REPAYMENT PLAN OPTIONS & PROGRAMS

The Department of Education offers several programs that can help you with your monthly student loan payment. Knowing which plans are available is half the battle. We help you better understand and complete the paperwork for the rest. When you see a plan you like, let us know, and we can help you file for your favorite.

Great, The Standard could be for you. Or perhaps consolidation isn’t the best option at all.

If you have federal student loans, this is The Standard repayment program option. This plan allows borrowers to pay off their debt sooner rather than later.

Pros:

• Fastest repayment plan available to pay off your debt.
• Fixed monthly payments that do not change for the duration of the term.
• Saves you the max in interest charges.
• Any payment made above the minimum goes towards your principal.
• Your debt is done and paid for in 10 years if unconsolidated.

Cons:

• High monthly payments.
• If consolidated, your pay off date can be extended from 12 to 15 years (on average) – but could take up to 25 years depending on your balance.
• No loan forgiveness options are available under this plan.

First of all, congrats! Second, check out The Graduated Plan; it allows you to increase payments over time.

This plan is perfect for those just starting out in their career and expect to move up the ol’ corporate ladder. It allows you to keep your payments low for the first few “entry level” years and then gradually increases your monthly payments.

Pros:

• Gives you the low monthly payments you need now and gradually increases them every two years.
• Quick pay off date that allows you to stay on the same track as The Standard.

Cons:

• The first 2 years of payments only go towards your interest, not your principal – which means you’ll pay more in interest than The Standard in the long run.
• Loan forgiveness is not offered under this program

The Extended Plan can help.

If your monthly payments are too high to meet, The Extended Plan lengthens the time you have to pay in order to drastically lower your monthly bill.

Pros:

• Low monthly payments.
• Offers options for fixed (or gradually increasing) payments.
• Gives you up to 25 years to pay off.

Cons:

• It can take longer to pay off than The Standard.
• The amount you pay in interest is higher than The Standard Plan.
• Not everyone qualifies (i.e. you must have $30,000+ in direct loan debt, and you can not have any outstanding balances dating back to October 7th, 1998).
• Forgiveness options are not available under this plan

We’re sorry to hear that. The Income-Based Plan gives you a break.

Did you lose your job? Having trouble finding a job? Did you have a baby? If you can show that you are experiencing financial hardship, you have access to The Income-Based Repayment Plan. This option takes your current income, state of residency and family size/filing status into account to calculate a monthly payment that is only 15% of what is considered to be your discretionary funds.

Pros:

• Low monthly payment based on your income.
• You could qualify to receive forgiveness after 300 qualified payments or after 10 years if you qualify for PSLF.

Cons:

• It takes up to 25 years to pay off (unless you qualify for forgiveness).
• More years of making payments means more interest than The Standard.
• To continue on this plan, you must re-qualify and submit new paperwork on an annual basis.
• Not everyone qualifies.

Ok, The Income-Contingent Plan might be a good a fit.

This plan offers most of the same features and benefits of The Income-Based Plan, but is meant for borrowers who CAN NOT prove any financial hardship this year. Your payment is based off of 20% of discretionary income which takes into account how much money your make, state you live in and your family size/filing status.

Pros:

• Flexible payments to fit your lifestyle.
• You could qualify to receive forgiveness after 300 qualified payments or after 10 years if you qualify for PSLF.

Cons:

• It can take up to 25 years to pay off (unless you qualify for forgiveness).
• You pay more interest than The Standard.
• To continue on this plan, you must re-qualify and submit new paperwork on an annual basis.

Yes! Both The PAYE and The REPAYE Plans give you an even bigger monthly reduction!

The Pay As You Earn Plan (PAYE) only pulls 10% of your discretionary income. What’s discretionary income? Glad you asked. Discretionary income is the difference between your adjusted gross income and 150% of the poverty guideline amount for the state you live and family size, divided by 12. Whoa.

Pros:

• Offers the lowest possible payment (or NO monthly payment) based on your income.
• You could receive forgiveness after 10 (or up to 20) years of making qualified payments.

Cons:

• It can take up to 20 years to pay off (unless you are eligible for forgiveness).
• You end up paying more in interest than The Standard.
• Loans must have been taken out after October 1, 2007.
• To continue on this plan, you must re-qualify and submit new paperwork on an annual basis.

Just like the PAYE Plan, The Revised Pay As You Earn Plan (REPAYE) bases your payment off of 10% of you discretionary income, the state you live in and family size. The plans are largely the same, but the biggest difference in REPAYE is that everyone qualifies regardless of the date you took out your loans.

Pro’s:

• It doesn’t matter when you took out your loans… yay!
• Monthly payments are only 10% of your discretionary income.
• You could qualify for forgiveness in the future.
• This is a great option if you are single (or married and filing jointly) because of the added interest forgiveness benefits available after the first 3 years. Under REPAYE, You may qualify for some subsidized interest benefits if your payment isn’t covering all of the interest accruing on your loan. This benefit would extend after the first 3 years if you are in REPAYE, where subsidized interest would only accrue at 50% if your payment still isn’t covering it.

Cons:

• There is no cap on the monthly payment.
• If you are married, REPAYE takes your spouse’s income into account even if you file separately.
• To continue on this plan, you must re-qualify and submit new paperwork on an annual basis.
• If you borrowed only for your undergraduate education, forgiveness is possible after 20 years of repayment. If you borrowed any amount for graduate or professional education, forgiveness isn’t possible until after 25 years of repayment.

YES! Qualified borrowers could have some or ALL of their remaining debt forgiven! Here’s how it works:

For those borrowers who’ve consistently made their payments in-full and on-time for at least 10, 20 or 25 years (note: the number of years depends on various personal factors) could qualify to have the remainder of their student loan debt forgiven!

Are you a nurse, teacher or work in a similar public-serving occupation? If so, you could qualify for forgiveness too! If you give back, the government may give back to you as special thank you for your service and contributions.

No worries, that’s why we’re here!

Our advanced algorithms and personal student loan debt advisers are here to help you find the right plan to fit your needs. Whether it’s a quick pay off date, lower monthly payments, or finding out if you qualify for forgiveness – our trained experts are here to answer all of your questions and make the process as simple as possible.