Posted Date:March 29, 2013
| Author: | William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Operational Guidance for Guaranty Agencies - Delayed Implementation of IBR/Pay As You Earn/ICR Request Form for Direct Consolidation Loan Purposes
In Dear Colleague Letter GEN-12-22, the Department of Education (the Department) provided information about the availability of the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan/Pay As You Earn Plan/Income-Contingent (ICR) Plan Request form for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. In this announcement, we provide operational guidance to FFEL guaranty agencies that assist borrowers with the preparation of Direct Consolidation Loan applications.
For technical reasons, we have delayed implementation of the new IBR/Pay As You Earn/ICR Request form in the Direct Consolidation Loan application process. Therefore, guaranty agencies that assist borrowers who want to obtain a Direct Consolidation Loan should not provide those borrowers with the IBR/Pay As You Earn/ICR Request form. Guaranty agencies should instead provide potential consolidation borrowers who want to request an income-driven repayment plan with the following forms that remain available on the Direct Consolidation Loans Web site:
Direct Loan Repayment Plan Selection form
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Direct Loan ICR Plan & IBR Plan Alternative Documentation of Income form
Until we implement the new IBR/Pay As You Earn/ICR Request form in the Direct Consolidation Loan application process, submission of the IBR/Pay As You Earn/ICR Request form with a Direct Consolidation Loan application will delay processing of that application.
Note: Our delayed implementation of the new IBR/Pay As You Earn/ICR Request form is limited to the Direct Consolidation Loan application process. Except for the specific case explained in this announcement, FFEL lenders, lender servicers, and guaranty agencies are required to use the new form as directed in GEN-12-22.
We will inform guaranty agencies through a subsequent Electronic Announcement when they may begin providing the new IBR/Pay As You Earn/ICR Request form to potential Direct Consolidation Loan borrowers who want to request an income-driven repayment plan.
Contact Information
If you have questions about this guidance, contact the Direct Loan Consolidation Center at 800/557-7392. You may also e-mail loan_consolidation@mail.eds.com (loan_consolidation@mail.eds.com).