Over four million people have so far registered enrolled in President Joe Biden's new repayment plan— Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE)—as student loan payments are set to resume in October after a pandemic-related pause.
According to the US Department of Education, over 1 million people have applied to date and can benefit both current and future borrowers. According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, SAVE is expected to cost $475 billion over 10 years.
The SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) plan was launched earlier this summer providing key support to borrowers struggling to pay off their student debt.
The majority of people who were previously in SAVE were previously registered in a different repayment plan—called Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE).
The authorities clarified that borrowers who were not enrolled in REPAYE must apply for the SAVE plan by the time and they are required to make a payment in October.
## US Supreme Court strikes down Biden loan waiver plan
The U.S. President Biden proposed canceling up to $20,000 in student loan debt for low- and middle-income borrowers before payments restarted, but the program was struck down by the Supreme Court in late June.
—SAVE plan—
According to the US media, SAVE calculates monthly payments based on a borrower's income and family size, regardless of how much outstanding student debt is owed.
A single borrower earning $32,800 or less or a borrower with a family of four earning $67,500 or less will see their payments set at $0 if enrolled in SAVE, for example.
-Legal challenges for any student loan programme-
After U.S. apex court struck down Joe Biden student loan forgiveness plan, the US Department of Education went on a formal rule-making process. According to the new route, the typical timeframe could take months or even years – and could still face legal challenges, like the previous ones.
As per US media reports, payments will resume in October without a new student loan forgiveness program in place.
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Many borrowers sought federal student loan forgiveness from several existing debt cancellation programs – altogether approving roughly $116 billion in loan discharges for more than 3.4 million people through August.
Here's How to Apply
You can directly apply for SAVE programme at US Department of Education website.
Typically, students need to provide federal student aid ID, contact and financial information, and it takes only 10 minutes to complete the initial phase of application.
Is student Department of Education website down?
When this scribe tried to open the website of US Department of Education for federal student loan application, it shows following message:
Confused about Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans?
Student loan repayments start October 1st.