Student Loan Payoff Decisions

Start here because PSLF eligibility gates everything downstream. If you qualify and are close to 120 payments, refinancing to private (Step 2) would be a catastrophic mistake — you'd forfeit the forgiveness. The Counter verifies the loan type and plan eligibility, estimates remaining qualifying payments based on your employment history, and projects your forgiveness date. Output includes the exact payment count gap and whether a plan switch would help or hurt eligibility. If PSLF is on the table, skip Step 2 entirely and go directly to Step 3.

Refinancing federal loans to private permanently strips all federal protections — income-driven repayment, PSLF eligibility, forbearance, and potential congressional forgiveness. The Break-Even Calculator quantifies the interest savings from a lower private rate against the expected value of lost federal options, using your income trajectory and forgiveness probability. For most borrowers, the break-even analysis shows refinancing is rational only when (a) no PSLF path exists, (b) income is stable enough to preclude IDR benefit, and (c) rate delta is ≥ 1.5pp. The tool makes this explicit.

The One Big Beautiful Budget Act (2025) replaced SAVE with the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), capped Grad PLUS borrowing, and wound down several IBR variants. The Decision Engine compares RAP payment schedules, total interest paid, and forgiveness timelines against Standard 10-year repayment using OBBBA parameters. Key outputs: monthly payment comparison, total cost of each path, break-even income growth rate where Standard becomes cheaper, and a clear recommendation based on your debt-to-income ratio. For most undergrad borrowers at sub-$40k balances, Standard is often cheaper total — but monthly cash flow can make RAP necessary.