income-driven repayment plan (IDR)
Doug is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst who spent more than 20 years as a derivatives market maker and asset manager before “reincarnating” as a financial media professional a decade ago.
Before joining Britannica, Doug spent nearly six years managing content marketing projects for a dozen clients, including The Ticker Tape, TD Ameritrade’s market news and financial education site for retail investors. He has been a CAIA charter holder since 2006, and also held a Series 3 license during his years as a derivatives specialist.
Doug previously served as Regional Director for the Chicago region of PRMIA, the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association, and he also served as editor of Intelligent Risk, PRMIA’s quarterly member newsletter. He holds a BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Illinois Institute of Technology, Stuart School of Business.
Jennifer Agee has been editing financial education since 2001, including publications focused on technical analysis, stock and options trading, investing, and personal finance.
For federal student loans, an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan allows a borrower to make payments based on their income (as opposed to standard loan repayment, which is based on the size of the debt). An IDR plan reduces the monthly payment for lower-income borrowers, but the length of the loan (and thus the total paid in interest) typically increases. After a period of 20 to 25 years of payments, the borrower may qualify for forgiveness of any remaining balance.