The U.S. Department of Education has temporarily stopped student loan forgiveness under the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan. This pause is happening while the system is being updated.
This plan is the only one not blocked by lawsuits, and forgiveness will resume after updates are done.
What Is the IBR Plan?
IBR (Income-Based Repayment) is a student loan plan that lowers your monthly payment based on:
- Your income
- Your family size
Payment Amount:
- 15% of your income (for most borrowers)
- 10% if your loan started after July 1, 2014
How Long Until Forgiveness?
If you don’t finish paying your loan within a set time:
- 20 years (if loan was before July 1, 2014)
- 25 years (if loan was on/after July 1, 2014)
After that, the remaining loan can be forgiven.
Why Was Forgiveness Paused?
The Trump administration didn’t give a full reason, but the Education Department said:
“IBR forgiveness is hold for a while our systems are updated.”
The update is needed to correct how months are counted due to recent court orders against other student loan plans — especially the SAVE plan.
What’s the SAVE Plan Got to Do With It?
A court blocked parts of the SAVE plan recently. Although IBR is not directly blocked, the rules for counting payments are shared across plans. So, IBR updates are also affected.
What Should Borrowers Do?
- You don’t need to reapply or change your plan.
- Your forgiveness will resume after system updates finish.
- Keep making your monthly payments as normal.
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