Are You Eligible for IBR?

IBR is a new student loan repayment program started in July of 2009. The fact is that in college students often take out more student loans than they can handle. However, student loans do not have to be repaid until after graduation. This may result in a serious pile of debt. After they graduate, a student may owe more than they may in their new career.

This is problematic because it keeps people below the poverty level. It can also result in children being compelled to go without. This debt mountain can destroy relationships. This kind of debt spreads people so thin that they can never rise above it.

The federal government created a program called IBR to deal with this issue. The IBR program is based around income based repayment. The program sets your student loan payments based on your income and the size of your family. This adjustment helps borrowers stay afloat and care for their families.

IBR represents a great opportunity. It provides a viable repayment option. There are also other attractive elements to IBR. For example, you can stay in the program for 25 years. You might be able to have your debt cancelled at the end of this term.

It should not surprise you that there is some paperwork involved in IBR. The program requires yearly income evaluation. The size of your family might also change. However you will find that your payments cannot exceed 15 percent of the amount you make over the poverty line. It is possible that at some point you may be below the poverty level for your family size. If this happens you pay nothing. This helps keep your debt manageable.

A lot of people are very interested in IBR. They have concerns that they cannot participate because they are in other programs. However many programs are fully compatible with IBR. It’s highly unlikely you would lose by switching over. Also, IBR does not eliminate the option for student loan forgiveness. You can still get forgiveness based on public service while paying through IBR.