The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) has reopened the online applications for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and loan consolidation. This move follows a temporary pause due to an injunction from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which halted the implementation of the Biden Administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan and parts of other IDR plans.
Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron commented on the situation, stating, "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.” He added that their team was able to relaunch this application swiftly, ensuring borrowers have access to all legal repayment plans.
Borrowers can now apply for various IDR plans such as Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) through an updated application available at StudentAid.gov/idr. The revised form also allows borrowers to consolidate their loans.
This development comes after an injunction issued by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on February 18th prevented certain implementations by the U.S. Department of Education related to these repayment plans. During this period, paper loan consolidation applications remained accessible.
General information about repayment options continues to be available on StudentAid.gov.
