Members of the National Guard walk, with the U.S. Capitol in the background, during the first day of a partial government shutdown in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 1, 2025.
Nathan Howard | ReutersThe shutdown of the federal government is ly to worsen the delays student loan borrowers are already facing in accessing grams required by Congress and mandated in their loan terms.More than 1 million borrowers are in a backlog to enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, according to court records from mid-September.During the shutdown, Federal Student Aid staff "will not be able to perform regular operations, including working on the IDR backlog," a spokesperson for the Education Department told CNBC on Wednesday.
That day, the U.S.
government shut down after lawmakers failed to reach a funding deal, meaning that most of the federal workers at the Education Department would be temporarily put on unpaid leave."Even before the shutdown, borrowers were at a point," said Michele Zampini, associate vice president of federal policy and advocacy at The Institute for College Access & Success."Now, with application cessing reportedly at a standstill, borrowers will continue to face unaffordable payments."More from Personal Finance:As some colleges near $100,000, these schools are freeThese college majors have the best job spectsStudent loan forgiveness may soon be taxed againCongress created the first IDR plans in the 1990s to make student loan borrowers' bills more affordable.
Historically, the plans cap people's monthly payments at a of their discretionary income and cancel any remaining debt after a certain period, typically 20 years or 25 years.Here's what student loan borrowers need to know getting into a new repayment plan right now.Delays are 'disruptive to the s of borrowers'As of Aug.
31, there were already 1,076,266 income-driven repayment plan applications pending with the agency, court records show."It is not surprising that there will be no gress on the IDR backlog during the shutdown, as the staff who work on it aren't considered 'essential,'" said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.But, Kantrowitz said, "the failure to the backlog is disruptive to the s of borrowers."Many of the borrowers in the backlog are ly trying to switch out of the Biden administration-era , or Saving on a Valuable Education, plan.
A court struck that gram down in February and now borrowers who remain in the forbearance, which borrowers were placed into during the legal challenges, are seeing interest grow on their debt.
(The Trump administration started charging interest as of Aug.
1.)"Interest has been accruing on their loans, but they have been unable to switch to another plan," Kantrowitz said.In the meantime, borrowers stuck in the backlog may not be making gress toward loan forgiveness, either under the terms of an IDR plan or through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness gram.
PSLF offers debt cancellation to certain public servants or non-fit workers after a decade.What borrowers in the backlog can doFor now, the best move student loan borrowers stuck in the backlog can do is to salt away the money they would have directed to their payments, Kantrowitz said.
That way, you'll have plenty of cash to draw on when the Education Department switches you into another IDR plan and your first bill comes due.This remains a waiting game.Carolina Rodriguezdirector of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance gramWhile this waiting period ly doesn't count toward IDR or PSLF forgiveness, when you first applied for an IDR plan, you were supposed to be put into a 60-day administrative forbearance at first, and those two months still do count on your forgiveness timeline, Kantrowitz said."Our advice to borrowers is to maintain thorough records and monitor any applications submitted during this period," said Carolina Rodriguez, director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance gram, speaking the backlog."Once cessing resumes, it's important to up mptly to ensure their application remains on track," Rodriguez said.
"Beyond that, unfortunately, this remains a waiting game."