Generally, Federal education loan(s) in default may be consolidated in a Direct Consolidation Loan if borrowers:
- Agree to repay the loan(s) under the Income Contingent Repayment Plan.
OR
- Make satisfactory repayment arrangements with the current loan holder(s).
If, before applying for consolidation, borrowers who want to completely clear the default notation from their credit records, they may want to consider another option: loan rehabilitation. Borrowers should contact their loan holders to obtain more information about this option.
Borrowers cannot consolidate defaulted loans under these conditions:
- If a judgment has been issued against a defaulted loan, it cannot be included in the consolidation unless the judgment order has been vacated (dismissed).
- If they are trying to consolidate defaulted Direct Consolidation Loans.
- If they are trying to consolidate defaulted FFEL Consolidation Loans unless they have made satisfactory repayment arrangements with their current loan holder OR the borrowers agree to repay under the Income Contingent Repayment Plan.
- If they are trying to consolidate defaulted Perkins or health professions loans unless they have made satisfactory repayment arrangements with their current loan holders.
Note: Borrowers with defaulted FFEL or Direct Loan Program loans may be liable for collection costs incurred to collect the loans. If the holder of the defaulted loan, which may be either the U.S. Department of Education or a guaranty agency, retains a collection agency to collect defaulted loans, charges imposed by the collection agency may be added to the amount borrowers owe. This means that the amount of the Direct Consolidation Loan may include collection costs of up to 18.5% of the principal and interest outstanding on the defaulted loan.
For defaulted Perkins Loans and health professions loans, collection costs may equal as much as the amount owed at the time the defaulted loan is paid off through consolidation.
14. Can I delay processing of my consolidation application?
Yes, you can delay the processing of your Direct Consolidation Loan until closer to the end of your grace period end date if any of the loans you want to consolidate are in a grace period.
Normally, when you consolidate your existing loan(s) into a new Direct Consolidation Loan, you will be required to start repayment of your new loan immediately. However, if any loan you want to consolidate is still in a grace period, you can delay entering repayment on your new Direct Consolidation Loan until closer to your grace period end date by entering your expected grace period end date (month and year) in the space provided on the application. We will start processing your application about 45 days before the expected grace period end date that you provide. If you leave the expected grace period end date blank on your consolidation application, your Direct Consolidation Loan will enter repayment immediately.
You can select a date up to nine (9) months into the future. If your grace end date is more than 9 months away, wait to submit your application.
15. Should I rehabilitate before consolidating my defaulted loan?
Rehabilitation or Consolidation?
There are many benefits to rehabilitating a defaulted loan before consolidation. If you consolidate a defaulted loan without rehabilitating it , your credit record continues to show a default status on the loan. This is true even after the consolidation loan pays off the defaulted loan in full.
- Consolidating a defaulted loan will result in your credit report bearing the notation that the loan was in default but then "paid in full." This notation will remain on the credit report for up to seven years. While a "paid in full" notation is preferable to an unpaid default, , there is still the possibility that lenders will deny you future credit, such as mortgages, auto loans, or credit cards because of this notation.
However, if you rehabilitate a defaulted loan before consolidating it , the loan holder will update your credit record to no longer reflect the default status of the rehabilitated loan(s).
- Rehabilitating a defaulted Direct Loan or FFEL loan requires that you make at least nine (9) full payments of an agreed amount within twenty (20) days of their monthly due dates over a ten (10) month period. Rehabilitating a defaulted Perkins loan requires twelve (12) on-time monthly payments. Contact your loan holder to obtain additional rehabilitation terms and conditions for your loan type.
Keep in mind that if you default on your loan, you are liable for any collection costs incurred to collect the loan. If you pay off the defaulted loan by taking out a Consolidation Loan, the amount you borrow must be enough to pay off your defaulted loan, including principal, interest, and collection costs. This means that the amount of the new loan may need to be up to 18.5% larger than the principal and interest outstanding on your defaulted loan.
Both rehabilitation and consolidation will reinstate your eligibility for additional Federal student aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (Pell Grants, FFEL and Direct Loans etc.)
16. What are the consequences of defaulting?
Borrowers who fail to make a payment on time are considered delinquent on their Direct Consolidation Loans. Borrowers who do not make payments for 270 days are in default. Defaulting has severe and long-lasting consequences, as follows:
- The Department of Education can immediately demand repayment of the total loan amount due.
- The Department of Eduction will attempt to collect the debt and may charge collection costs.
- The Department of Education reports defaulted loans to national credit bureaus, damaging borrowers’ credit ratings and, making it difficult for borrowers to make purchases such as cars or homes.
- Borrowers with loans in default are ineligible for Title IV student aid.
- Borrowers with loans in default are ineligible for deferments
- The Internal Revenue Service can withhold borrowers’ Federal income tax refunds.
- Borrowers' wages may be garnished.
It is important that borrowers with Direct Consolidation Loans stay in touch with the Direct Loan Servicing Center. Default can occur when borrowers fail to keep the Direct Loan Servicing Center up to date on address and name changes, causing billing statements to go astray. In addition, the Direct Loan Servicing Center can offer alternatives when borrowers have trouble making monthly payments. Borrowers may apply for a deferment or forbearance, or change repayment plans.
17. What are the repayment plans?
When repaying a Direct Consolidation Loan, you may choose from as many as four repayment plans with various term selections.
| You will pay a fixed amount each month until your loan(s) are paid in full. Your monthly payments will be at least $50 for up to 10 to 30 years, based on your total education indebtedness. | |
| Your minimum payment amount will be at least equal to the amount of interest accrued monthly. Your payments start out low, and then increase every two years for up to 10 to 30 years, based on your total education indebtedness | |
To be eligible, your Direct Loan balance must be greater than $30,000 and you will have up to 25 years to repay your loan(s). You have two payment options:
| |
| Monthly payments that are based on a borrower's annual income, Direct Loan balance and family size, and are spread over a term of up to 25 years. |
If you consolidate more than one loan type (subsidized, unsubsidized and PLUS) you will have one Direct Consolidation Loan with up to two parts: Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized (which includes PLUS) Consolidation Loans. Even with up to two parts of each Direct Consolidation Loan, you make only one payment each month.
If (1) you have not chosen a repayment plan, (2) you are not required to pay using ICR, and (3) we determine that you currently have other active Direct Loans, we may assign your new Direct Consolidation Loan(s) to the same repayment plan as your active loan(s). If you do not currently have active
Direct Loan(s), we may assign your new Direct Consolidation Loan(s) to the Consolidation Standard Repayment Plan. You can change at a later date to other plans for which you may be eligible.
Under this plan, you will pay a fixed amount of at least $50 each month for up to 10 to 30 years, based on your total education indebtedness. This plan may result in lower total interest paid when compared to repayment under one of the graduated plans.(See Example A and the Standard and Graduated Repayment Plan Repayment Periods Table)
Under this plan, you will pay a minimum payment amount at least equal to the amount of interest accrued monthly for up to 10 to 30 years, based on your total education indebtedness. Your payments start out low, and then increase every two years. Generally, the amount you will repay over the term of your loan will be higher under the Graduated Repayment Plan than under the Standard Repayment Plan. This plan may be beneficial if your income is low now but is likely to steadily increase. (See Example B and the Standard and Graduated Repayment Plan Repayment Periods Table)
To qualify for this plan, your Direct Loan balance (your new Direct Consolidation Loan Amount plus other Direct Loans) must be greater than $30,000. Your plan options are:
Fixed Monthly Payment Option - Under this plan, you will pay a fixed amount of at least $50 each month for up to 25 years. Repayment under this plan will result in lower total interest paid when compared to graduated plans with similar terms. (See Example C and the Extended Repayment Plan Repayment Periods Table)
Graduated Monthly Payment Option - Under this plan, you will pay a minimum payment amount of at least $50 or the amount of interest accrued monthly, whichever is greater, for up to 25 years. Your payments start out low and then increase every two years. Repayment under this plan may provide lower initial monthly payments, although the total interest paid may be greater when compared to plans with similar terms with fixed payments. This plan may be beneficial if your income is low now but is likely to steadily increase. (See Example D and the Extended Repayment Plan Repayment Periods Table)
**Extended repayment terms are available to Direct Loan borrowers with no outstanding principal or interest balances as of October 7, 1998 and with more than $30,000 in Direct Loans.
Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan
The ICR Plan gives borrowers the flexibility to meet their obligations without causing them financial hardship. Monthly payments are based on borrowers’ annual Adjusted Gross Incomes (AGI), loan balance and family sizes. Income is obtained from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or from an Alternative Documentation of Income Form (discussed below) submitted by the borrowers. (See Example E)
To participate in the ICR Plan, borrowers (and if married, their spouse) must sign the Income Contingent Repayment Plan Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information Form. This authorizes the IRS to release borrowers' income information to the Department of Education to calculate monthly payments. Monthly payments are adjusted annually to reflect inflation, family size and income.
Monthly payment amounts for some borrowers may not be enough to cover the interest accruing on their loans. This situation is referred to as negative amortization. In such cases, the unpaid interest is capitalized and added to the principal balance once per year. The amount added to the principal balance will never exceed 10 percent of the original Direct Consolidation Loan amount. Once this capitalization limit has been reached, interest continues to accrue but is not capitalized. The capitalization limit does not apply to interest that accrues during deferment or forbearance.
Under this plan, it is possible a borrower will not make payments large enough to pay off his or her loans in 25 years. If loans are not fully repaid after 25 years of repayment, any unpaid amount will be forgiven. The maximum 25-year repayment period may include prior periods of repayment under certain other repayment plans, and certain periods of economic hardship deferment. The forgiven amount may be considered taxable income.
Alternative Documentation of Income
Alternative documentation of income is required for Direct Consolidation Loan borrowers if their underlying loans were in the first or second year of repayment when they were consolidated. Alternative documentation includes pay stubs, canceled checks, or, if these are unavailable, signed statements explaining income resources.
18. How is the amount of my payment calculated under the ICR plan?
The ICR Plan is designed to keep payments affordable. Generally, borrowers pay the lesser of:
- the amount they would pay if they repaid their loan in 12 years, multiplied by an income percentage factor that varies with their annual income, or
- 20 percent of their discretionary income (AGI minus the poverty level for their family size)
Under the ICR plan, the monthly payment is $0 for borrowers with family incomes that are less than or equal to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty level for their family size. Borrowers whose calculated monthly payment is greater than $0 but less than $5 are required to make a $5 monthly payment. Other borrowers must pay the calculated monthly payment.
Until the Department receives income information from the IRS or alternative documentation of income, borrowers' monthly payments are equal to the interest that accrues each month. If they are unable to make the interest-only payments, borrowers may request a forbearance until the first scheduled Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan payment is due.
The monthly payment in Example E is calculated as follows:
Step 1:
- Multiply the principal balance by the constant multiplier for 8.25 percent interest (0.0109621)
$15,000 x 0.0109621 = $164.4315
Step 2:
- Multiply the result by the income percentage factor that corresponds to the borrower's income.
88.77 (0.8877) x 164.4315 = $146
Step 3:
- Determine 20 percent of discretionary income (based on the poverty guidelines for a family of one).
($30,000 - $10,210) x 0.20 / 12 = $329.83
Step 4:
- Payment is the amount determined in step 2 because it is less than 20 percent of discretionary income.
NOTE: This example is based on the 2007 income percentage factors and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) poverty level guidelines.
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