Income Based Repayment for loans

[LondonBliss]

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To all you in vet school already. Have you heard about the IBR (income based repayment) plan that was started after June of 2009? I have been reading up on it as much as possible and found no where that veterinarians would be excluded or that you must do a government job or a job in a needed industry. Anyone know anything about it? And are any of you hoping to be on this plan after school, since most owe 100K+? My decision to go to Ross, pretty much banks on this, if I can get it great, i can pay back at 10% of my income every month, but if not, i would just keep holding out for instate which would take me many, many more years to get in to. Thoughts????

 

[ORvetgirl]

We just had someone come and talk about this (a rep for a company that essentially takes care of all of this for you)...IBR is separate from the loan repayment program, which is where the public service aspect (government, academia, etc.) comes into play. So yes, anyone can qualify for IBR, as long as you make below the cutoff salary. It is definitely to your advantage to do this program. Essentially, you pay as little as possible until the time cutoff where they forgive the rest of your loans. And, as of 2014, the percentage you pay will go down and so will the number of years till forgiveness, as long as you consolidate your loans after the new guidelines go into affect, or if you take out new loans after that point.

I don't have all the info with me, but if you want the name of the company that came and talked to us, PM me. While it is a for-profit company, they will give you a lot of info for free, and do a free assessment of your situation. They start charging when you decide to have them do all the paperwork for you.

 

[LondonBliss]

We just had someone come and talk about this (a rep for a company that essentially takes care of all of this for you)...IBR is separate from the loan repayment program, which is where the public service aspect (government, academia, etc.) comes into play. So yes, anyone can qualify for IBR, as long as you make below the cutoff salary. It is definitely to your advantage to do this program. Essentially, you pay as little as possible until the time cutoff where they forgive the rest of your loans. And, as of 2014, the percentage you pay will go down and so will the number of years till forgiveness, as long as you consolidate your loans after the new guidelines go into affect, or if you take out new loans after that point.

I don't have all the info with me, but if you want the name of the company that came and talked to us, PM me. While it is a for-profit company, they will give you a lot of info for free, and do a free assessment of your situation. They start charging when you decide to have them do all the paperwork for you.

Thanks for the info! I didn't realize it was run by a company other than a government offshoot. Interesting! I will PM you.

 

[SilverSpyderGT]

This site is a good overview of the program. http://ibrinfo.org/

I just finished all of my senior exit loan counseling (gag me, it sucked). Basically, IBR allows all of your outstanding loan debt to be forgiven after 25 years of minimal payments. Your monthly payment is based on your salary compared to 150% of the poverty level after taking into account your marriage status and family size. I can't remember the exact numbers, because it's late and my brain's tired. If you are married, it is generally not a good idea to do IBR (for some reason that I can't recall right now, but it is important to ask about).

If you work for a non-profit organization (most public universities, government, etc.) after graduation, then you are eligible to apply for public service loan forgiveness after only 10 years of payments.

If your loan is forgiven in either case (10 or 25 years), you are still responsible for paying taxes on the forgiven portion.

Those are some quick facts - double check everything with your financial aid contact and take a peek at the website for real information. I am prone to errors at 1:00 a.m. 🙂

 

[Minnerbelle]

If your loan is forgiven in either case (10 or 25 years), you are still responsible for paying taxes on the forgiven portion.

I'm pretty sure that you're not responsible for paying taxes on the forgiven portion for the 10 year public service loan forgiveness:

http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgivenesstaxability.phtml

 

[LondonBliss]

Awesome, thanks! Everyone here has been really helpful!

 

[Minnerbelle]

My dream is to become a shelter vet, and with my $160k loans... I'm also kind of banking on the public service forgiveness plan, but my biggest worry with that is being able to find full time employment at a shelter continuously for 10 years (especially if I'm attached to a SO and have to restrict location)! That's my ideal plan, but if it doesn't work out, I guess I'll have to deviate from my dreams a bit, or maybe even entirely. But I say I'm still young and can dream! I can regret it all I want later... and perhaps my lover or more successful siblings (this is the one time having lots of siblings help) will let me crash at their place for a couple of years and subsidize my living costs?

 

[crittergal]

I seem to recall that the loans have to be federal to qualify. If your plan is Ross, this might be an issue. I don't think you can get enough federal loans to cover COA for Ross, which means private loans for the rest. Something worth investigating.

 

[StealthDog]

but my biggest worry with that is being able to find full time employment at a shelter continuously for 10 years

The nice thing about the public service forgiveness is that you don't have to make 120 consecutive payments while working for a non-profit. You just have to make 120 payments- so if you work for a nonprofit for 5 years, then a for-profit for 5 years, then a non-profit for 5 years, you'll have made 120 payments while working for a non-profit. It would extend how long you'd be paying, but it makes things a little more flexible job-wise.

 

[Minnerbelle]

The nice thing about the public service forgiveness is that you don't have to make 120 consecutive payments while working for a non-profit. You just have to make 120 payments- so if you work for a nonprofit for 5 years, then a for-profit for 5 years, then a non-profit for 5 years, you'll have made 120 payments while working for a non-profit. It would extend how long you'd be paying, but it makes things a little more flexible job-wise.

HOLY ****! You just made my life!!!

 

[LondonBliss]

I seem to recall that the loans have to be federal to qualify. If your plan is Ross, this might be an issue. I don't think you can get enough federal loans to cover COA for Ross, which means private loans for the rest. Something worth investigating.

From my understanding you can get Federal Grad Plus loans to make up the difference of the cost of education and living down there. And those ARE covered by the IBR. But anyone correct me if i am wrong. 🙂