A monthly payment IVA normally lasts 5-6 years. However it may be possible to settle the Arrangement early if a lump sum can be raised.
Included in this article:
- How to settle and IVA early
- What amount of cash is required?
- Where can the money you need come from?
- Can you use a windfall you have received?
Want help to start an IVA? Give us a call (0800 077 6180) or complete the form below to speak to one of our experts
How to settle an IVA early
Once a monthly payment IVA starts it usually lasts for 5-6 years. It is however possible to reduce this period. The Arrangement can be settled early with a lump sum.
While the Arrangement is running you can offer to pay your creditors a one off cash payment. In return they then agree that no further monthly payments will be required.
Once the cash is handed over the Arrangement is completed. The outstanding debt is written off and you are no longer bound by its terms.
Settling your IVA early means you have no further annual reviews of your circumstances. In addition any subsequent increases in income or windfalls you receive are yours to keep.
How much cash is needed to settle an IVA early?
The key question is how much cash will be required to settle the IVA. There is no one answer to this. The amount required is different in each case and will depend on your specific circumstances.
As a rule of thumb you will need to pay an amount equal to the total of your outstanding monthly payments. So for example if you are paying £200/mth and have 24 months to go you would need to offer £4800 (£200 x 24).
You circumstances may have changed meaning you are no longer in a position to maintain your IVA payments. In this situation your creditors may be prepared to accept a lower amount.
The amount required to settle your IVA must first be agreed with your IVA company. Most will consider a sum equivalent to your outstanding payments. However others may demand more.
Where can the money you need come from?
The cash required to settle your IVA early can come from a number of places. However it cannot be money that your creditors would normally be entitled to.
As such, the most common source is a gift or loan from a family member or friend. Money offered in this way is only available to your creditors to settle your Arrangement. In the absence of such an agreement they would not be able to get their hands on it.
If you are a home owner it may be possible to release equity from your property. If you can raise cash in this way your creditors will often be prepared to take this to settle the Arrangement immediately
Remortgaging to settle an IVA will require the assistance of a specialist broker. Call us (0800 077 6180) or complete the form below for help with this.
Can you use a Windfall to settle your IVA?
If you receive a windfall during your IVA it will normally have to be paid into the Arrangement in full. The injection of the extra funds does not reduce length of the agreement and you have to continue making your payments.
That said some windfalls can be used to to settle an IVA early in specific circumstances. One example of this is a redundancy payment. If you lose your job you may be able to offer the redundancy money you have received to settle your Arrangement.
However this will only be the case if it is clear you will be unable to get a new job (perhaps due to ill health or your age). Where you can get back into employment it is very different. You will be allowed to keep some of your redundancy money to maintain your living expenses and IVA payments. The rest will have to be paid into the Arrangement.
It is not usually possible to settle an IVA early after receiving a windfall. This money usually has to be paid into your Arrangement on top of your normal monthly payments.
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I have been in an iva for 3 years I have 22 months left at 160 per month. I am currently on sick from work and lucky enough to receive full pay for 3 months but after this it will be reduced so I’m a bit worried about keeping up payments. I don’t want them to reduce it as this would just lengthen the agreement.
My partner has offered to gift me the remaining amount payable in a lump sum. I understand he has to prove he is able to do this but how long does it take and are you guaranteed they will accept it
Hi Sheran
If you are on long term sick and are no longer in a position to pay your IVA then it is certainly possible for your partner to offer a lump sum to settle the Arrangement early. As a rule of thumb he will need to offer the same amount (or a little less) than you would otherwise pay if you continued to pay your IVA. So in your case this would be £160 x 22 = £3520.
You will need to speak to your IVA company about the situation and explain you want to settle early with funds from your partner. If he were to offer £3500 they would definitely go for it. Given you cannot continue to pay as you no longer have an income you might be able to get away with offering slightly less, say £3000.
Once your IVA company has agreed on the amount then will then make the offer to your creditors on your behalf. This will be in the form of a variation to your IVA. It will normally take around 4-6 weeks to arrange this.
Hi my iva is for 4 years and ive being paying them for 2 and half years. I’ve got 17 months left. My monthly payment is £96 so i called them up and told them that i want to pay of the remaining amount in a lump sums. They told me to send my bank statement to them and they will look into it.
Then they told me that coz ive had pay rise i can pay £285 now. After i told them that i cant afford they say its now £150 which i still cant afford. How can i reduce again.
Hi Lepani
Under the terms of your IVA if your income goes up or your living expenses fall then your payments are also likely to go up. Basically your IVA company has to recalculate your surplus income and you have to pay 50% of the extra surplus into the Arrangement.
The only way to reduce your payments is to review your income and expenses and prove that they have got the figures wrong and your surplus is actually lower than was calculated. However if the figures are correct the only way to lower your payments would be to reduce your income.
Ultimately if you cannot reduce your payments then over the next 17 months you will pay £2550 (17 x £50). If you want to settle early a third party would need to offer approximately that amount. Having said that if you offer £2000 your IVA company might go for it.
What is considered a windfall? Is there a threshold? What if I was given a £500 cash gift?
Hi Don
For the purposes of an IVA a windfall is basically any cash amount you receive during the Arrangement. Common examples are an inheritance payment, compensation payment or lottery win.
Having said that one off income payments such as overtime or an annual bonus would not normally be considered a windfall. These types of payment are treated differently.
In terms of the amount received most IVA Companies will let you keep a windfall if it is less than £500. However anything above this will normally be claimed and will have to be paid into your Arrangement in full.