A person was seen walking on the campus of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 26, 2025. The U.S. Department of Education has announced the reopening of online applications for income-driven repayment plans, which are utilized by millions of federal student loan borrowers to manage their debt. The available IDR plans, as stated by the Trump administration, include Income-Based Repayment, Pay As You Earn, and Income-Contingent Repayment.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration removed the online applications for IDR plans, which drew criticism from consumer advocates and borrowers. The Education Department attributed this action to a February court order, which was a decision from an appeals court blocking the Biden administration’s new IDR plan named SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education). Subsequently, the American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, contending that they had misinterpreted the court ruling by halting applications for other IDR plans beyond SAVE.
Income-driven repayment plans were established by Congress in the 1990s to help make student loan repayments more manageable for borrowers. These plans set a cap on monthly payments based on discretionary income and forgive any remaining debt after a specified period, typically 20 or 25 years. Borrowers opt for these plans not only for reduced payments but also to pursue loan forgiveness through various options.
As of September 2024, over 12 million individuals were enrolled in IDR plans, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. The article also discusses topics such as the impacts of Trump’s tariffs, challenges faced by women in skilled trades due to DEI rollbacks, and the transformation of Salt Lake City into a thriving housing and job market in the U.S.
