Because of the growing number of students who require student loans to finance their education and the ever-increasing amount of their debt, the federal government offers several flexible repayment plans to help students manage this large financial responsibility. Note: Private student lenders may or may not offer the following plans — check with your lender.
Standard Repayment Plan
This is the original repayment plan. With a standard plan, you generally pay a fixed amount each month for up to 10 years.
Graduated Repayment Plan
With a graduated plan, your payments start out low in the early years of the loan but increase in later years (the term is still 10 years). This plan is tailored to individuals with relatively low current incomes (e.g., recent college graduates) who expect their incomes to increase in the future. However, you’ll ultimately pay more for your loan than you would under the standard plan, because more interest accumulates in the early years of the plan when your outstanding loan balance is higher.
Extended Repayment Plan
With an extended plan, you extend the time you have to repay your loan, usually from 12 to 30 years, depending on the loan amount. Your fixed monthly payment is lower than it would be under the standard plan, but again, you’ll ultimately pay more for your loan because of the interest that accumulates under the longer repayment period. Note: Many lenders allow you to combine an extended plan with a graduated plan.
Income-Based Repayment Plan
With an income-based repayment (IBR) plan, your monthly loan payment is based on your annual discretionary income. The federal government offers a PAYE plan (Pay As You Earn) and a REPAYE plan (Revised Pay as You Earn). Generally, undergraduate borrowers who qualify will pay 10% of their discretionary income toward their student loans each month, and after 20 years of on time payments, the remaining balance may be forgiven (payments may be forgiven after 10 years for those in certain public interest jobs and after 25 years for graduate school borrowers). For more information, visit the federal government’s student aid website at studentaid.ed.gov.
Loan Consolidation
Loan consolidation is technically not a repayment option, but it does overlap. With loan consolidation, you combine several student loans into one loan, sometimes at a lower interest rate. Thus, you can write one check each month. You need to apply for loan consolidation, and different lenders have different rules about which loans qualify for consolidation. However, with most loan consolidations, you can choose an extended repayment and/or a graduated repayment plan in addition to a standard repayment plan.
Bottom Line
To pick the best repayment option, you’ll need to determine the amount of discretionary income that you have to put toward your student loan each month. This, in turn, requires you to make a budget and track your monthly income and expenses.
In addition to inquiring about repayment options, ask whether your lender offers any special discounts for prompt loan repayment. For example, some lenders may shave a percentage point off your interest rate if you allow them to directly debit your checking account each month. Or, they may waive some monthly payments after receiving on-time payments for a certain length of time.
If you have questions or need assistance, contact the Experts at Henssler Financial:
- Experts Request Form
- Email: experts@henssler.com
- Phone: 770-429-9166