TICAS Recommendations to Strengthen Income-Driven Repayment

Earlier in February, TICAS provided recommendations to the Education Department on strengthening their proposal to improve income-driven repayment (IDR).

We commend the Department’s efforts to make IDR more affordable and accessible — especially for low-income borrowers — and strongly support many of the Department’s proposals, including lowering monthly payments, restraining balance growth, shortening the maximum repayment term for low-balance borrowers, allowing borrowers in default to access IDR, and automatically enrolling struggling borrowers in IDR.

Our proposed changes would make the plan simpler, provide an even stronger safety net for those most in need, and more explicitly account for the unique needs of Black borrowers.

A stronger, more generous IDR plan will provide critical repayment relief to borrowers struggling to pay off their debt, as well as help allay well-documented fears about college costs and debt.