Update on Income Driven Repayment

October 10, 2024

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has reopened a simplified version of the online income-driven repayment (IDR) and consolidation loan applications. The DOE took down the online applications following a court ruling staying implementation of the SAVE Plan because the online IDR application reflected terms of the plan that were stayed by the court. This simplified version will allow borrowers to apply online for IDR plans and upload their income and family size information. Upon submission, applications will be sent directly to the borrower's servicer. Borrowers will also no longer have to download and print a PDF form (but will still have the option of submitting a paper form if preferred).

However, in this simplified version, borrowers will not automatically pull in their federal tax information to their application and will not see personalized recommendations about plan eligibility. The Department plans to bring back those features in the future.

Right now, borrowers may apply for the Income-Based Repayment and SAVE (formerly known as REPAYE) repayment plans. Borrowers with a consolidation loan that repaid a parent PLUS loan can continue to enroll in the ICR Plan. However, currently, most borrowers cannot enroll in the ICR plan; no one can enroll in the PAYE plan, under the terms of the DOEs regulations as modified by court orders.

Second, in the coming weeks, the DOE expects servicers to begin processing certain IDR applications that were paused following court orders affecting the terms and availability of IDR plans. Specifically, the Department will begin processing borrowers applications to enroll in:

  • IBR; and
  • ICR and PAYE received prior to July 1, and
  • ICR received from parent borrowers at any time.

Servicers will also process applications for recalculations for IBR, ICR, and PAYE. Servicers will have applications in the queue that will take some time to work through.

Borrowers with pending IDR applications will be in forbearance if the servicer needs additional time to process the application. Servicers will first move the borrower into a processing forbearance for up to 60 days. Interest accrues during this short-term processing forbearance, and time in the processing forbearance is eligible for PSLF and IDR. If the borrowers application is not processed within in 60 days, the borrower will be moved into a general forbearance that does not count toward PSLF or IDR until their application is processed. Interest will not accrue in this general forbearance. If borrowers have questions about their specific application or status, they should contact their servicer.

The DOE will continue to update ed.gov/save (Trusted Partner Link) and StudentAid.gov/saveaction (Trusted Partner Link) with useful and timely information for borrowers and plans to further communicate directly with borrowers in the coming weeks.

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