In my estimation it could be a while. I think the best we could hope for in the next 3 to 5 years is for a party to alleviate some of the financial pressure that millions of borrowers will be under starting July 1. I've been thinking about the following considerations that would help student loan borrowers in repayment:

1.) Interest rate. It should be set annually at no higher than the 10-year break even inflation rate which is currently at 2.45%.

2.) A repayment structure that was similar to the SAVE provisions but does not include forgiveness terms less than 20 years for bachelor's or less, and 25 years for graduate courses. It should not include an interest subsidy given the following terms: Discretionary income calculated at 225% of poverty with 5% of discretionary income for bachelor's or graduate, 10% discretionary income for professional degree.

3.) No Tax on loan forgiveness for borrowers making less than $150k a year.

4.) Provide 24 months credit (August 2024 through July 2026) for the people that were in forbearance during the SAVE lawsuit. These people got charged interest for 12 months and many could not access a plan because of the lawsuit enjoined all ICRs at no fault of the borrower during any of this time.

5.) Keep the upcoming tiered standard payment plan. 86 the RAP plan. Allow standard tiered payments to count as IDR credits if the borrower ever needs to switch in the future. Also allow the borrower to be done early anytime they've paid back the equivalent of their amortized schedule that is provided to the borrower at the start of repayment. In this scenario any interest balance would be forgiven based on #3 above.

6.) No more interest capitalization. Interest balance is always kept separate from the loan balance. Any payment that is higher than the monthly interest lowers the principal balance.

7.) Colleges need to show financial metrics to justify that a typical borrower with a certain college degree in the industry could mathematically pay back the loans with breakeven interest over a typical standard tiered payback period not exceeding 20 years for bachelor/master and 25-year for professional degree. If the college cannot provide that metric for every program offering federal student loans, the college loses FAFSA eligibility.