If you’re having trouble keeping track of all of your federal student loans, or you want to extend the amount of time you have to repay them, consolidation may be the solution for you.

1. Repayment Programs- Alum Financial
Source: https://alumfinancial.com/repayment-programs/

2. Consolidation and Repayment Plans
Consolidation
When it comes to consolidation, the types of loans you have
matters, but most federal loans, including Stafford, Perkins,
Direct Plus and Supplemental loans, can be consolidated with
other federal loans. One major advantage of federal
consolidation loans is that borrowers don’t need a stellar credit
score to qualify and they’ll always get a fixed interest rate.
Regardless of how the market fluctuates, borrowers will never
pay more than 8.25 percent on their consolidation loans.

3. Standard Repayment
Standard repayment is simple: You pay the same amount each
month for 10 years. On this plan, the total amount of interest
you have to pay will generally be lower, too – so, if you can
afford the monthly payments, it’s generally the best overall
deal.
Standard repayment is the plan you’re automatically enrolled in
unless you request a different one.

4. Extended Repayment
Extended repayment is useful if you need more time to repay
your loan. It reduces the amount you owe each month, but
you’ll make payments over a longer period of time.
Extended repayment is helpful if you don’t qualify for other
payment plans based on your income but still need to pay less
each month. Also, this option is only available for borrowers
who owe more than $30,000 overall in federal loans.

5. Graduated Repayment
Graduated repayment allows you to pay low monthly payments
for 2-4 years before they begin to gradually increase.
This option is helpful if you are just starting out and expect to
earn more money as time goes on. However, graduated
repayment will likely cost you more than standard repayment
over time. This is because, under graduated repayment, your
interest continues to grow on a larger unpaid portion of your
loan balance for longer.

6. Income-Based Repayment
Income-based repayment (IBR) determines how much you pay
each month by calculating your income and family size. Based
on these factors, and your monthly loan payment amount, you
may qualify for partial financial hardship. If you do, your
payments are reduced to no more than 15% of your
discretionary income.
After 25 years of repayment and 300 eligible payments in IBR,
whatever is left of your loan may be forgiven! Just don’t forget
that this amount is taxable.

7. Pay As You Earn
Pay As You Earn is another repayment plan that’s similar to IBR.
It has lower repayment requirements (10% of discretionary
income), and it forgives your unpaid loans sooner (20 years).
However, it’s tougher to qualify.
Pay As You Earn is only for Direct loan borrowers who took out
their first loans after October 1, 2007, and took out their last
loans after October 1, 2011—or borrowers with Consolidation
loans made after October 1, 2011, that include only loans made
on or after October 1, 2007.

8. Income-Sensitive Repayment
Income-sensitive repayment (ISR) lets you decide what
percentage of your income you can afford to pay toward your
loan each month for up to 5 years.
After 25 years of repayment and 300 eligible payments in IBR,
whatever is left of your loan may be forgiven! Just don’t forget
that this amount is taxable.

9. Income-Contingent Repayment
Income-contingent repayment (ICR) determines your monthly
federal student loan payment amount based on calculations
that consider several factors, including your family size, your
family’s income, and your total amount of Direct loan debt.
After 25 years of repayment and 300 eligible payments in ICR,
whatever is left of your loan will be forgiven! Just don’t forget
that this amount is taxable.

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