President Joe Biden on Tuesday launched a promotional blitz for his new program that helps student loan borrowers repay their debt, just weeks before millions of Americans are set to receive a loan bill for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Biden administration is mobilizing to convince borrowers across the country to sign up for the new income-driven repayment program — dubbed the “SAVE plan” — which caps interest accrual and lowers the monthly payment amount for many borrowers.

“It’s the most affordable student loan plan ever,” Biden said in a video released by the White House on Tuesday, describing the program as a major reform to a student loan system “that hurt borrowers for much too long.”

“If you’re eligible for the SAVE Plan, sign up now so you can lower your monthly payments in advance of payments resuming this fall,” Biden said.

  • Krauerking@lemy.lol
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    36
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    11 months ago

    Honestly whatever on the whole repayment thing cause I’m poor and fucked no matter what so… Meh.

    But seriously can we fucking stop pretending the poverty line is real or even close to where they say it is? When every single benefits package and plan talks about a 200% increase from base poverty line or $20,000 over the base poverty limit for approval it just means poverty is much more common and a lot more expensive than we want to admit but it would freak out hundreds of thousands to realize just how poor they actually are.

    Rip off the bandaid of bullshit poverty line adjustments and just be honest that the average American is low class now.

    • Billiam@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      11 months ago

      Yeah, the “temporarily embarrassed millionaires” probably don’t want to know how embarrassed they actually are, or how permanent “temporarily” is.

  • wrath-sedan@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    25
    ·
    11 months ago

    This article doesn’t really say what the SAVE plan does so I’m reposting this here.

    …the SAVE plan is coming in July 2024 to replace REPAYE, with some parts rolling out this summer and all the details here.

    The department says that under the old plan, borrowers repaid $10,956 for every $10,000 they borrowed. Under the new plan, they would pay back just $6,121.

    It’s more technical than direct forgiveness but will change income-based plans in the following ways according to this NPR article:

    Starting Summer 2023:

    • floor for protected income rising from 150% to 225% of poverty line
    • no interest while payments are being made

    Starting Summer 2024:

    • payments now based on 5% rather than 10% of borrowers’ remaining income
    • those who borrow $12,000 or less can gain full forgiveness in 10 years rather than 20 (with each additional $1000 adding another year so $13,000=11 years etc.)

    It’s a start, hopefully someone sees this and saves some money.

    Also want to add that these changes are not subject to Congressional approval. They could be repealed (impossible with a Dem Senate + Presidential veto) or they could be struck down by SCOTUS, but this is all being performed via powers given by the Higher Education Act and are generally on much firmer legal ground than the loan forgiveness plan SCOTUS scuttled.

  • bedo6776@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    18
    ·
    11 months ago

    The plan would decrease my payments by about $20/mo and would increase the total amount I would pay. Doesn’t seem like it saves me anything. I’m better off continuing to pay my previous minimum payment and pay the loans off early.

    I wish they would eliminate/lower the interest rate.

    • shottymcb@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      It eliminates my wife’s payments entirely with no interest accruing. Which is great because we’re dirt poor at the moment.

  • GreenBottles@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    the current brand new super great SAVE repayment plan that I have access to literally increases my payment by $100 a month

  • silentknyght@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    11 months ago

    Unfortunately, this new plan seems like it’ll increase my payments from about $200/mo to over $900/mo. The calculator says the $900/mo plan comes with an offer of $0 in forgiveness (and says so directly). Even if I keep the $200/mo plan and won’t be fully paid off until 2046 or something (vs 2027 at $900/mo), it still offers me $0 in forgiveness.

    I still have $36k in loans and have been paying them off since 2005. I’ve already paid more than I’ve owed, due to interest. I used to be poor, but not really anymore; that kinda happens over 20 years. I suppose I can be happy everyone else, but this doesn’t mean squat for folks like me.

    • jeffw@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      11 months ago

      That’s weird. In reading the specifics of the plan, I don’t see how the math would work out towards increasing payments. Unless your income changes significantly, there isn’t really a provision that would increase payments here. It’s designed to drive down interest for all

      • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        If his income now is more than it was when he set up his first income based repayment plan I think It would go up. I would expect that to be the case for most people because over time salaries go up

        • silentknyght@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          I was never on an income-based repayment plan. I was always on the standard plan. The Internet was really different in 2005, and the info available at my fingertips was much, much less than now. I don’t even know if it was an option, then.

    • Javi_in_4k@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      11 months ago

      How did you figure this out? I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth me applying for it.

      • silentknyght@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        I received an email from studentaid.gov inviting me to apply. It points to a calculator—really a screening-level application—on their site I can use to compare before applying.

  • CryptoRoberto@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    6
    ·
    11 months ago

    Saw an article earlier today that over 60% of borrowers are planning to boycott repayment. I still haven’t setup an account since my loan got transferred to a new servicer. Seriously considering making them come garnish my wages or something. If enough people do it, the system will almost certainly collapse. I can’t imagine all the servicers trying to go through the garnishment process with that many people.

  • GodlessCommie@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    14
    ·
    11 months ago

    No one actually thought that the guy who exempted student debt from bankruptcy and is owned by the same billionaires that own Republicans was gonna do what he said?

    • jeffw@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      Not sure what you’re referring to. His student loan forgiveness was blocked by SCOTUS

      • GodlessCommie@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        9
        ·
        11 months ago

        Blocked for the method he used, Roberts said specifically it would have NOT been blocked had he not tried to push it through with the HEROs act. And it would have been allowed by the Higher Education Act of 1965 which grants the President the authority to cancel debt.

        • jeffw@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          Damn, you’re smarter than all these top attorneys, that’s so cool! But it’s a coincidence that all your comments are parroting Russian troll farms, right?

          • GodlessCommie@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            5
            ·
            11 months ago

            Everyone that was anyone said he was going about it the wrong way, a way that was doomed to fail. They ALL said the HEA was the correct method since there were provisions that specifically allowed him to cancel debt.

            The top justice, in the highest court in the land, SCOTUS John Roberts, spelled it out in his syllabus in the Biden v Nebraska case.

            https://imgur.com/a/N6uHcvX

            • jeffw@lemmy.worldOP
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              3
              ·
              11 months ago

              Oh wow, I see the issue. You don’t know how to read SCOTUS opinions. Idk what else to tell you bud.

  • snipvoid@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    19
    ·
    11 months ago

    So much for slashing the debt altogether, eh? An excellent production.