Student Loan Servicers Prioritize IDR Apps To Clear Cases

Reports show that student loan borrowers (IDR) plans applying for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans through the Ministry of Education’s updated online application are faster processing times. In many cases, new applications are reviewed and processed within a week.

This change comes as part of a broader effort to tackle through a growing backlog of over 2 million IDR applications. These include requests for new save plans and older programs such as Paye, IBR, ICR.

Sources familiar with the process say that student loan servicers are instructed to prioritize applications that can be legally processed without legal ambiguity.

“The goal is to plan as quickly as possible. Therefore, we have triaged the scenario.said an official who is well versed in internal triage strategies.

Legal hurdles block many IDR apps

The Save Plan, which was launched under the Biden administration as a replacement for Recaye, is currently limited by a federal court injunction blocking certain forgiveness and payment calculation provisions.

The plan itself has not been completely abolished, but the ruling has made it impossible for borrowers to handle applications that require plans to offer minimum monthly payments if they are requesting a save exclusively by borrowers.

Sources say these scenarios require additional federal guidance or legal review. All borrowers requesting a save will be waiting at Limbo until these reviews are complete. This led them to question whether they would have to leave their save and apply for another IDR plan.

Although they may be involved in being married (whether they file taxes jointly or separately), the legal complexity of joint income treatment under SAVE contributes to past delays.

The Ministry of Education is currently working to solve these questions and continues to focus on what can be moved to the servicer.

“The servicer is tasked with working on the first mobile application if the plan’s eligibility is not prohibited or associated with an injunction.One source explained.

Servicers prioritize what they can handle

Servicers are triaged their applications, starting with simple and permitted cases despite current injunctions.

These include borrowers who qualify for older IDR plans such as IBR or Paye, or who do not request Save as their first choice.

This is a case where borrowers currently submitting their application using the new online form StudentAid.gov We are looking at some of the fastest processing times – about a week. This is because the new applications currently comply with all injunctions and restrictions. This means that loan servicers know they can handle these applications.

For borrowers who submitted their applications in late 2024 or early 2025, their applications are effectively placed in the mountains: one pile of applications that they have to save and wait, a pile that is “recommended” and waiting for guidance, and one pile that includes IBR, Paye and ICR.

It is also important to remember that in addition to this triage, paper uses can take time.

What borrowers should expect

Borrowers applying through the new system will typically be able to see the process within a week. Those applications are being processed for generously stuck borrowers who submitted their applications earlier this year and are waiting for processing. The only ones that are not saved and potentially selected “recommended”.

The servicer says it aims to process all clear applications as quickly as possible. However, the shifting legal environment and reduced federal staffing continue to affect the pace and clarity of processing in more complex cases.

If you need to enter a repayment plan as soon as possible, the best course of action is to apply using a new online application. StudentAid.gov.

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