How do I get them?
Contact your lender directly to apply for Income-Based Repayment (IBR). Since information about IBR is not always easy to find on lenders' web sites, here are links to the application and available information from the biggest student loan providers:
- Sallie Mae requires that you log in to their web site to get their IBR application, and provides information.
- Chase requires that you log in to their web site or call customer service (1-800-489-5005) to get the IBR application.
- Wells Fargo requires that you call customer service to apply for IBR (1-800-658-3567).
If you do not know who your lender is, search the National Student Loan Data System database.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) has no official application at this time. However, if you're in the right kind of job and making the right kind of payments through the Direct Loan program, loan payments made as early as October 2007 could count towards the 120 payments that qualify you for PSLF. The earliest date you can be eligible for forgiveness is October 2017 (assuming you make 10 years of uninterrupted payments beginning with the first eligible payment date of October 2007). Find out what you can do now to start the 10-year clock, including how to switch to the Direct Loan program. Income-Based Repayment and Income Contingent Repayment can help keep your payments affordable during those 10 years.
On October 23, 2008, the U.S. Department of Education finalized rules for how IBR and PSLF will work, and our site reflects the most current rules. We will alert our registered users if and when new information becomes available to help you take maximum advantage of these new programs.
According to the Department of Education's Income-Based Repayment application if you cannot make your current monthly payment while you wait to have your IBR eligibility and new monthly payment determined, "you may request a forbearance. During this forbearance, you will not be required to make any payments of principal or interest while we calculate your IBR payment amount, and the interest will not accrue and will not be capitalized at the end of the forbearance."
If you are interested in other repayment plans, Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) is also available through the Direct Loan program, and all federal loans offer some assistance in cases of economic hardship. If you have a Guaranteed (FFEL) federal loan, you may be able to make lower payments temporarily with repayment plans that increase the amount due over time. Learn more about these and other options from Student Loan Borrower Assistance, the Department of Education, or your lender.
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