After 20 years of responsible payments under the income-based repayment (IBR) plan, the remainder of a federal loan will be forgiven under Obama’s new plan. Currently, those remaining debts are forgiven after 25 years.
Some borrowers working in public-service and nonprofit jobs qualify for loan forgiveness after 10 years. More would qualify for this if they take advantage of the consolidation of loans under Obama’s new plan. (More on that in item 3.)