You don’t have to panic over student loans?! There are many flexible and affordable repayment plans available! In one plan, eligible borrowers only pay 10% of their discretionary income. For those graduating soon or alumni engaged in repayment, make sure you know about all of your options and select (or change to) repayment terms that work for your budget. All plan options are based on income level and family size.
If you do not select a plan, you will be placed in a standard repayment plan which is a 10 year fixed monthly payment. If that is not the plan that would work best for you, take some time to review available options. Read descriptions here or use the U.S. Department of Education’s Loan Simulator to compare plans.
Contact your loan servicer to discuss options and to select your preferred repayment plan. Loan servicers are companies that manage the billing and other services regarding your loan on behalf of the government. If you do not know the name of your loan servicer, check your email or snail mail for a letter, or login to studentaid.gov to find out. The following are names of loan servicers: Nelnet, Advantage, EdFinancial, Mohela, Mohela-Federal.
Types of repayment plans are:
Fixed
- Standard – fixed monthly amount
- Graduated – payments start lower and increase over time
- Extended – payment period up to 25 years for loans of $30k or more
Income-Driven
- SAVE – Pay 10% of discretionary income
- PAYE – Pay 10% of discretionary income but never more than what you would pay on the 10 year standard plan
- IBR – 10 or 15% of discretionary income but never more than what you would pay on the 10 year standard plan
- ICR – 20% of discretionary income or fixed payment over 12 years
Consolidated
- Multiple payments from multiple loans can be consolidated into a single payment