I'm the student of a parent plus loan borrower with around $130k in debt from an undergrad degree I completed in 2024. In 2025 I completed a double consolidation with the goal of entering the SAVE plan loophole. Then the SAVE plan was eliminated.
Now I'm reading conflicting media regarding the permanence/legitimacy of the SAVE decision, facing fear mongering about the need for immediate action, and overall confused about what the new options could even potentially be.
I'm currently enrolled in an IBR, the payment is around $800. Fixed is around $900. ICR is almost double that. The website says I'm unavailable for PAYE & doesn't display an estimate. The loan is currently in a voluntary forbearance. I'm not sure how long it can stay that way before I get an email that says "Times up, start paying or default."
I like my job and do okay, but an extra $800 of monthly expenses would be crippling. I WANT to pay my debt. I WANT to be responsible for my choices. I WANT to be independent. I've just can't find a job that pays well enough with months of full time searching.
While my parents technically have the legal obligation to pay, it's always been expected that I'm 100% responsible because it's my degree.
Basically wondering, what should I do? It seems like my options are:
- Wait it out and see what decisions get made in court this year
- Go to grad school to get education forbearance and hope the administration after I'm done has some better ideas
- Work out a private loan or negotiate with my parents
- Move to another country and hide from it all
- Wait for the comments under this post that say "Suck it up and cut your expenses, eat dog food and move in with your parents"
All of those sound like wishful thinking or problematic reactions. Am I completely missing a payment option that's lower? Are there pending payment plans getting announced this year? Does RAP have anything to do with me? Basically, I'm at a loss and hoping the magic student loan fairy comes up with something for me. Any advice or solidarity would be extremely reassuring :/
Edit: Adjusting my parent's filing status & leaving payments to them is definitely on my radar. They're not very financially literate, neither am I, and are extremely hesitate to make any changes. I'm hoping that's not the only way to lower payments but most replies seem to affirm that it is
Misleading Information and Conflicting Options. Is there hope?
byu/kyliemingoue inStudentLoans
Posted by kyliemingoue
4 Comments
SAVE is dead. Even if the court case didn’t kill it, it would have been gone by July 2028 because of the OBBBA anyway.
IBR is the lowest income based plan that you have access to for the consolidated parent plus loans. Your other option currently is ICR and that is going away by July 2028. You can look into the standard plan, the graduated plan or the extended plan for potentially lower payments, but they will not count towards forgiveness and they are likely going to be about $800 as well. But you’d have to use the loan simulator to get an idea.
These are your parent’s loans. They cannot be put into in school deferment based on your enrollment anymore. So going back to school would not put them in deferment.
It doesn’t sound like a private loan would be a good idea if you are already struggling with the federal options.
Ultimately, these are your parents loans and they are their legal responsibility, so I absolutely think if you are struggling to pay them, you should involve them in this conversation about how to manage the payments right now because any negative consequences of falling behind will fall on them and not you.
The IBR payments depend on your parent’s income. You can discuss their tax filing status with them to potentially lower the IBR amount. If the parent borrower with the loans files taxes separately from their spouse, only their individual income would be used to calculate payment instead of their combined income if they file jointly. But filing MFS or MFJ comes with its own cost and savings and pros and cons that they must go over with each other and you.
IBR is the IDR option. Can your parents file taxes separately? Take measures to lower their AGI?
Now that the loans have been consolidated, the link between your in school status and the parent plus loan has been severed. In other words your parent would need to return to school.
How much is the graduated or extended plan?
I think you’re a little late to the party, homie. SAVE ain’t comin’ back. Ask your parents to split the $800 with you.