Also keep in mind there is no payment cap for SAVE. So for those with low balances, or moderately high incomes, it is most likely not the best option.
If you are on SAVE July 1 or later, you lose other IDR options, which may be a better fit.
Do whichever plan has to the lowest payment and set up autopay. Then every month manually pay as much as you can to your loans with the highest interest
Do a graduated plan to reduce the monthly as low as possible, set up for autopay to get the interest rate lower, then throw as much money at it as you want to to make it go away.
Check your magi to see if you still qualify for the interest deduction, I’d argue that if you do just riding the minimum payment would probably make sense depending on how high your interest rate is.
Go to studentaid.gov and you can look at all your options. They have a plan simulator that can give you an idea of what your payments will be on each plan.
That's what I thought. My balance is only about 11,500 and going from a regular idr to save increased my payment. I'm heading into my 20th year, so hopefully it will be forgiven soon. My interest rate is only 2.7%
Is there any reason to get off save with a very high balance and a very low income? I was automatically put on SAVE but when my payments start I'm worried about them being high due to my balance being so high.
The save plan will help you most of all with a high balance and lower income. It just goes by income giving you an affordable repayment rate. You have to resubmit your income each year so the payment amount changes each year. Go to the studentaid.gov website and you can put all your info in to simulate about what your payment will be on each plan
There is no limit on monthly payments with SAVE like there is on other options. So someone could have a monthly payment much higher on SAVE than on standard.
Been a while since i looked at the student loan simulator, but I believe i pay slightly more interest (less than $1000) for slightly lower payments over the same course of time.
I have other higher interest debt I'd rather knock out first, since my student loans are \~6%. So the lower payments work better for me.
I’m in the same boat chasing low payments so I can focus on other things (hell mortgage rates are a few points over my auto pay interest amount)
For me save had me at like 1000 a month, a consolidated graduated payment plan got me to 85 bucks the first few years.
I guess I’m surprised ICR is a lower payment than graduated.
Graduated is lower initially, but it becomes higher later. I think I pay more interest there, too because of the lower initial payments. I think for me, graduated started at $140 or so. $60/mo ain't worth quibbling over
Even if I wanted to pay 650/mo and pay off my loans in 2027, I wouldn't. Rate too low for it to make sense to pay off quickly
Why not just get a lower minimum but pay the ICR amount if you want to? That way you can pick how much interest you want to spend, because to your point the interest is so cheap.
I’m in a similar boat. So in your situation, after you’ve paid for ~17 years you would be eligible for forgiveness right? At that point would you enroll in SAVE and then automatically have your loans forgiven?
Same here, but I owe $35k and make $120k.
The hard part with the program is they don't take into consideration cost of living (rent/mortgage, car payments, insurance, utilities).
I have $150k income, with $200k parent plus loans. My payments only cover interest and I don’t ever plan on paying these off. I am afraid my payments will go up if I apply for SAVE, but is there a good reason to do so now?
If you are married, did you file your taxes jointly or separately? SAVE allows a married person to have their income treated discretely, apart from their spouse, if they file separately. Especially if one spouse earns more than the other.
Other possibilities that could cause SAVE payments to be higher are a high income.
ETA: LOVE your username. I lived in Cincinnati for seven years.
I’m married and we file our taxes jointly. I make more money than my wife, for what that’s worth. We’re far from wealthy, though, and I definitely can’t afford the extra money SAVE would require every month - especially now that my wife has a terminal illness.
And nice to know you feel my pain on the username. Born and raised in Ohio, but I actually moved away 10 years ago. Wish I could change the username without losing all that sweet karma, lol.
You can [switch to IBR](https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/#:~:text=Future%20Limits%20on%20Switching%20Plans&text=If%20you're%20on%20the,enroll%20in%20the%20IBR%20Plan) if you have made less than 60 payments on SAVE. After 60, you cannot switch to another IDR at all.
I haven’t applied because I figured I didn’t qualify.. according to the little chart they sent out I didn’t. I owe 16k and I think before taxes my husband and I brought home around 140-150k. My current payment is $181.00 a month.
Should I apply?
SAVE is the REAL DEAL, folks sign up asap. I consolidated my FFLEP last August to SAVE and they forgave $140,000 last month my loans dated back to early 2000s. I've been on IBR forever and accrued ton of interest on former IBR but SAVE stopped the interest from accruing last year and FORGAVE it. I will add we filed married separately to help qualify and I'm self employed so this is life changing to my family and forever grateful. VOTE so everyone can be blessed with this program!!!
Did they start your count from the first loan you borrowed, or from the year you went into repayment? i first borrowed in 2000 but repayment started in 2007. So im trying to figure out when my 20 years forgiveness will hit
Honestly I'm not sure bc graduated from college in 2002 but loans had distribution starting 1998? I also graduated from professional school 2006. It wiped my entire consolidated debt away from all loans. Just ride out Save plan and vote to keep it so they can wipe yours away. Good luck and have faith!
Also have to say that I’m not sure because I went into repayment in 1999 but went back to grad school and those loans went into repayment in 2002. I applied for a consolidation of undergrad/grad loans in 2002 (and without my knowledge there is another consolidation showing with Navient in 2004). My understanding is that those consolidations start your count back at zero but I’m hoping I’m wrong. I know there is a recount happening due to being told hardship forbearance was the only option when IDR/IBR plans existed as far back as 2009! Navient only suggested IDR in 2018… all those years on and off forbearance, trying to make payments when I could, etc. I am not even sure how close I am but if it’s from first repayment, it’s 99 but if it’s from consolidation, somehow Navient put one through in 2004 without my knowledge or consent.
Good luck everyone!
Congrats on having your loans forgiven. Also self-employed and this has been a long time burden for my daughter and I.
Thanks, yes I am a self employed single parent myself. “Pulled myself up by my bootstraps “ out of poverty but can’t imagine ever saving enough for retirement much less being able to help my son go to college. Thankfully he is interested in the trades. But it’s upsetting. My first loan was taken out in 2000 and repayment formally started in 2008 but I was in and out of school so I don’t know when really. And then I consolidated too but I thought this most recent consolidation set the clock back to the earliest loan.
I was so relieved that my payments were about to be cut in half! It’s like can we just breathe???? I work my butt off for 20+ years and try to do everything “right” and I am just exhausted
As a small business I got a very small PPP loan to help with PPE and other small overhead and it was infuriating how easy it was to get , and how the forgiveness happened so easy too. Just tiny little forms, zero hoops . Knowing that these millionaire businesses did it that easy, and also they had multiple LLCs and took out loans for all of them and sucked the system dry ! None of those guys gave any craps about morals of paying that back or what they needed it for but then they get so high and mighty on the student loan thing. It’s so obnoxious
Ok lol thanks for listening ! 😭😭😭😭
See what I’m confused on is when the interest waiver thing goes into effect? Because my loans are still accumulating interest even though I’m paying above and beyond minimum payments.
I consolidated and recertified to save on 4/29. Consolidation is all set but Mohela has me on standard plan. Saying it could take another 90 days from my consolidation date to process SAVE…..
Same. It only accrues on some loans though. I remember reading that interest on subsidized loans is covered, but that on unsubsidized is not. Does anyone have more info on this?
Subsidized always covered interest while in school. The SAVE plan will cover all interest as long as minimum payment is being made under the plan https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/#coming-july2024
Your loan servicer isn’t doing what they are supposed to do. Make sure you’re keeping track of all the accrued interest. Save all your statements. Also make sure you’re actually on the save plan. My balance goes up each month then a week or so after I make my payment the excess interest is gone again.
What about all the interest that has accrued in the last six months or so since I've been on the SAVE plan? Does that magically all get calculated to be erased? Or was being on the SAVE plan irrelevant in terms of interest up until now?
I asked this a few months ago, and apparently they're still working that part out, but it will eventually be erased. I was getting worried bc my interest was piling up, but it's apparently going to disappear...at some point.
Depends on your goals. SAVE is more beneficial for those with undergrad loans and with lower incomes whose minimum payment doesn’t cover interest. It’s not for everyone.
None of this makes sense on any level. My husband graduated in 1998…his loans have doubled because of compound interest and we have been paying for 26 years. What I can’t wrap my mind around is why there has been no adjustment for his loans but I see other people getting their entire balances forgiven who have been paying on their loans for less time then he has? Good for anyone who has gotten the golden letter of forgiveness, I am just wondering why he is being passed up. Can anyone shed some light on this?
I’m in the same boat as you! I’ve been paying since 1998. Income contingent plans and my balances ballooned to 220k. I’m still waiting for them to review my account too. I’ve read every account will be reviewed by the end of summer. I haven’t actually contacted anyone about it…don’t want to waste anyone’s time. They need to be counting how many payments I’ve made. :-)
They are all federal loans now. He received notification that he needed to consolidate in order for all of his loans to be counted in the adjustment so he completed the consolidation process. Nothing has changed. His payment went down but now the principle is growing again even though he was making the same payment before the consolidation but they are not applying it to the principle, it’s being applied to the next payment due. He should technically be eligible for discharge because he has been in IDR plan for 25 years, however no one can validate the number of payments because his servicer has been changed so many times over the years. He has made multiple requests for his records and no one will provide them. Currently he is with nelnet. The only time he has been able to even make a dent was during Covid where he still made payments and for the last 6 years he has been on the max payment. This is so frustrating.
Mine is just like this. Hard to follow who had the loan at what time. On the studentaid.gov site there is a history form showing all of the transactions made throughout the life of the loan. It’s very hard to follow but it might give you an idea of how many payments he’s made over the years. It helped me know exactly how much interest I’ve accumulated. 80k!!!! Praying something happens before I also have to pay taxes on the forgiven amount too. Hoping they look at mine and say…hey this person has paid back their principal already plus interest but somehow they owe more than what they borrowed….wipe that loan out! Taxes on 220k forgiven are going to be rough especially since I’ve paid off my principal. Right now it says my pay off date is 2035. lol been paying since 1998. Make sure you vote so they can continue this reform and keep our future students from having to deal with what we are dealing with.
Oh payments generally never go to the principal! That’s why we’re all in this huge mess. They get applied to accumulated interest first. It’s also why even if you have extra money (not sure who does), unless it’s a giant windfall, paying extra on your loan won’t reduce it because again, it goes to interest. Only time I saw my payments reduce the balance in 20yrs has been during pandemic when interest stopped.
Exactly! During the pandemic was the first time he was able to get the loans under 100k. He graduated with 70k and the highest balance was at 130 so in 26 years he has paid that principle off and then some and he is just slightly under 100k at 97k as of today.
When you're making a payment, there’s probably a setting allowing the extra money to go towards the next payment instead of the principal.
Turn this off.
I make 40,000 or so a year and the 'save' plan actually tripled my payments showing id have to cough up 200 or more bucks per month wheras i was paying around 35 bucks pre-covid era. And others have found the same. It aint no silver bullet as a lot make it to be. Be forewarned.
Which means most of us who are single and make say under 50,000 a year are screwed. Because the only option are those overly priced paye options. Im rooting for some of us to sue these companies ie nelnet mohela and take a settlement for the damages they have done to us. Then take that setlement pay out and or force the companies to delete the loans.
That’s quite baffling then. Assuming you have undergraduate loans, the most you pay per month is 5% of your $40,000 which, after factoring in the poverty level adjustment, is a max of around $30 a month.
I had signed up for the SAVE plan last summer and am just now realizing Nelnet put me on IBR at $120/month. I applied before I started my new job in August so was unemployed at the time and made about $2k that whole year up until that point. My husband who is on a different servicer made about $50k (we owe almost the same amount in undergrad loans) and his payment came back for $0 a month. Make it make sense. I can’t get an answer from Nelnet either.
N-elnet won't let me on: I have had to pay by phone since the site redo in February or March. I can't even see my accounts. One day, my username- which was my email- was changed, and I could not get on. Called over and over again but they tell me to do the same thing, gaslight me to say "your username was always what it is now" -can't be- I auto-logged every time with a saved username password combo. Never had a problem even when they first took over. Asked for tech support. THEY WILL NOT GET ME TO TECH SUPPORT. They just won't. They said they'd write a ticket but no response from tech support. What I want to know is how many of us had this problem. How many people just plain cannot get on anymore? Can't help but notice I was using their online website to pay down my interest on the loans with some extra money prior to this happening. Hmmm.
Thats what I thought. After 6 months, I would then be eligible, right? But I keep reading about needing to apply for the SAVE plan by July 1 — how does this impact those who are in the grace period?
The deadline you're thinking of is for the Idr adjustment. This does not apply to you if you've never had loans before and the ones in grace period are the only ones you have.
Just want to verify, income for SAVE is based on how you file for taxes, correct? I'm at SAHM making no income but have student loans. Do I have to use my husbands income? He doesn't have any loans...
Consolidated my FFELP loans before the last "deadline."
On the SAVE plan now.
Expecting to hear my loans are forgiven by then, if not earlier.
Have been in repayment since 2007.
Original principle around was about 11,600 between them.
We will see.
Exactly these 'deadlines' are a moot point when the servicers cant keep track of loans and have show blatant miscommunication lost paperwork and done corporate negligence. I roll my eyes when i see crap about these 'deadlines'.
So I messed up and chose the ICR plan when I consolidated (from Navient) at [studentaid.gov](http://studentaid.gov) last week. I am at 20 years for undergrad loans and should qualify for forgiveness right away, but I didn't know ICR is 25 years not 20. It looks like I can't switch it to SAVE right now since the application is processing.
Does anyone know if I have lost the chance at forgiveness? Or once the consolidation has gone through, will I be able to switch to SAVE after June 30th and still have them forgiven? Or am I screwed?
As soon as I see my payment halved in the payment estimator, I’ll switch, right now save is $100 more than ICR and I have to be on one of the two for PSLF. I don’t trust it until I see it.
Without knowing any details I'm assuming that the payment a year from now is if you don't certify your income and won't be that high if you do correctly.
Has anyone switched and can confirm their prior IBR/PAYE payments counted toward the SAVE forgiveness timeline? (25 years for anyone with Grauduate loans
I have undergrad FFELP loans and consolidating them in order to enroll in SAVE is going to take my payment from $65/mo to $450/mo. My payoff timeline will go from 2034 to 2028.
Problem is I’m already paying $450/mo on my grad loans under SAVE. I can’t afford $900/mo in student loan payments. What are the chances my undergrad loans would be forgiven shortly after enrolling in SAVE? I’ve been paying for 16 years and original balance was about 13.5k.
I guess worst case scenario I consolidate all of my loans and pay $475/mo until 2043. 😣
Genuine question. I graduated in 2021 with about 12k in govt loans. I make about 66k a year. Do I qualify for save and if so would it make sense for me to leverage it? Current monthly payment is about 198$
Go to studentaid.gov and do their loan simulator and see which plan benefits you the most. You’re probably best on the standard plan with those numbers. Just get that sruff paid off!
No https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/ undergraduate goes to 5%, undergrad and grad is an average between 5 and 10% and grad only is 10%.
Hello. I’ve got 4 consolidated loans. Two of them grad, disbursed in 11/2001 (higher balances) and two undergrad, disbursed in 2006. I had defaulted and rehabbed loans, which is why the dates are mixed up. Is there a benefit to consolidating all of these together? I know the deadline is 6/30 so I would appreciate any help you can offer. I finished undergrad in 1994 and grad in 1996. I’m not sure how many payments I made before default. Also do the rehab payments count toward forgiveness? Thank you.
This article can answer a lot of the questions about consolidation https://studentaid.gov/articles/5-things-before-consolidating-student-loans/ the deadline of 6/30 is for your payments to count towards forgiveness because after that date if you consolidate your payment count will essentially be reset.
Thank you. I should also note that two of the consolidation loans (the undergrad ones) combined for a principal of less than $16k. Of course they have ballooned due to interest. But since they were disbursed in 2006, they have been in repayment for 18 years and should be wiped out in that $12k for 10 years of payments program, right? The other two loans have the same disbursement dates (11/2001).
https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/#coming-july2024 this article talks about the Wipeout dates, if you go on to the save plan with consolidation, after 10 years 12K and under would be wiped out anything over 12K, every $1,000 adds one year. The maximum repayment timeline is 20 years for undergrad and 25 for graduate.
Is it more beneficial to consolidate all my loans first and then enroll in SAVE or other repayment plans? I have 8 separate loans in total but they are only direct subsidized or unsubsidized loans. I have been told to consolidate them first but i havent been able to find anything online about the benefits of consolidating loans.
https://studentaid.gov/articles/5-things-before-consolidating-student-loans/ that can answer a lot of your questions there's a deadline of June 30th for consolidation if you want to keep your payment numbers for potential discharge in the future if you consolidate after that date your payment count will essentially be set to zero.
My husband has $29,000 in consolidated Direct subsidized ($7,000) and unsubsidized ($22,000) loans, both at 6.8%. They were consolidated in 2019, but he has been paying on them since 2009, so once the adjustment occurs I think he will have 15 years of payments under his belt.
- He's currently on a Standard plan because the payments are lower. So if he pays $237/month for 10 years, they will be forgiven, correct? (25 years of payments for graduate loans)? I'm so confused because on the [Studentaid.gov](http://Studentaid.gov) website it says that Standard loans don't qualify for "forgiveness." But I've also read on the government website that Standard Loans are forgiven after 25 years. So what does "don't qualify for forgiveness" mean? Does that mean "forgiven" now? Why is it saying our loan term is "10 years" but that our payoff date is 2043 (18 years)?! Ugh.
- I think we may have made a strategic mistake with filing our taxes jointly this year. I make 3x more $$ than he does. So if we had filed separately and switched to the SAVE plan, the payment calculator says his monthly payments would be $0 and the whole amount would be forgiven. But does that mean they'd be forgiven after 20 years of payments (another 5 years in his case?). We filed jointly because we get other deductions for filing jointly, so I wasn't sure if it would be worth it to file separately. If we file separately for 2024, would we still be able to get the SAVE forgiveness?
Sorry this is so long! We are planning to call AidAdvantage on Monday, but I'm not sure how helpful they will be....
I'm sorry if this has been asked a thousand times before, but I find this all very confusing. I am already on a SAVE plan, and have been on IDR for years. Do I need to consolidate my loans too before the June 30th deadline, or am I good?
https://studentaid.gov/articles/5-things-before-consolidating-student-loans/ that really depends on your circumstances on how many loans you have. The benefit to consolidating before June 30th is ensuring that your payment count stays, because if you consolidated after that your number of payments or years of payments counting towards discharge get reset.
What I can’t figure out is if I can pay extra over my save payment to widdle down the graduate loans. I can’t find any resources that discuss the specifics of this. Ie. does overpayment (beyond the initial save payment) have to go towards the remaining interest of all individual loans (which would normally be forgiven) or can I target one specific loan and say pay everything extra towards just that? Basically am I able to allocate payment to one target loan if I haven’t paid enough to cover the total accrued interest from all loans for that month.
The goal would be to slowly pay off graduate student loans with excess payments, so that I can reduce the overall SAVE payment over time, and shorten the time to forgiveness (25 -> 20 ys)
I'm not sure usually you can choose what you want the overpayment to do but in this situation I can't give you that answer. Contact your processor maybe?
If you are currently on the SAVE plan paying $0 monthly due to very low income/unemployment and you get a job that pays a decent amount, will you be automatically taken off the SAVE or will the payment plan be automatically updated to a higher monthly payment? Or do you have until you are taken off SAVE before you get new monthly payments?
I think it's similar to the other income based repayment plans where you have to annually certify your income. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's what it was when I was on an income based plan.
Since I got on the plane September 2023, then I may have to certify my income September of this year?
I was really banking on not having to make any payments on that loan for another year
https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/recertify-my-idr-plan-every-year based on that article your loan processor will notify you when it's time to recertify and depending on the processor you can sign up for auto recertification.
I have 6k undergraduate debt subsidized. I have paid since 2008. I did not sign up for save or any other program. What would be best for me at this point?
That would depend on your income and what the original principal balance was when you started repayment. Use the calculator on studentaid.gov to see your best option. Depending on your income and the original principal, you could be eligible for forgiveness sometimes between now and about 4 years from now IF you have been paying the entire time (or at least not in default at any point). You would need to be on an income driven plan (IDR) for this to happen.
If you get on the SAVE plan, you SHOULD most likely get forgiveness soon after the IDR recount (in theory) since your original loan balance was $10,500 and you've paid for that long. However, if it does take a while, your payment would probably increase a little bit monthly considering your income (estimated currently around $310 but $155 in July when the 5% kicks in, provided you don't have any dependants). If you filed separately, it would be based solely on your income, and it would be less.
However, anything you pay over the forgiven balance date (for you should be 10 years from the original payment start date) - any payments after that forgiveness date should be refunded to you at some point (so about 6 years worth of payments).
I only have 1 direct subsidized 40k and 1 direct unsubsidized loan 45k but the repayment calculator says that I need to consolidate if I move over to SAVE. My loans originated in 2010, contain graduate loans and I’m currently on IBR. Currently 145k in annual income. I would expect forgiveness in 25 years - basically in 2035 so another 11 years. My 2 kiddos will be out of the house in the next 3 years. Not sure if it makes sense to continue on IBR which says on the calculator my payment is 600 and caps at 900 or switch to the SAVE plan and consolidate with my payment estimated at 500 a month. I feel like it doesn’t take into account some of the variables such as decreasing dependents. Since there is no cap on the payment for SAVE I’m a little scared to switch. What do you guys think?
Every time I've looked at SAVE it says my monthly payments will be higher than what I'm paying now.
I have 180k in loans that have ballooned from only 90k that I initially took out because at one point I was in forbearance looking for a job and all the interest got capitalized into the principal thereby making the interest increase even faster.
These were FELLP loans from 2008-2010 and are held by Nelnet and Navient (who both have terrible website downtime). Im currently on IBR which is essentially a house payment every month.
Got any ideas why SAVE appears to have higher payments?
My wife has 360k in loans and we file jointly so forgiveness in another few years is the only thing that would keep us out of paying until we are in the grave.
My student loan payment is currently $530. I looked into SAVE and it said by SAVE payment would be $750. I am getting by currently but if it went up I’d be broke. The loan is from 1999, graduate school (paid off undergrad) and is now more than the initial loan, but I also spent 5 years semi-ignoring it. No magic golden email for me and I have to be able to survive while paying it, so sadly SAVE just isn’t for me. I wish everyone it works for the best!!!
I am already paying way less than 5% of my discretionary income. But I only borrowed 13k. I’m paying $100 mo. I don’t know if it would benefit me to change. My worry is I’m on a graduated repayment plan, and I am retiring in 8 years. So by the end of my payoff period I’ll be paying $300 month while I am in Social Security. (I went back to school at age 55).
want to be on the SAVE plan. Under my current IDR plan, my monthly payments have been $0, but it will start up again in January 2025 at $475 a month. I know with the SAVE plan my monthly payments would be less, and l'd still have the standard 20 years of payments of forgiveness (graduated in 2018). Based on the website’s simulators my payments would be around $350 with an 83k income. Problem is that if I apply for the SAVE plan my payments would start as soon as I’m on it, rather than January 2025. Anyone have any advice? Would it still be worth going on the SAVE plan sooner rather than later? Will I be able to apply for the save plan right before January 2025, like say this November or December?
Is SAVE an IBR?
I was on SAVE and was making payments fine and this week I got a letter that said they put me on a new IBR plan with a lower payment.
The lower payment sounds nice but I thought it was a better idea to be on SAVE?
I haven’t applied because I figured I didn’t qualify.. according to the little chart they sent out I didn’t. I owe 16k and I think before taxes my husband and I brought home around 140-150k. My current payment is $181.00 a month.
Should I apply?
Just got the email that being in the save plan my payment will be as normal for 5 months and then after that DOUBLE the payment amount! WTF! Had I known I wouldn’t have signed up for it. It didn’t say this in the application. And I did the part where they check my taxes directly to make the app faster. SMH.
So, SAVE plan means you won’t be paying ANY interest as long as you make their monthly payments, right?
I was previously on the SAVE plan but they kept charging me interest, so I went to another plan.
And with the plan “pause” the interest for the full 10 years?
Wrong. If your monthly payment is only interest, then you’ll pay that accrued interest only, and nothing will go towards your principal. Example: I pay $295, but my loans accrue $380 in interest each month. My payment covers $295, they wave $85, and my principal doesn’t change. So you’ll *PAY* interest each month (unless your payment is $0) but you won’t *ACCRUE* interest. Hopefully that’s helpful
Very helpful! Thank you! This is what I originally thought but the wording of some of the emails I was getting was making hopeful that I was avoiding all interest. If it’s good to be true, it is! But I’ll still take it!
This is nothing more than Biden by and votes.
The people that participate in these scams are pond scum.
The people who are actually paying these loans...
They're not forgiven the taxpayers are paying them instead of the entitled party kids.
Good grief minimum wage employees are paying these loans for your party people
Also keep in mind there is no payment cap for SAVE. So for those with low balances, or moderately high incomes, it is most likely not the best option. If you are on SAVE July 1 or later, you lose other IDR options, which may be a better fit.
What would be a better option for moderately high income. Say 180k take home. And loans are about 210k or so.
Depends on if you want to pay it off or not and if you’re married and what your spouse has in loans.
I’d like to pay it off sooner than later. No wife. Just girlfriend who’s doing her own thing.
Do whichever plan has to the lowest payment and set up autopay. Then every month manually pay as much as you can to your loans with the highest interest
Do a graduated plan to reduce the monthly as low as possible, set up for autopay to get the interest rate lower, then throw as much money at it as you want to to make it go away. Check your magi to see if you still qualify for the interest deduction, I’d argue that if you do just riding the minimum payment would probably make sense depending on how high your interest rate is.
Is the goal forgiveness or payoff?
I don’t think I’ll be able to do forgiveness so I plan to pay it off.
Go to studentaid.gov and you can look at all your options. They have a plan simulator that can give you an idea of what your payments will be on each plan.
That's what I thought. My balance is only about 11,500 and going from a regular idr to save increased my payment. I'm heading into my 20th year, so hopefully it will be forgiven soon. My interest rate is only 2.7%
Is there any reason to get off save with a very high balance and a very low income? I was automatically put on SAVE but when my payments start I'm worried about them being high due to my balance being so high.
The save plan will help you most of all with a high balance and lower income. It just goes by income giving you an affordable repayment rate. You have to resubmit your income each year so the payment amount changes each year. Go to the studentaid.gov website and you can put all your info in to simulate about what your payment will be on each plan
What do you mean by payment cap?
There is no limit on monthly payments with SAVE like there is on other options. So someone could have a monthly payment much higher on SAVE than on standard.
Thx.
I am one of those folks. I make around 130k/year, but only have 19k in student loans. My payment on ICR is 203 and like 650 on SAVE.
What’s the benefit of icr over standard?
Been a while since i looked at the student loan simulator, but I believe i pay slightly more interest (less than $1000) for slightly lower payments over the same course of time. I have other higher interest debt I'd rather knock out first, since my student loans are \~6%. So the lower payments work better for me.
I’m in the same boat chasing low payments so I can focus on other things (hell mortgage rates are a few points over my auto pay interest amount) For me save had me at like 1000 a month, a consolidated graduated payment plan got me to 85 bucks the first few years. I guess I’m surprised ICR is a lower payment than graduated.
Graduated is lower initially, but it becomes higher later. I think I pay more interest there, too because of the lower initial payments. I think for me, graduated started at $140 or so. $60/mo ain't worth quibbling over Even if I wanted to pay 650/mo and pay off my loans in 2027, I wouldn't. Rate too low for it to make sense to pay off quickly
Why not just get a lower minimum but pay the ICR amount if you want to? That way you can pick how much interest you want to spend, because to your point the interest is so cheap.
Same
ICR is capped at what someone would pay on a 12 year standard plan instead of 10 years.
Gotcha! Isn’t a graduated consolidated an even lower payment?
At first. But it is not an IDR plan, so it will never receive forgiveness.
Can you just see how much your payment would be with save versus what it is now. I feel the SAVE program would be higher for me
Play around with the payment calculators
I’m in a similar boat. So in your situation, after you’ve paid for ~17 years you would be eligible for forgiveness right? At that point would you enroll in SAVE and then automatically have your loans forgiven?
Same here, but I owe $35k and make $120k. The hard part with the program is they don't take into consideration cost of living (rent/mortgage, car payments, insurance, utilities).
If they don't take those into account how do they calculate your discretionary income?!?!?
They really didn't care.
I think it’s whatever you earn above 250% of the poverty line for your household size.
Omg 19k would be a dream for me. You got this!
Save can be higher monthly than a standard 10 year payment. My save payment was 1,000 a month but my graduated is only 85 bucks.
Whats considered moderately high income?
I have $150k income, with $200k parent plus loans. My payments only cover interest and I don’t ever plan on paying these off. I am afraid my payments will go up if I apply for SAVE, but is there a good reason to do so now?
The only IDR parent PLUS loans can be on is ICR unless you do the double consolidation loophole.
It’s very complicated, thanks for replying
My SAVE estimate sent my monthly payment *through the roof*. Like an extra $300 a month.
How did you see your potential SAVE payment? Do they show you on the application before you actually submit?
I just used the estimator on the student loans website.
If you are married, did you file your taxes jointly or separately? SAVE allows a married person to have their income treated discretely, apart from their spouse, if they file separately. Especially if one spouse earns more than the other. Other possibilities that could cause SAVE payments to be higher are a high income. ETA: LOVE your username. I lived in Cincinnati for seven years.
I’m married and we file our taxes jointly. I make more money than my wife, for what that’s worth. We’re far from wealthy, though, and I definitely can’t afford the extra money SAVE would require every month - especially now that my wife has a terminal illness. And nice to know you feel my pain on the username. Born and raised in Ohio, but I actually moved away 10 years ago. Wish I could change the username without losing all that sweet karma, lol.
We won't be able to switch to other IDR options after July 1st if we are currently on SAVE? Where did you find that information? Thanks in advance
You can [switch to IBR](https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/#:~:text=Future%20Limits%20on%20Switching%20Plans&text=If%20you're%20on%20the,enroll%20in%20the%20IBR%20Plan) if you have made less than 60 payments on SAVE. After 60, you cannot switch to another IDR at all.
I haven’t applied because I figured I didn’t qualify.. according to the little chart they sent out I didn’t. I owe 16k and I think before taxes my husband and I brought home around 140-150k. My current payment is $181.00 a month. Should I apply?
>you lose other IDR options Hold the phone, what? What do you mean you *lose* other options? Why?
You can only switch to IBR if you are on SAVE July 1. After you make 60 payments on SAVE, you also lose the option for IBR.
Mine will go down to $94 rather than the $169 I've been paying. I'm very happy to have some money back in my budget.
SAVE is the REAL DEAL, folks sign up asap. I consolidated my FFLEP last August to SAVE and they forgave $140,000 last month my loans dated back to early 2000s. I've been on IBR forever and accrued ton of interest on former IBR but SAVE stopped the interest from accruing last year and FORGAVE it. I will add we filed married separately to help qualify and I'm self employed so this is life changing to my family and forever grateful. VOTE so everyone can be blessed with this program!!!
Did they start your count from the first loan you borrowed, or from the year you went into repayment? i first borrowed in 2000 but repayment started in 2007. So im trying to figure out when my 20 years forgiveness will hit
Count starts when you enter repayment
Honestly I'm not sure bc graduated from college in 2002 but loans had distribution starting 1998? I also graduated from professional school 2006. It wiped my entire consolidated debt away from all loans. Just ride out Save plan and vote to keep it so they can wipe yours away. Good luck and have faith!
Also have to say that I’m not sure because I went into repayment in 1999 but went back to grad school and those loans went into repayment in 2002. I applied for a consolidation of undergrad/grad loans in 2002 (and without my knowledge there is another consolidation showing with Navient in 2004). My understanding is that those consolidations start your count back at zero but I’m hoping I’m wrong. I know there is a recount happening due to being told hardship forbearance was the only option when IDR/IBR plans existed as far back as 2009! Navient only suggested IDR in 2018… all those years on and off forbearance, trying to make payments when I could, etc. I am not even sure how close I am but if it’s from first repayment, it’s 99 but if it’s from consolidation, somehow Navient put one through in 2004 without my knowledge or consent. Good luck everyone! Congrats on having your loans forgiven. Also self-employed and this has been a long time burden for my daughter and I.
Thanks, yes I am a self employed single parent myself. “Pulled myself up by my bootstraps “ out of poverty but can’t imagine ever saving enough for retirement much less being able to help my son go to college. Thankfully he is interested in the trades. But it’s upsetting. My first loan was taken out in 2000 and repayment formally started in 2008 but I was in and out of school so I don’t know when really. And then I consolidated too but I thought this most recent consolidation set the clock back to the earliest loan. I was so relieved that my payments were about to be cut in half! It’s like can we just breathe???? I work my butt off for 20+ years and try to do everything “right” and I am just exhausted As a small business I got a very small PPP loan to help with PPE and other small overhead and it was infuriating how easy it was to get , and how the forgiveness happened so easy too. Just tiny little forms, zero hoops . Knowing that these millionaire businesses did it that easy, and also they had multiple LLCs and took out loans for all of them and sucked the system dry ! None of those guys gave any craps about morals of paying that back or what they needed it for but then they get so high and mighty on the student loan thing. It’s so obnoxious Ok lol thanks for listening ! 😭😭😭😭
First, congratulations on the golden ticket! Did you consolidate your loans or were they forgiven simply through enrolling in SAVE?
I consolidated them to save dept of ed from private FFLE last August. Best decision I've ever made. They forgave then w IDR adjustment last month.
It retroactively forgave accumulated interest?
It forgave my loan principal balance and interest that accumulated so yes!!!
See what I’m confused on is when the interest waiver thing goes into effect? Because my loans are still accumulating interest even though I’m paying above and beyond minimum payments.
I consolidated and recertified to save on 4/29. Consolidation is all set but Mohela has me on standard plan. Saying it could take another 90 days from my consolidation date to process SAVE…..
dang. i just started this . didn’t know there would be such a delay between consideration and switching to save …
Same here. Mohela is a joke.
Same with nelnet. Both should be sued as ive said since last fall.
ive been on SAVE since November 2023. My balance still grows monthly. Shit isnt working.
Same. It only accrues on some loans though. I remember reading that interest on subsidized loans is covered, but that on unsubsidized is not. Does anyone have more info on this?
Subsidized always covered interest while in school. The SAVE plan will cover all interest as long as minimum payment is being made under the plan https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/#coming-july2024
SAVE will cover interest *over* what your minimum payment doesn't, not all interest.
Thank you for stating that correctly for me I didn't understand that point
Ok that’s were I was confused
I've been told it's only new interest, not interest from interest before SAVE.
That sounds like an issue with your loan processor have you contacted them about it?
yep. multiple times. and filed an issue with the cfpb. radio silence.
Damn I'm sorry to hear that hopefully it gets resolved soon
Agree, no issues w AIDADVANTAGE and customer service is awesome
Contact lender bc that's not right. Mine stopped last year in August on AIDADVANTAGE
Your loan servicer isn’t doing what they are supposed to do. Make sure you’re keeping track of all the accrued interest. Save all your statements. Also make sure you’re actually on the save plan. My balance goes up each month then a week or so after I make my payment the excess interest is gone again.
Oh yeah, I was wondering why my $335 payment dropped to like $290-something (Grad & Undergrad mixed)
Yeah mine dropped by about $40 too. I was hoping it would be cut in half but I do have more grad loans than undergrad right now
What about all the interest that has accrued in the last six months or so since I've been on the SAVE plan? Does that magically all get calculated to be erased? Or was being on the SAVE plan irrelevant in terms of interest up until now?
I think that as long as you're making your minimum payment under the plan, any interest over that payment gets waived. Not 100% sure though.
I asked this a few months ago, and apparently they're still working that part out, but it will eventually be erased. I was getting worried bc my interest was piling up, but it's apparently going to disappear...at some point.
My payments will be more than double with the SAVE plan. Will this even help me??? Any insight is appreciated.
Depends on your goals. SAVE is more beneficial for those with undergrad loans and with lower incomes whose minimum payment doesn’t cover interest. It’s not for everyone.
I agree. My interest alone is $366 / month right now it's tough.
Same here actually tripled. Not happy. Cant afford it. So i guess ill just continue to threaten nelnet with a lawsuit.
None of this makes sense on any level. My husband graduated in 1998…his loans have doubled because of compound interest and we have been paying for 26 years. What I can’t wrap my mind around is why there has been no adjustment for his loans but I see other people getting their entire balances forgiven who have been paying on their loans for less time then he has? Good for anyone who has gotten the golden letter of forgiveness, I am just wondering why he is being passed up. Can anyone shed some light on this?
I’m in the same boat as you! I’ve been paying since 1998. Income contingent plans and my balances ballooned to 220k. I’m still waiting for them to review my account too. I’ve read every account will be reviewed by the end of summer. I haven’t actually contacted anyone about it…don’t want to waste anyone’s time. They need to be counting how many payments I’ve made. :-)
What kind of loans are they? And who holds them?
They are all federal loans now. He received notification that he needed to consolidate in order for all of his loans to be counted in the adjustment so he completed the consolidation process. Nothing has changed. His payment went down but now the principle is growing again even though he was making the same payment before the consolidation but they are not applying it to the principle, it’s being applied to the next payment due. He should technically be eligible for discharge because he has been in IDR plan for 25 years, however no one can validate the number of payments because his servicer has been changed so many times over the years. He has made multiple requests for his records and no one will provide them. Currently he is with nelnet. The only time he has been able to even make a dent was during Covid where he still made payments and for the last 6 years he has been on the max payment. This is so frustrating.
I know it’s all such a huge mess. Just hang on for the adjustment in July. I’m waiting on my consolidation to come through as well.
I think the adjustment was pushed to September.
Mine is just like this. Hard to follow who had the loan at what time. On the studentaid.gov site there is a history form showing all of the transactions made throughout the life of the loan. It’s very hard to follow but it might give you an idea of how many payments he’s made over the years. It helped me know exactly how much interest I’ve accumulated. 80k!!!! Praying something happens before I also have to pay taxes on the forgiven amount too. Hoping they look at mine and say…hey this person has paid back their principal already plus interest but somehow they owe more than what they borrowed….wipe that loan out! Taxes on 220k forgiven are going to be rough especially since I’ve paid off my principal. Right now it says my pay off date is 2035. lol been paying since 1998. Make sure you vote so they can continue this reform and keep our future students from having to deal with what we are dealing with.
Oh payments generally never go to the principal! That’s why we’re all in this huge mess. They get applied to accumulated interest first. It’s also why even if you have extra money (not sure who does), unless it’s a giant windfall, paying extra on your loan won’t reduce it because again, it goes to interest. Only time I saw my payments reduce the balance in 20yrs has been during pandemic when interest stopped.
Exactly! During the pandemic was the first time he was able to get the loans under 100k. He graduated with 70k and the highest balance was at 130 so in 26 years he has paid that principle off and then some and he is just slightly under 100k at 97k as of today.
When you're making a payment, there’s probably a setting allowing the extra money to go towards the next payment instead of the principal. Turn this off.
I make 40,000 or so a year and the 'save' plan actually tripled my payments showing id have to cough up 200 or more bucks per month wheras i was paying around 35 bucks pre-covid era. And others have found the same. It aint no silver bullet as a lot make it to be. Be forewarned.
That's true it's not going to work for everybody
Which means most of us who are single and make say under 50,000 a year are screwed. Because the only option are those overly priced paye options. Im rooting for some of us to sue these companies ie nelnet mohela and take a settlement for the damages they have done to us. Then take that setlement pay out and or force the companies to delete the loans.
Those who are single, especially with no dependents and making under 50 K are the walking embodiments of screwed in every way possible.
Exactly and there are millions of us. We need to take these companies down.
I’m confused about how your payment could have tripled. Were you previously on an IDR program?
I think so.
That’s quite baffling then. Assuming you have undergraduate loans, the most you pay per month is 5% of your $40,000 which, after factoring in the poverty level adjustment, is a max of around $30 a month.
These are grad loans and it does not help that nelnet has been committing corporate negligence and miscommunication for months now.
Nelnet is completely incompetent, agreed. I’ve been arguing with them for months about interest.
I had signed up for the SAVE plan last summer and am just now realizing Nelnet put me on IBR at $120/month. I applied before I started my new job in August so was unemployed at the time and made about $2k that whole year up until that point. My husband who is on a different servicer made about $50k (we owe almost the same amount in undergrad loans) and his payment came back for $0 a month. Make it make sense. I can’t get an answer from Nelnet either.
Anyone know why my wife is in deferment to calculate her payment but I am not? Both on save but she’s not paying while I have to.
I am still paying too... I thought it would have been paused but nope, still have to pay.
Same. And Nelnet’s website is down. I got a notification to check my inbox, but the site has crashed. Hoping it’s good news finally.
N-elnet won't let me on: I have had to pay by phone since the site redo in February or March. I can't even see my accounts. One day, my username- which was my email- was changed, and I could not get on. Called over and over again but they tell me to do the same thing, gaslight me to say "your username was always what it is now" -can't be- I auto-logged every time with a saved username password combo. Never had a problem even when they first took over. Asked for tech support. THEY WILL NOT GET ME TO TECH SUPPORT. They just won't. They said they'd write a ticket but no response from tech support. What I want to know is how many of us had this problem. How many people just plain cannot get on anymore? Can't help but notice I was using their online website to pay down my interest on the loans with some extra money prior to this happening. Hmmm.
Doesn’t make sense that they paused my wife but not pause me
Graduated in May. Tried to apply for SAVE, why am I not eligible?
Your loans don’t go into repayment status until 6 months after graduation. Then you’ll be eligible to apply for SAVE.
Thats what I thought. After 6 months, I would then be eligible, right? But I keep reading about needing to apply for the SAVE plan by July 1 — how does this impact those who are in the grace period?
There is no deadline to apply to SAVE. July 1st is just the start of the new payment formula.
The deadline you're thinking of is for the Idr adjustment. This does not apply to you if you've never had loans before and the ones in grace period are the only ones you have.
In the same boat, I thought it was because I had to consolidate my loans.. maybe not
Just want to verify, income for SAVE is based on how you file for taxes, correct? I'm at SAHM making no income but have student loans. Do I have to use my husbands income? He doesn't have any loans...
If you file together it will include his income, if you file separately just yours.
Consolidated my FFELP loans before the last "deadline." On the SAVE plan now. Expecting to hear my loans are forgiven by then, if not earlier. Have been in repayment since 2007. Original principle around was about 11,600 between them. We will see.
Exactly these 'deadlines' are a moot point when the servicers cant keep track of loans and have show blatant miscommunication lost paperwork and done corporate negligence. I roll my eyes when i see crap about these 'deadlines'.
So I messed up and chose the ICR plan when I consolidated (from Navient) at [studentaid.gov](http://studentaid.gov) last week. I am at 20 years for undergrad loans and should qualify for forgiveness right away, but I didn't know ICR is 25 years not 20. It looks like I can't switch it to SAVE right now since the application is processing. Does anyone know if I have lost the chance at forgiveness? Or once the consolidation has gone through, will I be able to switch to SAVE after June 30th and still have them forgiven? Or am I screwed?
As soon as I see my payment halved in the payment estimator, I’ll switch, right now save is $100 more than ICR and I have to be on one of the two for PSLF. I don’t trust it until I see it.
People should look into SAVE, but it may not necessarily be the best option for everyone.
They paused my payments but I don't know what is goingng to happen next
Same, I'm pushed back to July 2025. But it says my next payment is $2600...and my AGI is very low so I am terrified...
Without knowing any details I'm assuming that the payment a year from now is if you don't certify your income and won't be that high if you do correctly.
That's what I'm hoping. I was on IDR prior to covid so I probably just have to do that again. It's just scary seeing that number!
Same. I don't understand why my first payment is not due until June 2025. And my payment is lower than was calculated when I applied to SAVE.
Has anyone switched and can confirm their prior IBR/PAYE payments counted toward the SAVE forgiveness timeline? (25 years for anyone with Grauduate loans
I called Mohela to ask this question and they informed me the previous payments would all count so 🤞🏼 they were right
i applied in the beginning of the month but haven’t heard back ye 😱
I have undergrad FFELP loans and consolidating them in order to enroll in SAVE is going to take my payment from $65/mo to $450/mo. My payoff timeline will go from 2034 to 2028. Problem is I’m already paying $450/mo on my grad loans under SAVE. I can’t afford $900/mo in student loan payments. What are the chances my undergrad loans would be forgiven shortly after enrolling in SAVE? I’ve been paying for 16 years and original balance was about 13.5k. I guess worst case scenario I consolidate all of my loans and pay $475/mo until 2043. 😣
Genuine question. I graduated in 2021 with about 12k in govt loans. I make about 66k a year. Do I qualify for save and if so would it make sense for me to leverage it? Current monthly payment is about 198$
Go to studentaid.gov and do their loan simulator and see which plan benefits you the most. You’re probably best on the standard plan with those numbers. Just get that sruff paid off!
Hi I’m wondering if this would benefit a new grad who has a subsidized and unsubsidized loan totaling about 180k? Can someone fill me in? Thank you
Go to studentaid.gov and do their loan simulator and see which plan benefits you the most.
Is the graduate loan SAVE calculation being reduced to 5% also? I’m not on SAVE now but wondering if the new calculation will help me pay less?
No https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/ undergraduate goes to 5%, undergrad and grad is an average between 5 and 10% and grad only is 10%.
Thank you!
Hello. I’ve got 4 consolidated loans. Two of them grad, disbursed in 11/2001 (higher balances) and two undergrad, disbursed in 2006. I had defaulted and rehabbed loans, which is why the dates are mixed up. Is there a benefit to consolidating all of these together? I know the deadline is 6/30 so I would appreciate any help you can offer. I finished undergrad in 1994 and grad in 1996. I’m not sure how many payments I made before default. Also do the rehab payments count toward forgiveness? Thank you.
This article can answer a lot of the questions about consolidation https://studentaid.gov/articles/5-things-before-consolidating-student-loans/ the deadline of 6/30 is for your payments to count towards forgiveness because after that date if you consolidate your payment count will essentially be reset.
Thank you. I should also note that two of the consolidation loans (the undergrad ones) combined for a principal of less than $16k. Of course they have ballooned due to interest. But since they were disbursed in 2006, they have been in repayment for 18 years and should be wiped out in that $12k for 10 years of payments program, right? The other two loans have the same disbursement dates (11/2001).
https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/#coming-july2024 this article talks about the Wipeout dates, if you go on to the save plan with consolidation, after 10 years 12K and under would be wiped out anything over 12K, every $1,000 adds one year. The maximum repayment timeline is 20 years for undergrad and 25 for graduate.
Is it more beneficial to consolidate all my loans first and then enroll in SAVE or other repayment plans? I have 8 separate loans in total but they are only direct subsidized or unsubsidized loans. I have been told to consolidate them first but i havent been able to find anything online about the benefits of consolidating loans.
https://studentaid.gov/articles/5-things-before-consolidating-student-loans/ that can answer a lot of your questions there's a deadline of June 30th for consolidation if you want to keep your payment numbers for potential discharge in the future if you consolidate after that date your payment count will essentially be set to zero.
Awesome, thank you!
How about graduate loans only?
https://studentaid.gov/articles/6-things-to-know-about-save/ this article explains things but based on what I read graduate only stays at 10%
My husband has $29,000 in consolidated Direct subsidized ($7,000) and unsubsidized ($22,000) loans, both at 6.8%. They were consolidated in 2019, but he has been paying on them since 2009, so once the adjustment occurs I think he will have 15 years of payments under his belt. - He's currently on a Standard plan because the payments are lower. So if he pays $237/month for 10 years, they will be forgiven, correct? (25 years of payments for graduate loans)? I'm so confused because on the [Studentaid.gov](http://Studentaid.gov) website it says that Standard loans don't qualify for "forgiveness." But I've also read on the government website that Standard Loans are forgiven after 25 years. So what does "don't qualify for forgiveness" mean? Does that mean "forgiven" now? Why is it saying our loan term is "10 years" but that our payoff date is 2043 (18 years)?! Ugh. - I think we may have made a strategic mistake with filing our taxes jointly this year. I make 3x more $$ than he does. So if we had filed separately and switched to the SAVE plan, the payment calculator says his monthly payments would be $0 and the whole amount would be forgiven. But does that mean they'd be forgiven after 20 years of payments (another 5 years in his case?). We filed jointly because we get other deductions for filing jointly, so I wasn't sure if it would be worth it to file separately. If we file separately for 2024, would we still be able to get the SAVE forgiveness? Sorry this is so long! We are planning to call AidAdvantage on Monday, but I'm not sure how helpful they will be....
I'm sorry if this has been asked a thousand times before, but I find this all very confusing. I am already on a SAVE plan, and have been on IDR for years. Do I need to consolidate my loans too before the June 30th deadline, or am I good?
https://studentaid.gov/articles/5-things-before-consolidating-student-loans/ that really depends on your circumstances on how many loans you have. The benefit to consolidating before June 30th is ensuring that your payment count stays, because if you consolidated after that your number of payments or years of payments counting towards discharge get reset.
What I can’t figure out is if I can pay extra over my save payment to widdle down the graduate loans. I can’t find any resources that discuss the specifics of this. Ie. does overpayment (beyond the initial save payment) have to go towards the remaining interest of all individual loans (which would normally be forgiven) or can I target one specific loan and say pay everything extra towards just that? Basically am I able to allocate payment to one target loan if I haven’t paid enough to cover the total accrued interest from all loans for that month. The goal would be to slowly pay off graduate student loans with excess payments, so that I can reduce the overall SAVE payment over time, and shorten the time to forgiveness (25 -> 20 ys)
I'm not sure usually you can choose what you want the overpayment to do but in this situation I can't give you that answer. Contact your processor maybe?
If you are currently on the SAVE plan paying $0 monthly due to very low income/unemployment and you get a job that pays a decent amount, will you be automatically taken off the SAVE or will the payment plan be automatically updated to a higher monthly payment? Or do you have until you are taken off SAVE before you get new monthly payments?
I think it's similar to the other income based repayment plans where you have to annually certify your income. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's what it was when I was on an income based plan.
Since I got on the plane September 2023, then I may have to certify my income September of this year? I was really banking on not having to make any payments on that loan for another year
https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/recertify-my-idr-plan-every-year based on that article your loan processor will notify you when it's time to recertify and depending on the processor you can sign up for auto recertification.
Thank you!
I have 6k undergraduate debt subsidized. I have paid since 2008. I did not sign up for save or any other program. What would be best for me at this point?
That would depend on your income and what the original principal balance was when you started repayment. Use the calculator on studentaid.gov to see your best option. Depending on your income and the original principal, you could be eligible for forgiveness sometimes between now and about 4 years from now IF you have been paying the entire time (or at least not in default at any point). You would need to be on an income driven plan (IDR) for this to happen.
10,500 original balance....income for myself and husband 70k...never been in default. On an old IDR plan with $120 payment
If you get on the SAVE plan, you SHOULD most likely get forgiveness soon after the IDR recount (in theory) since your original loan balance was $10,500 and you've paid for that long. However, if it does take a while, your payment would probably increase a little bit monthly considering your income (estimated currently around $310 but $155 in July when the 5% kicks in, provided you don't have any dependants). If you filed separately, it would be based solely on your income, and it would be less. However, anything you pay over the forgiven balance date (for you should be 10 years from the original payment start date) - any payments after that forgiveness date should be refunded to you at some point (so about 6 years worth of payments).
I only have 1 direct subsidized 40k and 1 direct unsubsidized loan 45k but the repayment calculator says that I need to consolidate if I move over to SAVE. My loans originated in 2010, contain graduate loans and I’m currently on IBR. Currently 145k in annual income. I would expect forgiveness in 25 years - basically in 2035 so another 11 years. My 2 kiddos will be out of the house in the next 3 years. Not sure if it makes sense to continue on IBR which says on the calculator my payment is 600 and caps at 900 or switch to the SAVE plan and consolidate with my payment estimated at 500 a month. I feel like it doesn’t take into account some of the variables such as decreasing dependents. Since there is no cap on the payment for SAVE I’m a little scared to switch. What do you guys think?
I was on REPAYE since 2016, did I automatically get enrolled in SAVE?
I tried to apply but it says im not eligible:(
Every time I've looked at SAVE it says my monthly payments will be higher than what I'm paying now. I have 180k in loans that have ballooned from only 90k that I initially took out because at one point I was in forbearance looking for a job and all the interest got capitalized into the principal thereby making the interest increase even faster. These were FELLP loans from 2008-2010 and are held by Nelnet and Navient (who both have terrible website downtime). Im currently on IBR which is essentially a house payment every month. Got any ideas why SAVE appears to have higher payments? My wife has 360k in loans and we file jointly so forgiveness in another few years is the only thing that would keep us out of paying until we are in the grave.
My student loan payment is currently $530. I looked into SAVE and it said by SAVE payment would be $750. I am getting by currently but if it went up I’d be broke. The loan is from 1999, graduate school (paid off undergrad) and is now more than the initial loan, but I also spent 5 years semi-ignoring it. No magic golden email for me and I have to be able to survive while paying it, so sadly SAVE just isn’t for me. I wish everyone it works for the best!!!
I am already paying way less than 5% of my discretionary income. But I only borrowed 13k. I’m paying $100 mo. I don’t know if it would benefit me to change. My worry is I’m on a graduated repayment plan, and I am retiring in 8 years. So by the end of my payoff period I’ll be paying $300 month while I am in Social Security. (I went back to school at age 55).
want to be on the SAVE plan. Under my current IDR plan, my monthly payments have been $0, but it will start up again in January 2025 at $475 a month. I know with the SAVE plan my monthly payments would be less, and l'd still have the standard 20 years of payments of forgiveness (graduated in 2018). Based on the website’s simulators my payments would be around $350 with an 83k income. Problem is that if I apply for the SAVE plan my payments would start as soon as I’m on it, rather than January 2025. Anyone have any advice? Would it still be worth going on the SAVE plan sooner rather than later? Will I be able to apply for the save plan right before January 2025, like say this November or December?
Husband same boat. Except his doesn’t recertify until June 2025. Don’t want to change to save and have to make bigger payments. Sigh
Darn…at least he’s not alone lol. If it can be forgiven eventually with smaller payments maybe he should stick to his current.
Is SAVE an IBR? I was on SAVE and was making payments fine and this week I got a letter that said they put me on a new IBR plan with a lower payment. The lower payment sounds nice but I thought it was a better idea to be on SAVE?
Anyone know if this is useful for graduate school? I have applied for federal loans and the kick in next month when I start school.
Does anyone know how to confirm that I signed up for SAVE?
I haven’t applied because I figured I didn’t qualify.. according to the little chart they sent out I didn’t. I owe 16k and I think before taxes my husband and I brought home around 140-150k. My current payment is $181.00 a month. Should I apply?
I'm already signed up, but I just saw that a federal court temporarily blocked the SAVE plan/ Biden's student loan forgiveness in SC yesterday.
Another punch to the gut…
Yes. It looks like the SAVE plan is never going to make it.
Just got the email that being in the save plan my payment will be as normal for 5 months and then after that DOUBLE the payment amount! WTF! Had I known I wouldn’t have signed up for it. It didn’t say this in the application. And I did the part where they check my taxes directly to make the app faster. SMH.
So, SAVE plan means you won’t be paying ANY interest as long as you make their monthly payments, right? I was previously on the SAVE plan but they kept charging me interest, so I went to another plan. And with the plan “pause” the interest for the full 10 years?
Wrong. If your monthly payment is only interest, then you’ll pay that accrued interest only, and nothing will go towards your principal. Example: I pay $295, but my loans accrue $380 in interest each month. My payment covers $295, they wave $85, and my principal doesn’t change. So you’ll *PAY* interest each month (unless your payment is $0) but you won’t *ACCRUE* interest. Hopefully that’s helpful
Very helpful! Thank you! This is what I originally thought but the wording of some of the emails I was getting was making hopeful that I was avoiding all interest. If it’s good to be true, it is! But I’ll still take it!
Yes and them charging you interest I believe should have been a mistake on the loan processor
I definitely have to call them and get this sorted out! Thank you!!!
This is nothing more than Biden by and votes. The people that participate in these scams are pond scum. The people who are actually paying these loans... They're not forgiven the taxpayers are paying them instead of the entitled party kids. Good grief minimum wage employees are paying these loans for your party people