Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

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Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) are a powerful tool to help manage repayment of educational debt.  You can structure an LRAP as part of your benefits package to attract and retain valuable employees.

The availability and specifics of employer LRAPs are as varied as employers themselves.

How do they work?

LRAPs differ from repayment plans, like Income-Based Repayment, and loan forgiveness programs, like PSLF.  Rather than lowering monthly payment amounts or providing forgiveness of educational loans in the future, LRAPs provide funds now to make those monthly payments.

LRAPs are powerful forms of relief. 

They may help provide much needed funds to help pay down any private educational loans (private loans are never eligible for federal relief programs). 

It also may be possible to use LRAPs in conjunction with some federal relief programs.  For example: If your employee is working in qualifying employment for Public Service Loan Forgiveness and enrolled in IBR to receive lowered income-based payments on Federal Direct Loans, she may be able to use LRAP funds to make those lowered income-based monthly payments until she makes 120 of them and the government grants PSLF.

• Learn about important points to think about when considering an LRAP.

There's much more to learn about LRAPs.  Register for an informational webinar for details on how these programs work and how your employees may benefit from them.