml) - Tests cover Plan 2 income-contingent rates, threshold freeze 2027-2029, and other plan types 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Use p = parameters(period).gov.hmrc.student_loans.interest_rates then call p.x directly in calculations to make explicit that values come from parameters. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Create dedicated variable for Plan 2 income-contingent interest rate calculation. This makes the tapered rate logic reusable and explicit. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Replace hardcoded Plan 1, 4, 5 interest rate parameters with formula-based variables that calculate rates from underlying inputs: - Plan 1/4: min(RPI, BoE base rate + 1%) - Plan 5: RPI only - Plan 2: RPI to RPI+3% (income-contingent) New parameters: - gov.boe.base_rate: Bank of England base rate - gov.hmrc.student_loans.interest_rates.rpi: Student loan RPI rate Removed parameters: - interest_rates/plan_1.yaml (now calculated) - interest_rates/plan_4.yaml (now calculated) - interest_rates/plan_5.yaml (now calculated) - interest_rates/plan_2/base_rate.yaml (replaced by rpi.yaml) Sources: - Plan 1: SI 2009/470, Regulation 21 - Plan 4: Same formula via amendments to SI 2009/470 - Bank of England rate history 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Remove interest_rates/rpi.yaml (duplicative) - Reference gov.economic_assumptions.yoy_growth.obr.rpi in formulas - Add legislative references to all interest rate variables - Add OBR EFO November 2025 reference to BoE base rate forecasts - Update tests to use OBR RPI values (4.33% for 2025, 3.71% for 2026) 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Calendar year 2026 uses 2025-09-01 thresholds (28,470 / 51,245), not the 2026-09-01 values which take effect in September. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Move uprating from dated value entries to top-level metadata - Reference Regulation 21A(12) for lower threshold (L) - Reference Regulation 21A(13) for upper threshold (H) 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Remove 2020-2024 values that lacked proper references - Keep only 2025+ values with corroborating sources: - 2025-09-01: From Student loans guide 2025-26 - 2026-09-01: From government announcement - 2027-2029: Freeze per Budget 2025 - Update references to cite correct regulations (21AA/21AB) Every value now has a corroborating reference. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Lower threshold (2020-2024): - 2020-09-01: £26,575 (GOV.UK previous thresholds) - 2021-09-01: £27,295 (GOV.UK previous thresholds) - 2024-09-01: £27,295 (2024-25 Terms Guide) Upper threshold (2024): - 2024-09-01: £49,130 (SI 2022/1335 + 2024-25 Terms Guide) Every value now has a corroborating reference. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Uprating is set at the parameter level in top-level metadata. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Per Regulation 21AB, the lower interest threshold equals the Plan 2 repayment threshold. Instead of duplicating values in a separate parameter, reference the repayment threshold directly in the formula. This removes the lower_threshold.yaml file and updates plan_2_interest_rate to use gov.hmrc.student_loans.thresholds.plan_2. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
…ttern - Create plan_1/boe_margin.yaml parameter for the 1% margin - Update plan_1_interest_rate to use parameter instead of hardcoded 0.01 - Apply p = parameters(period).gov pattern to plan_5_interest_rate 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
p = parameters(period).gov.hmrc.student_loans for cleaner code. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Summary
Changes
Lower threshold (
lower_threshold.yaml):Upper threshold (
upper_threshold.yaml):Rationale
The lower interest threshold equals the repayment threshold (as noted in the existing documentation). Budget 2025 froze the Plan 2 repayment threshold from 2027-28 until 2029-30, so the lower interest threshold should also be frozen.
The upper threshold has no announced freeze, so only the 2026 value is added.
Sources
Fixes #1419
🤖 Generated with Claude Code