Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) reopened the online income-driven repayment (IDR) plan and loan consolidation applications for borrowers. The application was temporarily paused to comply with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals injunction issued last month, which directed the Department to cease implementation of the Biden Administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan and parts of other IDR plans. Because the online application incorporated provisions subject to the injunction, it was necessary to revise the form, making it unavailable to borrowers in the interim. Paper loan consolidation applications were available to borrowers during that time.
"A federal appeals court struck down another one of the Biden Administration’s illegal efforts to transfer student loan debt to taxpayers. In response, the Trump Administration substantially revised the income-driven repayment plan application to conform with the ruling,” said Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron. “Our team was able to relaunch this application within weeks, ensuring borrowers have access and the ability to access all legal repayment plans.”
Legal Repayment Options for Borrowers
Borrowers can now apply for the Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plans using the updated IDR application at StudentAid.gov/idr. Borrowers may also apply to consolidate their loans through a revised application form.
General information about repayment is available on StudentAid.gov.
Background
On February 18th, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Education from implementing the Biden Administration’s illegal SAVE Plan and parts of other income-driven repayment plans. Because the online IDR application incorporated provisions of SAVE and other IDR plans that were subject to the injunction, the online IDR and loan consolidation applications were temporarily unavailable. Borrowers were able to fill out a paper loan consolidation application in the interim.