Student Loan Update

Easier IBR Enrollment Process in the Works Last week, the White House issued a Presidential Memorandum that will make it much easier for federal student loan borrowers to enroll in Income-Based Repayment (IBR). By the end of September, you'll be able to electronically transfer your IRS income data directly into the IBR application and submit it online. But people need to know about IBR before they can benefit from this major improvement to a process that can currently take weeks or even months. (For more on the Obama Administration's planned IBR improvements, see the White House's fact sheet.) In a statement, TICAS praised the planned simplification and said it should also be used to verify annual income information for those already in IBR. We also called on the Obama Administration to do much more to tell struggling borrowers about IBR and how it could make their payments more manageable. According to news reports, about 700,000 people are enrolled in IBR. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that more than five million people are past due on at least one student loan. If you know people who might benefit from IBR, help spread the word and tell a friend! TICAS is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, and we developed the policy framework that became the basis for IBR. The generous support of people like you helps make IBRinfo.org and our other work possible. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to support our ongoing efforts to make college more affordable and reduce the burden of student debt.