Overview
- The Department of Education is preparing to reopen applications for certain income-driven repayment (IDR) plans after a weeks-long suspension.
- Borrowers will soon be able to enroll in Income-Based Repayment, Pay as You Earn, and Income-Contingent Repayment plans, but SAVE and REPAYE plans remain unavailable due to a court decision.
- The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled SAVE and REPAYE plans likely illegal, prompting the suspension of all IDR applications in February 2025.
- Student loan servicers have been instructed to resume processing IDR applications within two weeks, according to sources familiar with the plans.
- Annual income recertification deadlines for borrowers already enrolled in IDR plans have been extended to February 2026, easing immediate financial pressures.