Student loan forgiveness under IBR plan temporarily paused in the US: What borrowers need to know now
The decision comes amid a series of legal and administrative challenges stemming from ongoing lawsuits targeting the Biden administration's broader student loan relief efforts.
Roughly 2 million borrowers enrolled in IBR, one of the oldest and most widely used federal income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, are affected by this pause. The move reflects a growing legal entanglement involving multiple federal repayment programs and has added to the uncertainty surrounding student loan forgiveness.
Why has IBR forgiveness been paused?
The pause follows federal court injunctions issued in response to legal challenges over the SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education), ICR (Income-Contingent Repayment), and PAYE (Pay As You Earn) plans. Although the IBR plan was initially unaffected, being established under different legal authority, it is now temporarily included in the freeze due to overlapping issues with how payments are counted across IDR programs.
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The Department of Education has stated that it is working to recalculate payment histories to ensure that discharges are accurate and legally compliant. This recalibration is necessary because SAVE-related discharges could influence eligibility calculations under other IDR plans, including IBR.
What the IBR forgiveness pause means
Borrowers enrolled in the IBR plan who have either completed or are nearing the 20- or 25-year repayment threshold are the ones most likely impacted by the current pause.
While loan forgiveness has been temporarily suspended, these individuals are still considered eligible for discharge once the Department of Education completes its recalculations.
Despite having technically qualified for forgiveness, borrowers are advised to continue making their scheduled payments. Halting payments without official confirmation could lead to missed qualifications or accrued penalties.
For those facing financial difficulty, forbearance remains an option, but it's important to note that interest will continue to accrue during that period.
The Department of Education has reassured borrowers that no payments made beyond the forgiveness point will be lost. Once discharges resume, any overpayments made during the pause will be refunded. Importantly, this administrative hold does not mean the IBR plan is ending.
The program remains in effect, and both its repayment structure and eligibility rules are unchanged—the pause applies only to forgiveness processing, not to enrollment or payment terms.
Borrowers are encouraged to check their loan status regularly via their loan servicer or the official Federal Student Aid website and stay updated on the Department's announcements.
How to respond to the pause
The Department of Education has issued the following guidance for borrowers affected by the pause:
Continue making payments:
Payments made during this pause will still count toward forgiveness.
Refunds guaranteed:
Any payments made after reaching forgiveness eligibility will be refunded once the loan is discharged.
Forbearance is an option:
Borrowers experiencing financial hardship can request a temporary forbearance, although interest will continue to accrue during this time.
Stay updated:
No firm timeline has been given for when forgiveness will resume, but the Department has assured that eligible discharges will proceed once the recalculations are complete.
What's next?
As the Department of Education continues to navigate legal and logistical hurdles, many borrowers are left in limbo.
For those who have faithfully made payments for decades, the delay is both financially and emotionally taxing.
This situation underscores the complexity of the US student loan system, where overlapping repayment programs, shifting legal rulings, and evolving administrative policies can quickly upend expectations.
More than 33 million borrowers are enrolled in federal income-driven plans, and the outcome of this recalibration effort could set important precedents for how forgiveness is implemented across the board.
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