Student Loan Debtors Face Crushing Double Whammy: Trump’s BBB Tightens Grip as Biden’s Relief Expires

Student loan borrowers just got thrown back into the financial deep end—welcome to 2025’s debt reckoning.

The Squeeze Is On

Trump’s BBB policy bulldozes in while Biden’s relief programs vanish—leaving millions scrambling. No lifelines, just higher payments and tighter terms.

Debt or Die

Forget 'temporary relief.' The system’s back to business: extracting maximum pain from anyone naive enough to believe in 'forgiveness.'

The Fine Print Always Wins

Another day, another policy bait-and-switch. Pro tip: next time, buy crypto—at least its volatility doesn’t come with a 20-year repayment plan.

Trump’s RAP plan coming in 2026, but offers no guarantee

Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” will completely phase out most existing income-driven plans down the line. In their place, a new plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is set to launch by July 1, 2026. RAP will be another income-based program, but there’s no clear answer yet on how much lower or higher monthly payments will be under it.

“It’s going to range dramatically based on your income,” Buchanan said. In other words: it might help you. It might not.

For now, borrowers are stuck with IBR unless they qualify for deferment or another FORM of relief. There are online calculators where you can plug in your numbers and see how bad it’s going to be. But those aren’t magic. They don’t stop the bill from coming.

Nancy Nierman, assistant director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York City, warns that the jump from SAVE to IBR could be unmanageable for a lot of people. “In severe cases, it could result in people being forced to move, or they will just resign themselves to default and involuntary collections,” she said.

This isn’t just theoretical. There are people right now looking at bills they can’t pay. Carolina Rodriguez, director of the same consumer aid program, is helping a married couple staring at a combined $4,000 monthly student loan bill under IBR. That’s not a typo. Four grand.

“My client said that these payments WOULD mean no extracurricular activities and other opportunities for his children, which might set them back in comparison to their peers,” Rodriguez explained. Under the SAVE plan, their payment would’ve been $2,400. Still a lot. But far less than what they’re about to owe now.

Not everyone can just switch into RAP or wait until 2026. And deferment isn’t a get-out-of-jail card either. For those with loans taken out before July 1, 2027, there’s still access to economic hardship deferment and unemployment deferment under the new law. But those are temporary band-aids. They don’t erase debt. They just delay the pain.

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