Executive Order Seeks to Close the Dept of Education

You might have seen headlines about the Department of Education(ED) being “dismantled.” We’ve got some thoughts to share—but first, some good news:

This week, Federal Student Aid announced that borrowers currently enrolled in any existing Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan (other than those in the SAVE forbearance) will NOT be required to recertify their income until at least February 2026. If you’re making IDR payments now and were planning to extend your 2024 tax filing in anticipation of being required to recertify sooner, that’s no longer necessary.

Now, let’s clear the air about yesterday’s Executive Order:

✅ PSLF and Income-Based Repayment (IBR) were created by Congress and are not being targeted by recent actions.
✅ ED will continue managing these programs—for now. It would take a 60% vote from the Senate to actually shut down the Department.

So what’s really happening?

The Executive Order directed ED to begin transferring some education responsibilities to states. This follows major staffing cuts and other recent policy changes. But even under this order, ED will be responsible for overseeing federal student loan programs.

*Update: Today Trump announced that he intends to transfer the management of federal loans to the Small Business Association (SBA). This is developing.

Suffice it to say, fewer staff and/or a transfer of oversight will likely create delays and system glitches in the near term. So…

Better Safe Than Sorry

🔒 We suggest backing up your loan data. It’s easy and takes less than 2 minutes:

1. Log in at www.studentaid.gov
2. Click your name (top right), then “My Aid”
3. Click “Download My Aid Data” – a TXT file will save to your computer. Store it in a secure location.

The biggest moving target for PSLF candidates, in our opinion, is what repayment plans will be available to borrowers currently in SAVE forbearance. At this rate, we expect an answer sooner rather than later—and we’ll continue to keep you posted.

About Author

Jason DiLorenzo

Jason is the Founder of BenElevate, an early stage fintech company working to address the student debt crisis by bringing to bear tools, expertise, and bespoke solutions to streamline student debt management for borrowers and employers.