Federal student loans are disappearing—but only for borrowers who did this one thing

Core Insights - Federal student loan borrowers will soon have their debt canceled, contingent upon enrollment in the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan and sufficient payments made [1][2] - The IBR plan, established in 2007, allows for debt cancellation after 20 or 25 years of repayment, depending on the loan's age, with nearly 2 million borrowers enrolled as of Q2 [1][3] - Notices indicate the resumption of IBR forgiveness after a three-month pause for system updates due to litigation related to a previous forgiveness plan [3][4] Group 1 - Borrowers receiving notices are informed that the U.S. Department of Education will collaborate with loan servicers to process the discharge over the coming months [2] - If borrowers wish to opt out of IBR forgiveness, they must contact their loan servicer by October 21 [2] - The recent notices are a continuation of the IBR program rather than a new forgiveness initiative, with Education Secretary Linda McMahon stating that mass forgiveness will not occur during her tenure [4][5] Group 2 - The forgiveness notices are exclusively sent to borrowers enrolled in the IBR plan, which limits monthly payments to a percentage of discretionary income [6]