By Leada Gore
More than 4 million student loan borrowers – including 63,500 Alabamians – are now enrolled in the White House’s new loan forgiveness program, the Department of Education announced.
The figures represent those enrolled in the new Saving on A Valuable Education, or SAVE, income-driven repayment plan and include those who were transitioned from the previous Revised-Pay-As-You-Earn, or REPAYE, plan. The department has also received more than 1.6 million IDR applications through StudentAid.gov since July 30, and nearly 1 million of those applications are for the SAVE plan.
“Millions of borrowers are already benefitting from enrollment in the SAVE plan, and I’m thrilled to see so many Americans submitting applications every day so that they, too, can take advantage of the most affordable student loan repayment plan in history,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said. “Enrollment is quick and easy, and we are working relentlessly to get the word out to borrowers about how millions can reduce their monthly student loan bills and save over a thousand dollars a year by enrolling in SAVE.”
SAVE calculates payments based on a borrower’s income and family size as opposed to their loan balances and forgives debt after a certain number of years. The White House estimates it will cut many borrower’s payments to zero and will save other borrowers around $1,000 a year.
It’s estimated some 20 million borrowers will benefit from the plan.
How to apply for the SAVE Plan
You can apply for the SAVE Plan here.
Most people complete the application in 10 minutes or less. You can also save and continue the application later so you don’t have to complete it in a single session. To apply, you will need a verified FSA ID, financial information, some of which you can consent to be supplied automatically, address, telephone number and email address and, if applicable, spouse’s information.
Borrowers applying for the SAVE Plan will see their new payment amount before submitting their application and it will be displayed on their servicer’s website when their first bill is sent. Most borrowers who apply for the SAVE Plan can expect their next payment to reflect their new amount and, after they apply, people can check the status of their application at StudentAid.gov.