Direct Loan borrowers may choose from the standard, extended, graduated, income contingent, or income-based repayment plans. More information on your student loan repayment type and schedule can be found by logging into www.studentloans.gov.
- Standard Repayment - With the standard plan, you will pay a fixed amount each month until your loans are paid in full. Your monthly payments will be at least $50 and you'll have up to 10 years to repay your loans.
- Extended Repayment - To be eligible for the extended plan, you must have more than $30,000 in Direct Loan debt and you must not have an outstanding balance on a Direct Loan as of October 7, 1998. Under the extended plan you have 25 years for repayment and two payment options: fixed or graduated. Fixed payments are the same amount each month, as with the standard plan, while graduated payments start low and increase every two years.
- Graduated Repayment - With this plan your payments start out low and increase every two years. The length of your repayment period will be up to ten years. If you expect your income to increase steadily over time, this plan may be right for you. Your monthly payment will never be less than the amount of interest that accrues between payments. Although your monthly payment will gradually increase, no single payment under this plan will be more than three times greater than any other payment.
- Income Contingent Repayment - This plan gives you the flexibility to meet your Direct Loan obligations without causing undue financial hardship. Each year, your monthly payments will be calculated on the basis of your adjusted gross income (AGI, plus your spouse's income if you're married), family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans. Any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loans in full after 20 or 25 years.
- Income-Based Repayment/Pay as You Earn/Income Sensitive - Under these plans the required monthly payment will be based on your income or can be underneath the standard plan. Your monthly payment may be adjusted annually. The maximum repayment period under this plan may exceed 10 years. If you meet certain requirements over a specified period of time, you may qualify for cancellation of any outstanding balance of your loans. Any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loans in full after 20 or 25 years.