Get 2011-2012 Federal Direct Plus Loan Information & Request Form

Your parent PLUS loan may be discharged if you (not the child) become totally and permanently disabled, die, or (in some cases) file for bankruptcy. Your parent PLUS loan also may be discharged if the student for whom you borrowed dies.

You can access your federal student loan information—including your loan and/or grant amounts, outstanding balances, loan statuses, disbursements, and servicer information—by logging in to your StudentAid.gov account.

Program Description Direct PLUS Loans are unsubsidized loans for the parents of dependent students and for graduate/professional students. PLUS Loans help pay for education expenses up to the cost of attendance minus all other financial assistance. Interest is charged during all periods.

The double consolidation loophole is an opportunity for Parent PLUS borrowers to get the benefits of the SAVE program. This opportunity exists because of a quirk of wording in the SAVE legislation and limits on Department of Education data gathering.

If parents were allowed to enroll in SAVE, their monthly bills would be much lower. In finalizing the SAVE regulation, the Education Department said Parent Plus loans were ineligible because Congress never intended for parents to have broad access to repayment plans based on their earnings.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness: Parents can have their loans forgiven after making 10 years' worth of monthly payments. Income-Contingent Repayment: Parents can have their remaining loan balance forgiven after making 25 years' worth of monthly payments.

After 10 years no debt or restrictions will exist.

Can a parent PLUS loan be transferred to a student? Parent PLUS loans are made directly to parents for their child's education. Under the current rules, parents cannot transfer these federal loans to a child, and they are solely responsible for paying back the loan.