Buffalo, NY (WBEN) With the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, there will be changes in how parents and students borrow for college and then repay student loans.
Jeff Boron of Send Your Kids to College says the bill simplifies the income based repayment plans. “Right now, there’s three plans to choose from, and the new bill will eliminate basically a couple of those plans. So you’ll end up with the standard repayment plan, which is what everybody knows when you sign up, and then there’ll be a new income based repayment plan,” says Boron. He says it’s going to be based on the balance at the time you enroll, and it’ll be based on a percentage of what’s considered your discretionary income.
He says a lot of lower income students who qualify for Pell Grants are working outside of school to perhaps support their families, and they’re going back to school to better their situation. “The new program will eliminate Pell grants for anyone who is not a full time student. Currently, they have to be enrolled half time, and that is now changing where a student has to be enrolled full time to be eligible for a Pell Grant,” notes Boron. He says the Income Based Repayment Plan, being put into effect July of 2026, will allow those with student loan programs that want to explore all the options available today,…