Hi all, thanks for all the great info in this channel. If there is another post(s) that discusses my questions, feel free to point me there instead. I'm currently in a SAVE plan but was previously in the Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR) and started payments in 2013 (my loans came from undergrad that ended in '08 and grad school that ended in '12). I have two (still massive đź« ) consolidated loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) that I consolidated over a decade ago.
1) I'm seeing people post that their payments are increasing after SAVE ends, where are people seeing what their new monthly payment will be?
2) It sounds like I should wait to get kicked off the SAVE plan before choosing a new one. Are there any reasons why I would want to move to another (probably Income-Driven Repayment) plan before getting forced off of SAVE?
3) Since interest kicked back in, I'm watching my balance increase at a horrifyingly fast rate. I'm in forbearance and working towards the 300 qualifying payments. Do payments made in forbearance count as qualifying payments for the plan I'm in?
4) Last question (thank you!): Without the Federal Student Aid Logo counter available, how do I know and prove how many qualifying payments I've made?
Thank you all for any insights you can provide!
A couple questions about SAVE and IDR plans
byu/itsmedubc inStudentLoans
Posted by itsmedubc
1 Comment
Your new monthly amount would depend on which plan you choose and which ones you are eligible for. Currently you only qualify for Old IBR or ICR. RAP would start July 2026.
Here are two calculators to use for payment estimates: [https://www.studentloanplanner.com/income-based-repayment-calculator/](https://www.studentloanplanner.com/income-based-repayment-calculator/) and [https://www.tateesq.com/calculator/income-contingent-repayment](https://www.tateesq.com/calculator/income-contingent-repayment)
If you want to make qualifying payments towards forgiveness you would have to get off of SAVE and enter repayment on another IDR plan. Time in forbearance doesn’t count towards forgiveness. Making voluntary payments during forbearance is money wasted if you are pursuing forgiveness.
You can use this link to view the hidden data file used for the IDR counts to check your progress towards forgiveness. You MUST LOG IN FIRST to your studentaid.gov account and then click the link: [https://studentaid.gov/app/api/nslds/payment-counter/summary](https://studentaid.gov/app/api/nslds/payment-counter/summary)
It should look like a black page with a bunch of white text. You are looking for the parts that say “qualifyingpaymentcount”. It will appear multiple times. It’s broken down per loan and then per each payment plan. That number is your IDR count towards forgiveness. Keep in mind that there may be errors in the counter but right now this is what will give you the best idea about your progress.