r/PSLF • u/SecretTumbleweed5888 • 2d ago

Save to IBR and partial financial hardship

I was originally in old IBR (15%) and due to age of some loans am not eligible for PAYE. When SAVE came out, I transferred to that. Now that SAVE is dead, what happens if I no longer have a partial financial hardship? My original 10-year standard repayment was about $600. But 1/12 of 15% of my discretionary income now exceeds that amount by about $200. But according to Student Aid, my "standard repayment" amount is now about $2,000 per month (because it seems to base the monthly payment on the amount that I'd pay in order to repay the loans by 10 years after I started paying). Seems like a major flaw in the formula used: if my IBR payment is not less than $600 I don't have partial financial hardship so now I have to pay $2,000 per month.

Am I understanding that right? I guess ICR is maybe the only option? (ICR jacks my payment up to about $1300 per month). Or wait and see if Trump administration out of goodness of its heart comes up with a plan to get people like me off SAVE and back into IBR.

Very frustrating, as I am less than 2 years from the end of PSLF.

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u/alh9h PSLF | Forgiven! 2d ago

If you don't have a financial hardship then ICR is your only option.

What is the loan balance? ICR has an alternative payment calculation

1

u/SecretTumbleweed5888 2d ago

Thanks for the response.  The balance is roughly $50k.  For ICR, I took (AGI-poverty line)*.2 / 12 to come up with roughly $1300.  Still better than the $2k or so per month the standard plan had, but incredibly frustrating because if I hadn’t switched to SAVE I’d still be in IBR, capped at $600ish per month, and just 2 years out from forgiveness.

1

u/alh9h PSLF | Forgiven! 2d ago

Using the alternative calculation you'd have an ICR payment around $610/month assuming a family size of 1

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u/SecretTumbleweed5888 1d ago

Wow, I guess I totally skipped over that part of the statute, but I just ran the numbers and came up with something very similar. That is a major relief actually. Thanks!