Interest Benefit: Any of the interest on your subsidized loans

Eligibility Requirements: All Direct or FFEL Loan borrowers that meet the income requirement of partial financial hardship are eligible. All types of Direct and FFEL Loans can be repaid using this plan except for PLUS Loans given to parents and consolidation loans repaying Plus Loans made to Parents.

Payment Amount: If you are a “new borrower” as of July 1, 2014 (those without any student loan balances when they received a direct loan on or after July 1, 2014), you will generally pay 10% of your discretionary income. If you don’t fall into the “new borrower” category, you will generally pay 15% of your discretionary income. The payment amount will never be more than you would pay on the standard 10-year repayment plan (based on what you owed when you entered the IBR plan).

Loan Forgiveness: If you are a new borrower (defined the same as above), any outstanding loan balance will be forgiven after 20 years of qualifying payments. If you are not a new borrower, your outstanding loan balance will be forgiven after 25 years of qualifying payments.

Interest Benefit: Any of the interest on your subsidized loans that your monthly payment does not cover is paid by the government for the first three years. If you voluntarily leave the plan, or if you no longer qualify to make payments based on your income (when your income determines that your monthly payment is greater than or equal to what you would pay on the standard plan), any interest not paid by you or the government can be capitalized. There is no limit on the amount of interest that can be capitalized.