Washington DFI reminds Washington student loan borrowers that the direct consolidation loan deadline in order to be reviewed for the one-time income-driven repayment account adjustment is April 30, 2024.
In 2023, the Department of Education began conducting a one-time Payment Count Adjustment for Income Driven Repayment (IDR) and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs. The one-time IDR Payment Count Adjustment is a manual review of the payment history for every student loan borrower that has at least one Direct Loan or one FFEL Program loan held by the Department of Education.
The one-time IDR Payment Count Adjustment will give student loan borrowers additional credit toward IDR loan forgiveness. After the one-time IDR Payment Count Adjustment is completed student loan borrowers will be closer to reaching IDR loan forgiveness. In some cases, the one-time IDR Payment Count Adjustment will result in student loan borrowers reaching the end of their repayment period, and those student loan borrowers will automatically receive IDR loan forgiveness.
To be evaluated for the one-time IDR Payment Count Adjustment, student loan borrowers with certain federally held student loans must consolidate their loans into a Direct Consolidation loan. The deadline to apply for a Direct Consolidation Loan for purposes of being evaluated for the one-time IDR Payment Count Adjustment is April 30, 2024.
Borrowers can find detailed information regarding the one-time IDR Payment Count Adjustment on the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid website.
In addition, the Washington State Student Achievement Council presented a Webinar for Borrowers seeking additional information about the IDR Payment Count Adjustment which can be found at Student Loan Advocate (SLA).
If you have additional questions, please contact DFI’s Consumer Services Division at (360) 902-8703.