Years to repay (with voluntary)
6 yearsVoluntary Repayment vs Investing
Compare paying off your HELP debt faster against investing the money instead
HECS/HELP Lab
Voluntary repayment vs investing
Should you make voluntary HELP repayments or invest the money instead? Compare indexation savings against potential investment returns.
Verdict
Recommendation
Invest insteadYears to repay (without voluntary)
10 yearsYears saved
4 yearsIndexation saved
$3,092Hypothetical investment growth
$44,351Net benefit of voluntary payments
-$11,259At 3.5% CPI and 7.0% investment return, investing the money would generate more wealth than the indexation you would save. Consider investing instead of making voluntary payments.
Note: HELP debt does not appear on your credit report, has no interest charges (only CPI indexation), and is forgiven if you pass away or become permanently incapacitated. Investment returns are hypothetical and not guaranteed.
Related HELP tools
FAQs
Is there a bonus for voluntary HELP repayments?
No. The voluntary repayment bonus was removed in 2017. There is no financial incentive from the ATO for making voluntary payments.
When does paying off HELP faster make sense?
Voluntary payments can make sense when CPI indexation is high and expected investment returns are low, as you save on future indexation. However, if investment returns exceed CPI, investing is typically more beneficial.
Does HELP debt affect my credit score?
No. HELP debt does not appear on your credit report and does not affect your credit score. However, lenders may factor HELP repayments into your borrowing capacity assessment.