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Parents who took out student loans for their children’s educations still have time to take steps to maintain access to affordable repayment plans and debt forgiveness, consumer advocates say. But the window of opportunity is rapidly shrinking.
Starting in July, Parent PLUS borrowers will no longer qualify for income-driven repayment plans due to changes in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. IDR plans to cap a borrower’s monthly bill as a percentage of their discretionary income and eventually forgive their student loans.
But consolidating Parent PLUS loans into so-called direct consolidation loans in April will likely allow them to maintain access to IDR options, said Nancy Nierman, assistant director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York. Consolidating your Parent PLUS loans leaves you with a direct federal loan, which most students take out.
Experts had previously said parent borrowers needed to start the consolidation process by the end of March to meet the July 1 deadline. However, Nearman said he has recently seen the U.S. Department of Education complete these requests within six weeks.
“Borrowers should continue to submit applications during April and new consolidated loans should be disbursed before July 1, 2026,” Nearman said.
The Parent PLUS federal loan program allows parents to borrow on behalf of their dependent undergraduate students. Roughly 3.6 million people hold such loans, with total debt exceeding $114 billion, according to an analysis by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. A typical parent balance is approximately $32,000.
Integrate now for IDR access
Parent borrowers must complete the consolidation by July 1 to qualify for an IDR plan, so experts continue to recommend starting the process as soon as possible.
“You shouldn’t procrastinate,” Kantrowitz said.
During the consolidated application process, parents must select an income-based repayment plan and make at least one payment under that program.
After that, you should be able to move to an income-based repayment plan, which will likely give you the lowest monthly payments, Nearman said. This is the process that the Department of Education requires based on its interpretation of the new law.
Under the terms of IBR, borrowers are supposed to pay 10% of their discretionary income each month, and that percentage rises to 15% for certain borrowers with older loans. Depending on when the loan was taken, debt forgiveness is supposed to occur after 20 or 25 years. Older loans require a longer timeline.
Fewer options for those who don’t integrate
Parent Plus borrowers who do not consolidate their debt will have fewer repayment options going forward.
Current borrowers will still be able to use the standard repayment plan, while new borrowers (those who take out student loans after July 1) will be able to repay their debt on the new graduated standard repayment plan.
The Standard Repayment Plan, in its current form, which remains available to existing borrowers, comes with a 10-year term for all borrowers.
However, the tiered standard plan, which was also included in President Trump’s Big and Beautiful Bill, spreads a borrower’s debt into fixed payments over one of four periods, depending on the debt.
Only borrowers with balances up to $24,999 will maintain the 10-year repayment term. People who owe between $25,000 and $49,999 will have 15 years to pay it back. Balances between $50,000 and $99,999 are repaid over 20 years. Debts over $100,000 have a repayment period of 25 years.
There is no loan forgiveness under this plan.
Some high-income earners may not actually pay less for an IDR plan than the standard option. But experts say low-income groups especially benefit from continued access to IDR.
For example, according to Kantrowitz’s calculations, a parent borrower with an annual income of less than $30,000 would have a monthly payment of $0 under IBR. If they earned $50,000, their monthly bill would be $146. For comparison, assuming a loan balance of $57,000 and an interest rate of 6.7%, the new tiered standard plan would cost you nearly $432.
