The deadline for borrowers to update their income to stay in their income-driven repayment (IDR) plans has been extended again for borrowers whose loans were covered by the payment pause. The earliest that borrowers with these loan types will have to update their income and family size for their IDR plan is September 2024.
Usually borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans, such as the SAVE plan, must update their income and family size every year to stay in their plan. This is called recertification, and it typically happens every year around the anniversary of when the borrower first enrolled in their IDR plan. As a result, the recertification deadline is different for every borrower
Because of the COVID-19 Payment Pause, the requirement to recertify each year was temporarily suspended for all of the loans that were paused. The payment pause ended on September 1, 2023. Previously, the Department of Education announced that borrowers whose loans were covered by the payment pause would not need to recertify before March 1, 2024 at the earliest.
However, the Department of Education recently announced that it was extending the deadline to help support borrowers returning to repayment. Now, all borrowers whose loan payments were paused during the pandemic and who are already enrolled in an IDR plan will have until at least September 2024 to update their income and family size.
How do I know when I’ll have to recertify?
Borrowers can generally find their own official recertification date in their student aid portal on studentaid.gov, or by asking their servicer. Additionally, borrowers should expect to get a reminder from their servicers about 2 to 3 months before their recertification is due. Borrowers with Direct Loans who have a recertification date before November 2024 should expect that date to be extended until at least November 1, 2024, if not later. As explained below, you must submit your paperwork at least 10 days before your recertification date to avoid negative consequences.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute to Recertify
Knowing roughly when your recertification will be due is helpful, but don’t count on having up until your exact recertification date to get your paperwork in. The official recertification date can be misleading because it is really the date for the servicer to use; borrowers are generally required to submit their online or paper recertification form well before the recertification date to be considered “on time.”
Your completed recertification form is generally due 35 days before your official recertification date. If you miss this deadline, your next billing statement might not reflect your new income information, but you can still stay in the plan so long as you submit your form by 10 days before your official recertification deadline. If you miss this deadline, your monthly bill may suddenly increase. In some plans, missing the deadline may also lead to being removed from the plan entirely.
The Department provides this example:
“Say your IDR anniversary date is Nov. 1, 2024. You’ll first hear from your servicer about recertifying in August 2024. Then your income information will be due Sept. 25, 2024, and the absolute latest you can turn in your information will be Oct. 22, 2024, before you are placed on the Standard Repayment Plan.”
What To Do If You Miss Your Recertification Deadline
If you do miss the deadline, don’t panic, but do act quickly: contact your servicer, submit your income documentation as soon as possible so you can get your monthly payments recalculated, and request a temporary forbearance if you can’t afford your current bills until your monthly payments are recalculated.
Most borrowers can recertify online. For more information about recertification, see here.
What happens if my servicer told me I had to recertify already (or sometime before September 2024)?
Before the Department announced this change, some borrowers received messages from their loan servicers telling them they had to recertify in February or March 2024. If that happened to you and you have Direct Loans or other loans that were covered by the payment pause, you will be able to stay in your IDR plan even if you missed the deadline your servicer told you. If your payment went up – either because you missed the deadline or you recertified on time but your income was higher — the Department has said it will reset your monthly payment back to your prior monthly payment amount until your new recertification deadline. If you recertified already and your payment went down, you’ll get to keep your new, lower monthly payment amount for now.
If you have problems with your loan servicer that you can’t resolve, file a complaint with the FSA Ombudsman.
