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Guest · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:26 pm Subject: New Income Based Replayment (IBR) plan

I just found out about this on the finaid gov site. Sounds like those od us who are struggling to keep up with the payments are going to get some reasonable relief. What do you all think?

I am in the public library field, so it looks like the public service cancellation thing might be beneficial to me. I finally feel like there might be some light at the end of the tunnel!

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:30 pm Subject:

Can you give us a link?

Guest · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:35 pm Subject:

Can you post those here? If so, it is finaid.org/loans/ibr.phtml

you with the www

Guest · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:38 pm Subject:

I meant, you'll need to add the three w's to my above post...

Anyhow, I used the calculor and since it says I only have to pay $180 with the IBR plan, right now, I am paying $612!

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:48 pm Subject:

Thanks for the link. I'm likely just overtired, but I was putting in finaid.gov rather than finaid.org, without realizing it.

I think I'm gonna go flake out........

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:33 am Subject:

http://www.finaid.org/loans/ibr.phtml

The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan was proposed as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 and will become available on July 1, 2009.

Income-based repayment is only available for federal student loans, such as the Stafford, Grad PLUS and consolidation loans. It is not available for Parent PLUS loans or for consolidation loans that include Parent PLUS loans. (IBR is not available for Perkins loans, but it is available for consolidation loans that include Perkins loans.) It is also not available for private student loans.

Income-based repayment is similar to income-contingent repayment. Both cap the monthly payments at a percentage of your discretionary income, albeit with different percentages and different definitions of discretionary income. Income-based repayment caps monthly payments at 15% of your monthly discretionary income, where discretionary income is the difference between adjusted gross income (AGI) and 150% of the federal poverty line that corresponds to your family size and the state in which you reside. There is no minimum monthly payment.

Guest · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:41 am Subject:

It doesn't sound like much of a difference but when I put my info into the calculator that they provide, its a VERY big difference from what I pay now!

Soaplady - did you have a look at the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program info that they've put up as well? What do you think?

This is the link finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml