Posts Tagged ‘Tuition’

I just read about Income-Based Repayment for the first time. Being from Canada, this doesn’t apply to me (sadly), however, it sounds like a great program.

In the article Grads Get a Break on Student Loan Debt, the Income-Based Repayment plan is described as a new federal program that is…

… making it easier to pay back these loans. If a student chooses to repay her or his loan with this plan, payments are then recalibrated — based on their income to something they can reasonably afford. All debt will be forgiven after 25 years. A graduate who earns less than 150% of the poverty line (about $16,000) won’t have to make any payments. This is in addition to the year-old Public Service Loan Forgiveness program for those working in jobs such as law enforcement, public health and social work. Their loans will be forgiven after 10 years.

While it isn’t the perfect solution, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. It’s too bad that it’s only treating the symptom and not getting to the root of the issue. It’s the size of the debt that is the big problem. Tuition rates across North America need to come down before this will be truly solved.

So that brings us to the most important question: Will this plan help you?