Appearing in The New York Times on July 9, 2025, Tara Siegel Bernard interviews Abby Shafroth, director of the Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project at the National Consumer Law Center following the U.S. Education Department’s announcement that it would resume applying interest on Aug. 1 to federal student loans held by nearly eight million borrowers in the Biden-era repayment plan known as SAVE, which has been in limbo after being halted by legal challenges.
Shafroth said that moving to Income-Based Repayment, or I.B.R., was sound advice, but that some people might not be in a position to pay that amount.
“Borrowers who cannot afford payments in I.B.R. should consider other options, such as seeing whether they would qualify for an economic hardship or unemployment deferment.”
Abby Shafroth, director of the Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project at the National Consumer Law Center.
Shafroth added that neither of those options charged interest on subsidized loans (and economic hardship deferments also count as qualifying time toward loan forgiveness). Borrowers can also remain in SAVE for the time being, and payments will remain in forbearance, though interest will pile up.
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