[SPEAKER_01]: This is a news.com newsflash. [SPEAKER_00]: The Department of Education under the Donald Trump administration has paused student loan forgiveness for borrowers under the income-based repayment. [SPEAKER_00]: IBR, plan, even though the plan is not affected by current legal challenges. [SPEAKER_00]: The IBR plan is one of several income-driven repayment plan programs offered to borrowers and is currently the only plan not subject to any legal challenge or afford injunction.
[SPEAKER_00]: The education department explained the pause by stating that system updates are needed to ensure accurate loan forgiveness determinations. [SPEAKER_00]: Currently, IBR forgiveness is paused while our systems are updated to accurately count months not affected by the courts' injunction. [SPEAKER_00]: The department said, IBR forgiveness will resume once those updates are completed.
[SPEAKER_00]: According to reports, the department might be referring to a federal appeals court decision from earlier, which brought in the scope of the injunction against the safe plan to cover the full set of regulation supporting. [SPEAKER_00]: The portions of those regulations also affect other income-driven repayment plans, including income-based repayment, IVR.
[SPEAKER_00]: For instance, the rules permitted specific deferment and for-bearance periods to count toward forgiveness under all income-driven plans, including IVR. [SPEAKER_00]: Currently, no court order requires the department to pause forgiveness under IVR. [SPEAKER_00]: The court injunctions only apply to save and related regulatory structures, not to congressionally authorize programs like the IVR.
[SPEAKER_00]: A former official from the Office of Federal Student Aid suggested in a sworn declaration that the delay could violate statutory obligations. [SPEAKER_00]: It is my understanding that as available or early May, twenty twenty five. [SPEAKER_00]: Federal student loan borrowers who are eligible for income-based repayment cancellation were still not having their loans cancelled. [SPEAKER_00]: A process that has been paused since July, twenty twenty four.
[SPEAKER_00]: Despite the statutory obligation to do so, the official set. [SPEAKER_00]: The IBR plan established by Congress allows borrowers to qualify for loans forgiveness after twenty or twenty-five years of payments, depending on when their loans were taken out. [SPEAKER_00]: Unlike the safe, pay and ICR plans created through executive or regulatory authority and now entangled in court disputes, IBR is not under legal challenge, a distinction recognized by courts.
[SPEAKER_00]: Forgiveness as a feature of the save, pay A and ICR plans is currently paused because those plans were not created by Congress. [SPEAKER_00]: Generally, the education department can and will still process loan forgiveness for the IBR plan, which was separately enacted by Congress. [SPEAKER_00]: The Department of Education said an updated July guidance.
[SPEAKER_00]: In a recent post on X, the Department of Education urged all borrowers on the save plan to quickly transition to a legally compliant repayment plan, such as income-based repayment. [SPEAKER_00]: As explained in reports, those enrolled on save will begin approving interest on their loans again on August first, despite being unable to make further payments due to the court injunction. [SPEAKER_01]: Now it's snowing, unfiltered.