Parents with student loans are running out of time to secure forgiveness and affordable payments

Parents who took out student loans for their child's education still have time to take steps to preserve their access to affordable repayment plans and debt forgiveness, consumer advocates say. But the window of opportunity is shrinking quickly.Starting in July, Parent PLUS borrowers will no longer qualify for income-driven repayment plans, due to changes implemented in President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. IDR plans cap borrowers' monthly bills at a share of their discretionary income and culminate in student loan forgiveness. But if you consolidate your Parent PLUS loans into a so-called Direct Consolidation Loan in April, you can likely maintain your access to IDR options, said Nancy Nierman, assistant director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York. Consolidating Parent PLUS loans will leave you with a Direct federal loan — the kind most students carry.Previously, experts said parent borrowers should start the consolidation process by the end of March in order to meet the July 1 deadline. But, Nierman said, she's recently seen the U.S. Department of Education complete these requests within six weeks. "Borrowers should still be able to file applications during the month of April and have their new consolidation loans disbursed prior to July 1, 2026," Nierman said. The Parent PLUS federal loan program allows parents to borrow on behalf of dependent undergraduate students. Roughly 3.6 million people hold these loans, and the total debt exceeds $114 billion, according to an analysis by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. The typical parent balance is around $32,000.Because parent borrowers need to have their consolidation completed before July 1 to still qualify for IDR plans, experts still recommend you start the process as soon as possible. "They shouldn't procrastinate," Kantrowitz said. During the consolidation application process, parents must select the Income-Contingent Repayment plan and make at least one payment under that program. After that, you should be able to move into the Income-Based Repayment plan, which will likely result in the lowest monthly payment, Nierman said. This is the process the Department of Education requires from its interpretation of the new law.Under the terms of IBR, borrowers pay 10% of their discretionary income each month — and that share rises to 15% for certain borrowers with older loans. Debt forgiveness is supposed to come after 20 years or 25 years, depending on when you took out your loans. Older loans are subject to the longer timeline.Parent PLUS borrowers who don't consolidate their debt will have fewer repayment options going forward. Current borrowers will continue to have access to the Standard Repayment Plan, while new borrowers — those who take out student loans after July 1 — will be able to repay their debt back on the new Tiered Standard Repayment plan. In its current form, which will remain available to existing borrowers, the Standard Repayment Plan comes with a 10-year term for all borrowers.But the Tiered Standard Plan, also established in Trump's "big beautiful bill," will spread a borrower's debt into fixed payments over one of four time frames, depending on what they owe. Only borrowers with balances up to $24,999 will retain a 10-year repayment term. Those who owe between $25,000 and $49,999 will repay over 15 years; balances ranging from $50,000 to $99,999 will be repaid over 20 years; and debts of $100,000 or more will have a 25-year repayment term. There is no loan forgiveness under the plan. Some higher earners may not actually see a lower payment on an IDR plan compared with the standard options. But those with lower incomes will especially benefit from continued IDR access, experts say.For example, a parent borrower with annual earnings under $30,000 would have a $0 monthly payment on IBR, according to calculations provided by Kantrowitz. If they earned $50,000, their monthly bill would be $146. For comparison, their bill would be closer to $432 on the new Tiered Standard Plan, assuming a $57,000 loan balance and 6.7% interest rate. Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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