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FedLoan is Wrongly Kicking People Off IBR

Everyone who wants to pursue the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program eventually realizes that it can be a big pain. That said, I’d accept some major pain for six figures of loan forgiveness.

FedLoan Servicing income-based repayment (IBR) is an option, as well. My goal is to make Student Loan Planner® reduce the pain as much as possible by arming you with knowledge and information to fight back as a smart borrower.

Get Started With Our New IDR Calculator

Were you denied for FedLoan income-based repayment?

I’m getting reader feedback emails all the time right now saying some variation of the following:

I was told yesterday that I no longer qualify for IBR and will have to utilize REPAYE as my annual application was denied for IBR due to a higher AGI. My IBR payment would be over the standard payment; REPAYE will be a slight increase but still below standard.”

Here’s another email from a financial planner who deals with a lot of physicians:

I’ve had quite a few clients telling me that the folks at FedLoan have been telling them they no longer qualify for IBR since they don’t meet the financial hardship guidelines (even though they did when they originally applied in residency). Clearly, this is wrong and made worse by the fact that they’re trying to push them out into (in some cases) the standard consolidated repayment and telling them directly that they do not/will not qualify for PSLF.”

We’re going to address

  1. Why FedLoan is kicking people off IBR
  2. Why getting pushed off IBR could cost you thousands
  3. How to fix the problem and still qualify for PSLF

If you read this and it makes your head spin, we’d be happy to make a custom plan for you to help fight back against federal student loan servicer incompetence.

YouTube video

FedLoan’s incompetence clearly demonstrated with this IBR qualification problem

Let me be clear that when I say IBR, I also include PAYE (another income-driven repayment plan) into this discussion. Either one of these two plans allows you to cap your monthly student loan payments at no more than what the amount would have been on the Standard 10-year monthly payment.

Here’s an explanation drawn from the PSLF Q&A released by the government.

16. If I’m repaying my Direct Loans under the PAYE or IBR Plan and my monthly payments are no longer based on my income, will my payments continue to count for PSLF?

Yes. Although you will always initially have a payment based on your income in the PAYE and IBR plans, under certain circumstances your monthly payment under those plans may no longer be based on income. However, your monthly payments will continue to qualify for PSLF if you remain on the PAYE or IBR plan.”

What are the certain circumstances that they outline?

Here’s the cap on IBR payments cited in the FedLoan income-based repayment Q&A:

[Your payment is] Never more than what you would have paid under the Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period, based on what you owed when you entered the IBR Plan.”

Clearly, you can pay based on IBR or PAYE based on your income until you no longer have a partial financial hardship. Then your payments are no longer based on your income. Rather they’re based on what the Standard 10 Year payment would have been when you entered IBR for the first time.

Why FedLoan reps are telling everyone to switch to REPAYE

Put yourselves in the shoes of the FedLoan customer service reps. They get paid poorly, their job is terrible with people yelling at them all the time because of their company’s problems and they just want to avoid getting bothered by their bosses because their phone conversations are too long.

Hence, it would be great if you had a single go-to piece of advice you could always use with customers. A convenient way to get them off the phone without much fuss.

The Revised Pay As You Earn Plan (REPAYE) is often a great federal student loan repayment plan. It meets the criteria for PSLF, it’s based on your joint income as a married couple but that percentage is only 10% and there’s no repayment cap.

REPAYE is

  • Easy to explain
  • Allows for shorter phone conversations
  • Helpful for many people

That’s why FedLoan reps and other federal loan servicers are just blindly telling everyone to switch to it.

When is REPAYE a terrible choice if you’re doing PSLF? When you:

  • Have a REPAYE payment that’s larger than the Standard 10 Year
  • Make a large income relative to your debt
  • Have a spouse with super high income and low or no student debt

In these cases, the repayment cap could be super important.

Imagine an orthopedic surgeon fresh out of training with $200,000 of student loans. Let’s assume he has 6 years of qualified payments for PSLF and needs four more.

On IBR, he might be able to pay $2,000 a month thanks to the Standard 10-year cap. With REPAYE, assume his high income would require payments of $4,000 a month. Over 4 years, that’s a $96,000 difference. A simple phone call with a FedLoan rep suggested a repayment plan switch would have cost him almost six figures.

Consolidation loans pose extra risks for being kicked off FedLoan income-based repayment

You might not know this, but the Standard Repayment Plan for consolidation loans is different from the Standard 10-year repayment plan. When you consolidate, your repayment amount is based on a 10-30 year scale depending on your debt amount.

Here’s a guide for how the government determines this:

At Least

Less Than

Repayment Length

$7,500

10 years

$7,500

$10,000

12 years

$10,000

$20,000

15 years

$20,000

$40,000

20 years

$40,000

$60,000

25 years

$60,000

30 years

As you can see the Standard Repayment Plan for Consolidation loans results in a 30-year repayment length for loans larger than $60,000, which is the vast majority of borrowers’ PSLF loan balances they want forgiven.

Here’s the catch though. The PSLF program only counts the Standard 10-year repayment plan if you’re not on IBR, PAYE, REPAYE, or ICR.

However, the Standard 10 Year Plan does not exist for consolidation loans. It became the Standard Repayment Plan instead, which if you owe more than $7,500 is not a 10-year Standard plan. That means the Standard Repayment Plan for Consolidation loans does not count for PSLF.

Reps at FedLoan often know this, so they tell a borrower incorrectly that they no longer qualify for PSLF at all, which is not the case.

How to get PSLF when FedLoan says you don’t qualify

When you are told that you no longer qualify for IBR, you need to immediately escalate the conversation to a supervisor. This is your financial future on the line. You can’t risk that just to be nice to a phone associate.

This is a business transaction, and you deserve the correct information. If you do not receive that, then you need to be firm and request to speak to someone else.

Your argument simply needs to be this.

“I know that I no longer qualify to pay based on my income. However, I do qualify to remain on the IBR [or PAYE] plan and make payments equal to what my amount would be on the 10-year Standard Repayment plan.”

This is true even for consolidation loans as we’ve seen FedLoan adopt this cap and apply it in other environments. After all, we’ve had thousands of clients with many complex scenarios. So, we are familiar with FedLoan income-based repayment as an option.

Here’s who should fight FedLoan to retain their PSLF eligibility:

  • If you work at a nonprofit or other qualifying employer and plan to stay on full-time for the full 10 years needed
  • You already have a couple years or more of qualifying payments
  • You owe more than $50,000 of student debt (your time is worth something)

I’ve had a city attorney stay on track for PSLF despite her Big Law husband making over $400,000. No need to file separately for taxes. Just take advantage of the IBR cap.

In another case, a surgeon making $500,000 a year is still on track for PSLF with $300,000 of student loan debt.

I saw on a Facebook group recently that a financial advisor told a high-income couple to pay off their loans in two years since they “made too much for IBR.”

It’s true that you have to have a partial financial hardship to qualify in the first place. However, if you already have one and you will stay working in the right kind of employer, go for PSLF and put your money into a side account at a place like Betterment or Vanguard.

Then realize the financial advisor that gave you that advice is clueless about your number one financial obstacle, fire him, and hire us instead to outline the options for your student loans.  We can provide you with some of the top smart borrowing tips today. Once you’re in good shape with that part of your life, consider hiring a fee-only fiduciary financial planner who understands what they don’t know.

Did FedLoan try to kick you off of IBR? Tell us in the comments!

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Comments

  1. Miranda April 11, 2019 at 9:51 PM
    Reply

    Just got an email from Navient saying I no longer qualify for IBR…

    • Travis Hornsby April 11, 2019 at 11:12 PM
      Reply

      If you ignore it they’ll keep you on the standard 10 year plan

      • Miranda Valle-Riestra April 12, 2019 at 10:49 PM
        Reply

        I will call them! Is it likely this was inaccurate on their part?

        • Travis Hornsby April 12, 2019 at 11:37 PM
          Reply

          Most likely yes it wasnt accurate

  2. Christine April 26, 2019 at 1:25 PM
    Reply

    I have a question. I am a teacher and am on an incorrect plan for PSLF. I am married but my husband and I together with one dependent do not make all that much money–enough to live, but not be extravagant (less than $110K). Anyway, I realized three years in that I was not on a correct repayment plan to qualify for PSLF. I went through the steps with a rep provided by fedloan servicing. We placed my loans on the three month forbearance while my application (that they walked me through and confirmed I qualified for) was processed. I just received notice that it was denied but as to why, I am not yet sure. I NEED this repayment plan to qualify for PSLF since I am a public school teacher. Do you have any suggestions for me?

    • Travis Hornsby April 26, 2019 at 3:26 PM
      Reply

      Sounds like you probably won’t be able to use IBR unless you file separately

  3. Nick May 16, 2019 at 4:49 PM
    Reply

    Navient just rejected my PAYE recertification because AGI was to high. I called and the phone rep said it was a mistake and to resubmit. Resubmitted and it was rejected again immediately. I called again and a different phone rep said “my payment could not be calculated” because I was over the AGI limit, and while I wasn’t being kicked out of PAYE, my monthly payment would be the standard 10 year and none of the payments would be qualifying payments. I would need to reapply again when my income was below the AGI threshold, although I wouldn’t lose qualifying payments to date. Is this correct? I told the rep to send it back for processing and to ask for a detailed explanation on why I was being denied.

    • Travis Hornsby May 16, 2019 at 4:59 PM
      Reply

      Just apply and when it gets rejected you dont need to worry about anything. It’ll just end up on the 10 year plan and youll keep getting rejected and the pmts still qualify

  4. Jessica McDermott May 22, 2019 at 9:55 AM
    Reply

    I just got kicked off of my IBR. Married filing jointly, combined income of 130k, consolidated loans when I first starting paying on them. I’ve made 5 years of PSLF payments and am losing sleep that I will lose it all. Was told that I could resubmit with paycheck stubs. Husband and I were thinking about dropping our income with 401k contributions as we’d rather be broke and pay ourselves than have this high payment that’s basically setting money on fire. We could then send in our paycheck stubs showing our lowered income. I will not do forbearance as I don’t want my interest to capitalize. Will something like this work, and they’ll then decide we qualify? We could also make the full payment, but I have to ensure that I’m still on PSLF as their required low payments have put me into negative amortization. Also, if I hire for a consultation, are you able to do a three-way call and speak on my behalf? They’re playing with rules that only they know, and I need experts to give them what for!

    • Travis Hornsby May 28, 2019 at 3:52 PM
      Reply

      We don’t chat w the servicers w the consult service, but what I can tell you is that if you don’t qualify anymore then all you do is do nothing and your payments will revert to Standard then your payments count to PSLF still. Sometimes REPAYE is better and sometimes it’s not, but I wouldn’t do paystubs.

  5. Wendy June 21, 2019 at 7:15 PM
    Reply

    I did my yearly IBR recertification online the beginning of May. Was told a couple weeks later I needed to submit pay stubs because my income had changed from previous years. (Mind you it has decreased a couple thousand, not increased). I faxed the necessary paperwork immediately, and received an email saying everything was being processed and would be notified when decision was reached. Well, TODAY(Friday evening-when I can’t reach them by phone because they are closed)I receive an email that my income no longer meets the definition of financial hardship required to qualify for IBR. This makes absolutely no sense.
    AND My regular payments are due to begin again on July 6th!!! They certainly sat on this for a few weeks before making a decision. And conveniently not leaving me a lot of time before my payments begin again. The other issue I have is that my loan is about 3 years shy of being 20 years old. If I am not mistaken, isn’t 20 years of making payments on an IBR plan qualification for forgiveness? Does this sound a little suspicious to you?

    • Travis Hornsby June 22, 2019 at 9:04 AM
      Reply

      Well the 20 year threshold is for PAYE not IBR, which is 25 years. And also you would’ve had to have been on ICR to qualify if the loan is that old and it was very tough prior to 2009, so you will likely have issues with that.

      • Wendy June 26, 2019 at 4:56 PM
        Reply

        I’m sorry. That was supposed to be 10 years, not 20. I was typing fast and didn’t proofread before I hit send. But, does that make any difference at all?? Thanks.

  6. randy July 23, 2019 at 3:49 PM
    Reply

    I have been on IBR for several years. I work for the government, so once I hit 120 payments my student loans will go away. They are kicking me off IBR because my side job generates too much money. The rep on the phone told me to apply for ICR instead, but that will increase my payments by $500 a month.

    I was under the impression that I could not be kicked off IBR as long as I recertified every year, and my payments would never go over what they would originally have been under the 10 year plan.

    My fear is this: If I do not take ICR, I’ll be kicked out of the PSLF program altogether. Should I just pay the ICR, even though it’s higher?

    • Ashley from Student Loan Planner August 5, 2019 at 10:48 AM
      Reply

      Hi Randy,
      That sounds right. Once you’re on IBR, you shouldn’t be kicked off, and the payment should be capped at the 10-year Standard payment amount. Sometimes your servicer will send a letter saying you’re being kicked off of IBR, followed by another one a few weeks later saying you’re still on IBR and your payment is equal to the 10-year Standard payment. We’d recommend waiting to see if this is the case.

      • Jy February 9, 2020 at 3:07 PM
        Reply

        Interested to see what ended up happening with this as I may be in the same situation next year and my loans are direct consolidation loans so I need to be able to stay on IBR even if my payments are capped at the 10 year standard repayment plan. I need to know how to make sure that I am not incorrectly kicked off of IBR. Were you able to remain on IBR and have your payments capped at the 10 year standard repayment plan amount?

        • Travis at Student Loan Planner February 10, 2020 at 9:29 AM
          Reply

          We hear a lot of people who have gotten the payments capped by ignoring letters FedLoan sends

        • Randy June 10, 2021 at 10:18 AM
          Reply

          Jy, sorry it took me so long to respond. I didn’t see your question.

          You’ve probably figured it out by now, but for anyone else Googling this matter, I ignored the letter saying I was off IBR, and shortly thereafter I got another one saying I was still on it (and my payments were capped at the 10 year repayment amount). So it happened exactly as Ashley described.

  7. Ilya T. August 4, 2019 at 8:28 AM
    Reply

    Hi Travis,

    I had a lot of questions initially, but after re-reading both the article and the answers for comments I think I understand most of it, just was wandering if got several point correct.
    Some background: I am about 70 months into PSLF on IBR plan and my IDR recertification was just denied as too much income (after family size decreased by 1). I have remaining approximately 200K in loans (not qualifying for PAYE as they are from 2006 on).
    My total family income is kind of stabilized at 300-320K/year and hopefully will not fluctuate either way much.
    My first reflex was changing to REPAYE. I calculated REPAYE at approx. 2400/months and my standard repayment is capped at approx. 2750/month. I need approximately 4 more years to finish PSLF (hopefully). If you could tell your thoughts on these questions:
    1. There are some statements online that if I switch now to REPAYE my payments will reset and I will need 120 from the scratch, but also some say it’s not true. Do you happen to know if what is really the case? Does qualifying payments balance carry over changing from IBR to REPAYE?
    2. Does it make sense to switch for relatively small savings, but loose IBR cap protection? If my discretionary income somehow goes up even not by much I can see REPAYE payments easily becoming higher that standard. I wouldn’t be able to go back to standard anymore, correct?
    3. What exactly do I ask servicer, to let me exercise my right to stay on PSLF track while making standard 10 year payment? Is there a procedure for it?

    I appreciate all your time and efforts you putting into this article and answers.

    • Travis Hornsby August 5, 2019 at 11:24 AM
      Reply

      This is dangerous to answer without knowing absolutely everything about your situation. The pmts dont reset. The cap may or may not matter based on your income distribution. Honestly would get this reviewed with our team studentloanplanner.com/help

  8. Andy L August 13, 2019 at 6:14 AM
    Reply

    Hi Travis,

    Thanks for the informative post. I am nealy 7 years into IBR and my current income will now preclude me from income driven payment. My intention is to qualify for PSLF under the capped standard 10 year rate on IBR. Do I need to submit a new recertification form knowing my income will exclude me or should I just do nothing and will I be switched by default to the 10 year standard rate and remain on IBR?

    Thanks so much

    • Travis Hornsby August 15, 2019 at 8:19 AM
      Reply

      I would submit the form anyway and dont let them talk you into REPAYE unless the payment would actually be lower than the cap

      • Lindsay October 1, 2020 at 10:44 PM
        Reply

        Thanks for answering all this! This is my exact situation too. I just got the message from FedLoan saying my IBR was denied. I did have a significant jump in income due a promotion but with the same organization for the entirety of my PSLF journey. I’m 7 years in. Will it default me to what my 10 year would have been? Or will it try to make me pay what I owe in monthly installments that would have me finish at the 10 year mark? I’ve read both and am a little panicked.

        • Amy at Student Loan Planner October 7, 2020 at 4:34 PM
          Reply

          It caps you at what your 10-year payment would have been based on the original start date and balance of your loan. It won’t amortize what’s left over the next 3 years.

  9. Lee September 23, 2019 at 12:13 PM
    Reply

    Hey there,
    I’m a social worker, five years of PSLF qualifying payments under my belt. Got married, AIG went up, I don’t qualify for the income guidelines of financial hardship under PAYE anymore. Fedloan is saying I should switch to REPAYE. I have just one direct consolidated federal loan that’s 130k. They rejected my income verification. Do I ignore it and they’ll just move me to the 10 year repayment plan and those payments qualify even with a consolidated loan?

    • Travis Hornsby September 25, 2019 at 10:37 AM
      Reply

      Yes ignore the heck out of them and just let your 10 year pmt cap happen. Keep sending in the forms yearly.

      • Ace March 15, 2021 at 5:12 PM
        Reply

        By the forms, do you mean the PSLF forms or the annual income recertification for PAYE/IBR?

  10. Austin October 1, 2019 at 10:51 AM
    Reply

    I have around $52k held by FedLoan. As a federal employee I have PSLF credit coming to me for 01/2019 – current. My married AGI went up to around $77,000 and my re-certification was denied via email. I’m waiting on the written letter, but I assume it’ll just be saying I make too much. A 10% 12-month cap is over $700/month and obviously more than the Standard monthly would be. Do I just ignore any urging to change to a different plan and let it just lapse to Standard? And if I keep re-certifying my employment every year will I stay in PSLF?

    • Travis Hornsby October 8, 2019 at 4:46 PM
      Reply

      Yeah ignore anything that tries to get you off the PAYE or IBR plan if you need the cap

  11. Matt November 3, 2019 at 2:19 PM
    Reply

    I spoke with a PSLF rep when my income was >than the need based IBR cutoff. I was advised to not rectify my income and just default to the 10 year standard repayment amount. Therefore I technically remain in IBR, continue to make payments and just never will rectify my year to year income. Is this correct? I’m concerned that my servicer will automatically kick me off IBR because my income has finally increased.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner November 7, 2019 at 10:36 PM
      Reply

      Yes you want to avoid doing anything when you dont qualify anymore because if you leave IBR you wont be able to get back on.

  12. Jenny Brocker November 5, 2019 at 2:39 PM
    Reply

    Thank you for this helpful post. My graduate school loans are from prior to 2009 (I graduated from school in 2007 and had 2 in school consolidations prior to graduation). I started on financial hardship deferment for 2 years, then when IBR was introduced in 2009, went on that and have qualified every year since (so 10 years). I have 2 questions:
    1) Do the 2 years of financial hardship deferment count toward my 25, or just the 10 years I’ve been making IBR payments?
    2) My income is set to go up significantly in 5 years, my understanding is that even if I no longer qualify for IBR, my payments won’t be more than the standard repayment and I will still qualify for loan forgiveness at the 25 year mark. Am I correct there?

    Thank you!

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner November 7, 2019 at 10:33 PM
      Reply

      Hardship deferment doesnt count towards the 10 year PSLF or 25 year taxable IBR forgiveness. Correct the only catch is if you were to pay off the loan in full w those standard pmts.

  13. Jay Khan November 12, 2019 at 11:02 PM
    Reply

    Hi,
    I have enrolled in the income-based repayment program for seven years now. I have enrolled in the public loan forgiveness as well and have submitted seven years worth of payment working for a not for profit. My total loan amount is 460,000. Next year I just got offered a job for 600,000. I have three years left in my loan forgiveness. Will I be disqualified from income-based repayment? How do I go about handling the situation?

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner November 20, 2019 at 10:26 AM
      Reply

      Sounds like the value of forgiveness would be about 400 / 3 and then adjusting for taxes probably around 180 to 200k a year. So you might wait a year just to make sure you’re happy in the new non qualifying job and then just refinance. https://www.studentloanplanner.com/refinance-student-loans

      • Jay Khan November 20, 2019 at 2:16 PM
        Reply

        The job is a not for profit opportunity so it technically qualifies. I am wondering about the high income being an issue for loan forgiveness

  14. Ronnie callaway November 28, 2019 at 7:43 PM
    Reply

    I’m currently on IBR through fed loan and been on it for the past 3 years but just received a notice of proposed wage garnishment of 15% per period from department of education. I’m lost as to what my next step should be.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 13, 2019 at 10:48 AM
      Reply

      You probably have some loans you don’t know about. Login to https://nslds.ed.gov/npas/index.htm and see if everything listed there is with FedLoan and if it’s not you have some loans you didn’t know about

  15. William December 5, 2019 at 9:14 AM
    Reply

    I got married in 2016 and have been on an IBR based our joint tax returns since then, however it was always with zero payment required as I reported zero income — I was starting a freelance business venture and wasn’t making any income until this year. I have successfully recertified my IBR each year without issue based on our joint tax returns and my zero income keeping a zero payment required. Full disclosure, my wife makes almost 200k a year and has no student loans. Now my IBR recertification was denied based on my 2018 taxes, where nothing has changed, I still reported my zero income. However, now my payment has gone up to what looks like 10% of my wife’s income. When I called in they said it is always based on our AGI, but they wouldn’t explain why previous years that wasn’t accounted for. This year I started making freelance income, approximately 30k. Is there a way to keep my IBR based on my income and with joint taxes? Im really set on paying this off on my income and not my wife’s. The goal was to put all my freelance income into the loans, but it varies month to month. So looking for the lowest payment possible and staying on a IBR with forgiveness possible. What is the best strategy for our situation? FWIW, the only thing that has changed for us is she recently received her Permanent Residence Green Card last year. She was here on a executive visa. Not sure if that would change how our taxes are viewed, though we have filed the same forms since being married.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 13, 2019 at 10:35 AM
      Reply

      Clear example of when doing a student loan plan with us makes sense: studentloanplanner.com/hire-student-loan-help/

      Your issue is that plans like REPAYE count spousal income no matter what and some plans like PAYE and IBR dont if you file taxes the right way. So no you cant file joint and expect to not have her income counted.

      • Adam December 20, 2019 at 12:54 AM
        Reply

        FedLoan is now claiming I am denied IDR/IBR after a rep assured me that my proof of income (unemployment benefits) documents were sufficient. What can I do to challenge this?

        • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 20, 2019 at 2:07 PM
          Reply

          Just submit prior year tax returns or tell them you dont have an income to get a $0 required payment. But youre doing the right thing in reporting the benefits just ask for a supervisor.

  16. Jay Khan December 19, 2019 at 10:26 PM
    Reply

    Hi Travis,
    I had asked you a question regarding Pay as you earn. I have completed 7 yrs of payments to qualify for the public loan forgiveness. I got offered a NOT FOR PROFIT job for 600K. my loan amount is 450K. The job technically qualifies for public loan forgiveness given this is a not-for-profit job. my question is given my salary will be significantly higher than my loan amount, I would not qualify for pay as you earn. what plan will I be put in? Can I still make qualifying payments for the public loan forgiveness program? Will the higher pay disqualify me from the public loan forgiveness program. Thank you

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 21, 2019 at 12:11 PM
      Reply

      You would qualify for PAYE your payments just get capped. To refinance would be a $400,000 mistake minimum.

  17. Pat December 25, 2019 at 5:09 AM
    Reply

    Stumbled across your website today as I feverishly researched why my wifes IBR showed DENIED on the myfedloan.org website. Of course, no further information in her inbox, just have to wait for the snail mail to arrive. She is SO CLOSE to PSLF, our last payment is supposed to be May. 2018 our AGI reached that limit where we aren’t considered to have a financial hardship. I’m nervous that this denial will kick us automatically to a non PSLF eligible repayment plan, but I think i have to wait and see the letter to see what happens next. If I recall correctly, the last rep we talked to said they put you on REPAYE automatically when this happens, but we’ve been misled at least a dozen times over the last decade. What specifically should I look for and should I call them to specify exactly what we want for a repayment plan to remain eligible for PSLF? 5 more payments left I cannot screw this up!

    Also, do you know of any way to get back on a reduced payment IBR due to existing financial hardship? While our 2018 income took us off the eligibility, my wife is no on maternity leave at a significantly reduced pay and I am a reservist being called to active duty starting mid January. Overall, our income is pretty reduced as a result (we file jointly).

    Overall, my main goal is to maintain PSLF eligible payments so we can request forgiveness in May. If we can reduce those payments due to current financial hardship, all the better.

    Thanks

    • Pat December 25, 2019 at 5:28 AM
      Reply

      Following up to my above question….your article mentions consolidation loans not having a 10 year repayment plan.

      Under my loan type it says “Direct Unsub Consolidation Ln”

      This tells me I have a consolidated loan which your article indicates may not have a standard 10 year repayment option. But, if I recall when this all started one of the requirements was that you consolidated your student loans in order to be eligible for PSLF (to be clear, all of my work up to this point has been eligible and certified).

      If I have consolidated loans as indicated on my fedloan and I no longer qualify for IBR, should I now select REPAYE since 10 year standard payments aren’t an option?

      • Travis at Student Loan Planner January 6, 2020 at 3:09 PM
        Reply

        You don’t need to consolidate to be eligible necessarily. REPAYE is often the cheapest option but not always. Im not sure but you might have made a comment that you are close to PSLF on another thread? if so consolidation is a very bad option at this point probably and you need to not go through w it if you have years of credit already because you will lose this credit if you consolidate.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner January 6, 2020 at 3:08 PM
      Reply

      They don’t put you into REPAYE automatically. The best thing is just to ignore any letters they send you and make sure you’re still having money deducted then apply in May.

    • Jeannette McGillivray February 4, 2020 at 6:38 AM
      Reply

      Hi Travis, I was denied IBR, not sure as of yet. But think it’s because daughter moved out. I’ll call FedLoan tomorrow but want to know what the next best thing to try (just in case I don”t get IBR)? I’m almost 5 years into my 10 years at county hospital.

      • Travis at Student Loan Planner February 5, 2020 at 1:51 PM
        Reply

        Remember that you dont get kicked off if you do nothing, they merely cap your payment at the standard 10 year. So the best thing is to do nothing and keep filing proof of income when they tell you and keep sending in the PSLF ECF form.

  18. Mike December 31, 2019 at 2:08 PM
    Reply

    I filled out an IDR application around a year and a half ago (approved for PAYE) and as of November FedLoan has certified I’m 11 payments towards PSLF. Today I log in and one of my automated notifications (That usually day “your bill is due” or whatever) tells me that I need to fill out an IDR application. Ack! Think this is this something I should follow up on? How concerned should I be regarding my PSLF status?

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner January 6, 2020 at 3:01 PM
      Reply

      You need to plan on recertifying once a year, nothing to be alarmed about.

  19. John January 10, 2020 at 2:25 AM
    Reply

    FedLoans just emailed me that they denied my IDR request. I currently owe about $145,000 and make about $95,000 annually. I have made 60 out of the 120 qualifying payment for PSLF. I believe the payment plan I was under was PAYE. I will continue working in the public/non-profit sector.

    What should I do to continue to qualify for PSLF in terms of my repayment plan?

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner January 14, 2020 at 12:35 AM
      Reply

      That doesn’t make sense that they denied you. I would call them again and ask why your payment isnt around 600 a month. If you continue to have problems consider hiring us for a student loan consult.

  20. BB January 24, 2020 at 4:08 PM
    Reply

    Don’t forget to address the issue that the amount you are forgiven on your loans become a tax liability as they must be declared as income on tax returns. Some people are having thousands forgiven, but are now must report this on their taxes, as much as 40 to 50 thousand!

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner January 27, 2020 at 3:09 PM
      Reply

      Thats true but you can save for that with a few hundred per month in an index mutual fund.

  21. Sydonny January 24, 2020 at 9:17 PM
    Reply

    I just received an email from Fedloan stating my IDR recertification was denied as a letter will be mailed on the next steps. I owe about $115K in student loans and make less than $60K a year. I work in the public sector and made 42 of 78 qualifying payments under PSLF.

    I’m uncertain what I should do or is it advisable to fight this. I’m almost a year in after a finalized Chpt 7 Bankruptcy which Fedloan knew about after being on a bankruptcy forbearance for a few months. I also was in deferment for financial hardship for a few years.

    I am making on time payments for the past few months.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner January 27, 2020 at 3:08 PM
      Reply

      Yes you should fight it because your payments based on your income should be about 350 a month. Ask them to enroll in REPAYE and get out of forbearance. Now that you’re past Ch 7 I suggest always making those IDR payments no matter what. No more forbearance.

  22. MeDi February 1, 2020 at 11:55 PM
    Reply

    I have 138k in loans and our combined household income is apx 150k. The loans are split between Fedloans about 90k and toward PSLF and Navient for the rest. I have been on IBR for both.
    Last year FedLoan told me in a letter that I was no longer eligible for IBR and put me into REPAYE. I am still on IBR for Navient.
    Can I get back on IBR for Fedloan?
    Additionally, I’ve been with FedLoan since 2012. During the first year my payments didn’t count toward PSLF because they were on the wrong plan. I’ve been on a PSLF payment plan ever since. But not all my payments have been counted. I requested a manual audit in 2018 then again in 2019 and more recently this past month and have received no response. What can I do?

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner February 5, 2020 at 4:27 PM
      Reply

      To be honest you need one of our student loan plans: https://www.studentloanplanner.com/help

      The issue is that the navient debt might be FFEL in which case it’s not eligible and you actually need to stick to IBR, but you might need to file taxes separately if you’re married. There’s a ton of stuff going on here that a consult would help clarify.

  23. Nick February 6, 2020 at 1:17 PM
    Reply

    I was recently notified by FedLoan that my IDR re-certification was denied as I no longer had a partial financial hardship. My income had increased significantly from the previous year (4 years out of residency). I called FedLoan and they stated that I would remain on the IBR plan for “PSLF purposes” but my payments would be based on the 10 year Standard Repayment Plan. They also mentioned that I would not have to resubmit an IDR re-certification in future years if my income remains above the partial financial hardship qualifier. I was not told/recommended to switch plans and overall it was a fairly reasonable interaction for FedLoan standards. I am planning on re-submitting each year as I don’t trust FedLoans at all at this point and would like to have evidence that I completed my end of the deal.

    • Jy February 9, 2020 at 3:56 PM
      Reply

      Could you please let me know if you have found a way to verify that you are still on the IBR plan for PSLF purposes? I’m in a similar situation where I’ve been on IBR for years but I suspect next year I may no longer qualify for a partial financial hardship. I have large direct consolidation loans and, after reading this article apparently I need to remain on the IBR plan for my payments to qualify for PSLF. Per this article and my own reading and research of IBR when I started this whole process years ago, I should automatically remain enrolled in IBR if and when my income no longer qualifies for a partial financial hardship and my payments are capped at the 10 year standard repayment plan. It appears from reading this article that fedloan servicing is erroneously takin people off of this plan? This is terrifying. If you could please let me know if and how you are able to resolve your situation with fedloan servicing that would be great.

      • Travis at Student Loan Planner February 10, 2020 at 9:29 AM
        Reply

        Just don’t respond when they send you the letter telling you you’re no longer eligible to pay based on your income. You can see you’re still on IBR by searching your txt file from nslds.ed.gov and ctrl+F searching “Income Based” it will show you if you’re still enrolled.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner February 10, 2020 at 9:38 AM
      Reply

      That seems like reasonable advice for a change from them

  24. WJ February 20, 2020 at 10:13 PM
    Reply

    Hey Travis,

    I have been filing separately for years to minimize my IBR payments but now due to a significantly increased income, I am planning on filing together this year. I anticipate my payment will be at the standard cap. I am about 93 payments in PSLF with large debt load.

    I am wanting to confirm with you that I can stay on IBR while continuing to make qualifying PSLF payments at the standard 10 year cap. How do I remain in IBR? Do i just re-apply like I have been doing every year? Should I anticipate getting “rejection” letter from FedLoan after I apply?

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner February 21, 2020 at 10:24 AM
      Reply

      Basically you get the first rejection letter and if you do nothing, then they keep you at the standard 10 year cap. So my suggestion is basically that you do absolutely nothing and it should work itself out

  25. Alex April 26, 2020 at 12:02 PM
    Reply

    I too just recieved email notification that my IDR request was denied. I have been in the IBR plan and have made 61 payments towards PSLF. What I am reading is that they cannot force me off IBR and I would pay whatever the standard 10 year repayment based on the original loan balance would be, correct? I have not received the letter in the mail from Fedloan yet.

    • Travis Hornsby April 29, 2020 at 1:47 PM
      Reply

      Just ignore them and the payment is capped

  26. Ilya T. September 4, 2020 at 10:10 AM
    Reply

    Hey,
    Just to clarify. I was denied last August and continue to pay based on 10 year standard repayment. I sent my employment certification in February and those new payment seem to count, so looks like I remained on IBR just like article suggests. Fedloan sent me annual IDR recertification request this summer. Do I have to submit it even if I feel okay staying with current 10 year standard amount? I had an impression since I was denied once and my income remains same above the hardship level there is no need to do IDRs annualy anymore? Just don’t want to get kicked of IBR for not submitting (and still have time to do it since IDRs are technically suspended because of COVID).
    Should I submit regardless or ignore? I know I will not qualify for hardship.
    Many thanks

  27. Omar October 4, 2020 at 10:40 PM
    Reply

    Hi
    1). 400k medical school debt.
    2). Ive been on IBR since 2013 and have paid ZERO dollars since my income was under 20k a year.
    3). Just started a new job in 2020 making 47k and it qualifies for PSLF.
    4). Its a medical residency with 4 years length.
    5). Any feedback would be great. Can i be removed from the IBR since my income will shoot up to 300k after completion of the 4 yr residency?

    • Amy at Student Loan Planner October 7, 2020 at 4:37 PM
      Reply

      You can’t get kicked off IBR. Your payment might go up after residency but it will be capped at what your standard 10-year payment amount was. Plus, at that point, you’ll already be almost half-way to forgiveness.

  28. Mimi Wrobel October 5, 2020 at 10:56 AM
    Reply

    I am about 9 years into IDR plan on my student loans towards PSLF; just learned that my latest IDR recertification request was denied. They are sending me a letter I have not yet received to explain why. My guess is that my husband and I sold our home of 35 years last year, and our income went way up (for a minute). Most of that money has all been spent on purchase of our new place, along with paying off debt etc. My husband is a retired tradesman with social security only, and I work for the state at $48 k per year. Can they take away my PSLF plan based on one year of high income due to sale of our 35-year residence? After capital gains I think we realized something like 200k from the sale, but much of that was already earmarked for new mortgage etc.

    • Amy at Student Loan Planner October 7, 2020 at 4:44 PM
      Reply

      I’m not a tax expert but the sale of a house doesn’t always count as income. But even if it did, you can’t get kicked off IDR. Your payment might go up based on your tax returns but you can always use alternative documentation when recertifying.

      • Mimi Wrobel October 9, 2020 at 2:14 PM
        Reply

        Thank you for your reply. I just spoke with FedLoan servicing and I was told I can (and should) change my plan and, as you suggest, submit alternative documentation for income. They want to see the regular income and not that which includes sale of the house.

        Such a wonderful resource you provide. Thanks again!

  29. Jenn October 26, 2020 at 8:45 PM
    Reply

    Hi,
    I’ve been paying into the IBR for PSLF for 6 years. I was denied IBR recertification and was told I’d receive a letter (I assume I’m making too much money now and am over the cap for IBR), but I haven’t received the letter and payments are supposed to start again 11/13. However, due to Covid, payments have been suspended for the remainder of 2020. I want to make sure Nov and Dec are counted towards my PSLF payments despite my denied IBR recertification. I still qualify for PSLF based on where I’m employed, a public school district. How do I proceed? Thanks so much, Jenn

    • Amy at Student Loan Planner October 27, 2020 at 10:31 AM
      Reply

      They can’t kick you off IBR even if you’re over the cap. Your payments will still count for PSLF even if you’re paying the Standard 10-year payment amount.

      • Jenn October 28, 2020 at 8:40 AM
        Reply

        Hi Amy, thanks so much! So it sounds like they’ll keep counting my payments even if I’ve been denied recertification because I’m still eligible for PSLF. They aren’t going to turn around and say my payments don’t count because I was denied IBR?

        • Jenn November 5, 2020 at 11:09 AM
          Reply

          Follow-up, for others with similar questions. They finally uploaded a letter to my FedLoan account (seems they don’t mail a letter as the email mentioned in Sept and the letter isn’t uploaded until the month you are supposed to start your new payment, which is Nov for me). The letter provided information about staying on IBR even though I was denied recertification. They also replied quickly to some emails with follow-up questions. They still count payments even after being denied recertification, just make sure you submit the Employment Certification Form for PSLF. And during the COVID19 Forbearance, these months still count towards PSLF. Thanks so much!

  30. Jy December 4, 2020 at 3:15 AM
    Reply

    I got an email from the U.S. Department of Education recently telling me to consider applying for an income driven repayment plan. Should I be alarmed that I got this email given that I’ve been on an income driven repayment plan for almost the past 10 years and was on an IDR going into the CARES Act forbearance period?

    Anyone else in the same situation get this email?

    I will be eligible for forgiveness early next year so it’s really important that there’s no mixups with my IDR status.

    Also the Federal Student Aid website says IDR recertifications are pushed out from our original recertification dates, you will not have to recertify before December 31, 2020. Do we have any information yet on when after December 31, 2020 we will have to recertify?

  31. Jade January 5, 2021 at 2:41 PM
    Reply

    Hello, I’m 7 years into PSLF and have 3 direct loans & 4 FEEL loans that don’t qualify. I was just kicked off my IBR payment plays b/c of income. The direct loans were on PAYE & the FEEL were IBR. Fedloan told me to consolidate my FEEL loans only into direct loans (I know to keep them separate from the other so they don’t start over) and get everything on the ICR plan….not sure what every is talking about cap. I just want to finish my 3 years and get rid of the 3 loans. I never intended to put the 4 loans on PSLF b/c it’s already been 7 years and they only total $13K. I have a total of $27K in loans left….should I consolidate and go on ICR or should I just take the higher payment and try to finish the 3 years? This is so confusing trying to understand all the different scenarios. Thank you

    • Amy at Student Loan Planner January 19, 2021 at 5:52 PM
      Reply

      It’s unlikely you’d benefit from consolidating your FFEL loans to make them eligible for PSLF since you owe just $13k on those. If your income is low, it might make sense. I’d recommend booking a consult to know for sure or using our student loan calculator to run the numbers.

  32. Shawn February 24, 2021 at 12:43 PM
    Reply

    I am 7 years into PSLF and have been on IBR making around $600/month payments as I’ve been single. My total loan amount is $320K. I was recently married and my wife does not have loans. We both will be earning 300K each this year (600K total) and I will work at a not for profit 501c3 for the remaining years. My question is do I stay on IBR, file my joint income annually, and pay the standard 10-year payment (~3K/month) as I will no longer qualify for financial hardship. I am assuming FedLoan will look to remove me from IBR. I was told my FedLoan not to re-certify my income anymore and payments will automatically go to Standard 10-year payment; however I am scared this will somehow prevent me from applying for forgiveness in 3 years.

    • Amy at Student Loan Planner February 27, 2021 at 11:14 AM
      Reply

      You must be on an income driven repayment plan to qualify for forgiveness. If you don’t recertify, they can kick you off and that can impact your ability to get forgiveness. When borrowers get married, especially when there’s $300k+ levels of debt involved, we recommend booking a consult to discuss your repayment strategy. We save the average client $49k – and that’s a lot of money to leave on the table.

  33. AAB March 29, 2021 at 2:07 PM
    Reply

    My repayment plan was changed from PAYE to REPAYE. This was done without my request or knowledge. It lead to an increased payment. Worse of all around $30k interest was capitalized. I have requested more than once that the company undue this action, recalculate my outstanding balance and undo the capitalization of interest. I was told I didn’t qualify for the plan I had been on for 6 or more years. I don’t not agree with that and besides I shouldn’t be penalized if they allowed me to remain on the plan so long.

  34. Joe Joslin April 7, 2021 at 11:44 AM
    Reply

    74/120 payments into PSLF. still have 80k. my wife has student loans also. together we bring in around 130k-150k a year. my IDR app was denied today. Do I need to go to a income based plan for the remaining payments? or if slide into a standard 10 year plan will they not count? it seems in earlier comments that they would, but the more I read it seems like I should get into a Income based plan?

    • Amy at Student Loan Planner April 17, 2021 at 11:39 AM
      Reply

      Did they say why your IDR app was denied? 10-year plans don’t usually count as qualifying payments for PSLF so I’d be hesitant to do that. With a balance of $80k and over half way to PSLF, you don’t want to lose the progress you’ve made. I’d look into booking a consult with us and have one of our student loan planners analyze your loans and denial reason to make sure you’re on the right path to forgiveness.

  35. Stefan April 30, 2021 at 2:03 AM
    Reply

    Hi,
    I am new to this and wanted to know which repayment plan qualify me for a mortgage? I do work for non-profit also, so I want the PSLF, but right now I just want my payment low enough to qualify and avoid that 1%. I am single with a income of 25k and student loan debt of 55k when I called fed loan they told me my estimated payments would be around $60 a month for the REPAYE. should I go with that? Or how can I get my payment to zero and qualify for mortgage?

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