Publication Date: May 16, 2003
FRPart:
RegPartsAffected:
Page Numbers: 26581-26586
Summary: Notice of the Annual Updates to the Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan Formula for 2003
Posted on 05-16-2003
FR Doc 03-12283[Federal Register: May 16, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 95)]
[Notices]
[Page 26581-26586]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16my03-56]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of the annual updates to the Income Contingent Repayment
(ICR) plan formula for 2003.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces
the annual updates to the ICR plan
formula for 2003. Under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct
Loan) Program, borrowers may choose to repay their student loans under
the ICR plan, which bases the repayment amount on the borrower's
income, family size, loan amount, and interest rate. Each year, we
adjust the formula for calculating a borrower's payment to reflect
changes due to inflation. This notice contains the adjusted income
percentage factors for 2003 and charts showing sample repayment amounts
based on the adjusted ICR plan formula. It also contains examples of
how the calculation of the monthly ICR amount is performed and a
constant multiplier chart for use in performing the calculations. The
adjustments for the ICR plan formula contained in this notice are
effective from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don Watson, U.S. Department of
Education, Room 092B1, UCP, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20202-5400. Telephone: (202) 377-4008. If you use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Direct
Loan Program borrowers may choose to
repay their Direct Loans under the ICR plan. The attachment to this
notice provides updates to examples of how the calculation of the
monthly ICR amount is performed, the income percentage factors, the
constant multiplier chart, and charts showing sample repayment amounts.
We have updated the income percentage factors to reflect changes
based on inflation. We have revised the income percentage factors table
by changing the dollar amounts of the incomes shown by a percentage
equal to the estimated percentage change in the Consumer Price Index
for all urban consumers from December 2002 to December 2003. Further,
we provide examples of monthly repayment amount calculations and two
charts that show sample repayment amounts for single and married or
head-of-household borrowers at various income and debt levels based on
the updated income percentage factors.
The updated income percentage factors, at any given income, may
cause a borrower's payments to be slightly lower than they were in
prior years. This updated amount more accurately reflects the impact of
inflation on a borrower's current ability to repay.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may review this document,
as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087 et seq.
Dated: May 13, 2003.
Theresa S. Shaw,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
Attachment--Examples of the Calculations of Monthly Repayment Amounts
Example 1. This example assumes
you are a single borrower with
$15,000 in Direct Loans, the interest rate being charged is 8.25
percent, and you have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $33,042.
Step 1: Determine your annual payments based on what you would pay
over 12 years using standard amortization. To do this, multiply your
loan balance by the constant multiplier for 8.25 percent interest
(0.131545). The constant multiplier is a factor used to calculate
amortized payments at a given interest rate over a fixed period of
time. (The 8.25 percent interest rate used in this example is the
maximum interest rate that may be charged for all Direct Loans
excluding Direct PLUS Loans and certain Direct PLUS Consolidation
Loans; your actual interest rate may be lower. You can view the
constant multiplier chart at the end of this notice to determine the
constant multiplier that you should use for the interest rate on your
loan. If your exact interest rate is not listed, use the next highest
for estimation purposes.)
[sbull] 0.131545 x $15,000 = $1,973.18
Step 2: Multiply the result
of Step 1 by the income percentage
factor shown in the income percentage factors table that corresponds to
your income and then divide the result by 100. (If your income is not
listed in the income percentage factors table, calculate the applicable
income percentage factor by following the instructions under the
``Interpolation'' heading later in this notice.):
[sbull] 88.77 x $1,973.18 / 100 = $1,751.59
[[Page 26582]]
Step 3: Determine 20 percent of your discretionary income (your
discretionary income is your AGI minus the HHS Poverty Guideline amount
for your family size). Because you are a single borrower, subtract the
poverty level for a family of one, as published in the Federal Register
on February 7, 2003 (68 FR 6456), from your AGI and multiply the result
by 20 percent:
[sbull] $33,042 - $8,980 = $24,062
[sbull] $24,062 x 0.20 = $4,812.40
Step 4: Compare the amount
from Step 2 with the amount from Step 3.
The lower of the two will be your annual payment amount. In this
example, you will be paying the amount calculated under Step 2. To
determine your monthly repayment amount, divide the annual amount by
12.
[sbull] $1,751.59 / 12 = $145.97
Example 2. In this example,
you are married. You and your spouse
have a combined AGI of $62,439 and are repaying your loans jointly
under the ICR plan. You have no children. You have a Direct Loan
balance of $10,000, and your spouse has a Direct Loan balance of
$15,000. Your interest rate is 8.25 percent.
Step 1: Add your and your spouse's Direct Loan balances together to
determine your aggregate loan balance:
[sbull] $10,000 + $15,000 = $25,000
Step 2: Determine the annual
payment based on what you would pay
over 12 years using standard amortization. To do this, multiply your
aggregate loan balance by the constant multiplier for 8.25 percent
interest (0.131545). (The 8.25 percent interest rate used in this
example is the maximum interest rate that may be charged for all Direct
Loans excluding Direct PLUS Loans and certain Direct PLUS Consolidation
Loans; your actual interest rate may be lower. You can view the
constant multiplier chart at the end of this notice to determine the
constant multiplier that you should use for the interest rate on your
loan. If your exact interest rate is not listed, use the next highest
for estimation purposes.)
[sbull] 0.131545 x $25,000 = $3,288.63
Step 3: Multiply the result
of Step 2 by the income percentage
factor shown in the income percentage factors table that corresponds to
your and your spouse's income and then divide the result by 100. (If
your and your spouse's aggregate income is not listed in the income
percentage factors table, calculate the applicable income percentage
factor by following the instructions under the ``Interpolation''
heading later in this notice.):
[sbull] 109.40 x $3,288.63 / 100 = $3,597.76
Step 4: Determine 20 percent
of your discretionary income. To do
this, subtract the poverty level for a family of two, as published in
the Federal Register on February 7, 2003 (68 FR 6456), from your
combined AGI and multiply the result by 20 percent:
[sbull] $62,439 - $12,120 = $50,319
[sbull] $50,319 x 0.20 = $10,063.80
Step 5: Compare the amount
from Step 3 with the amount from Step 4.
The lower of the two will be your annual payment amount. You and your
spouse will pay the amount calculated under Step 3. To determine your
monthly repayment amount, divide the annual amount by 12.
[sbull] $3,597.76 / 12 = $299.81
Interpolation: If your income
does not appear on the income
percentage factors table, you will have to calculate the income
percentage factor through interpolation. For example, assume you are
single and your income is $25,000.
Step 1: Find the closest income listed that is less than your
income of $25,000 and the closest income listed that is greater than
your income of $25,000.
Step 2: Subtract the lower amount from the higher amount (for this
discussion, we will call the result the ``income interval''):
[sbull] $26,306 - $22,108 = $4,198
Step 3: Determine the difference
between the two income percentage
factors that are given for these incomes (for this discussion, we will
call the result, the ``income percentage factor interval''):
[sbull] 80.33% - 71.89% = 8.44%
Step 4: Subtract from your
income the closest income shown on the
chart that is less than your income of $25,000:
[sbull] $25,000 - $22,108 = $2,892
Step 5: Divide the result
of Step 4 by the income interval
determined in Step 2:
[sbull] $2,892 / $4,198 = 0.6889
Step 6: Multiply the result
of Step 5 by the income percentage
factor interval:
[sbull] 8.44% x 0.6889 = 5.8143%
Step 7: Add the result of
Step 6 to the lower of the two income
percentage factors used in Step 3 to calculate the income percentage
factor interval for $25,000 in income:
[sbull] 5.8143% + 71.89% = 77.70% (rounded to the nearest hundredth)
The result is the income
percentage factor that will be used to
calculate the monthly repayment amount under the ICR plan.
2003 Income Percentage Factors
[Based on Annual Income]
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Single
Married/head of household
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Income % Factor
Income % Factor
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8,637....................... 55.00 8,637..........
50.52
11,885...................... 57.79 13,629.........
56.68
15,293...................... 60.57 16,243.........
59.56
18,779...................... 66.23 21,234.........
67.79
22,108...................... 71.89 26,306.........
75.22
26,306...................... 80.33 33,042.........
87.61
33,042...................... 88.77 41,439.........
100.00
41,440...................... 100.00 49,840.........
100.00
49,840...................... 100.00 62,439.........
109.40
59,901...................... 111.80 83,435.........
125.00
76,701...................... 123.50 112,831........
140.60
108,633..................... 141.20 157,799........
150.00
124,558..................... 150.00 257,856........
200.00
221,860..................... 200.00
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[[Page 26583]]
Constant Multiplier Chart for 12-Year Amortization
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Annual
Interest rate percent
constant
multiplier
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4.06...................................................... 0.105413
4.86...................................................... 0.110146
7.00...................................................... 0.123406
7.25...................................................... 0.125011
7.46...................................................... 0.126368
7.50...................................................... 0.126627
7.75...................................................... 0.128255
8.00...................................................... 0.129894
8.25...................................................... 0.131545
8.50...................................................... 0.133207
8.75...................................................... 0.134880
9.00...................................................... 0.136564
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BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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[FR Doc. 03-12283 Filed 5-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-C