I believe it is the amount you must repay to the company or person you took out the loan from when you were a student. This may stretch for weeks months or even years.
Income contingent repayment is to make repaying your student loans easier, especially those who are going into jobs with low paying salaries, such as public service careers. This website might help you: http://www.finaid.org/loans/icr.phtml
Income Contingent Repayment, abbreviated ICR, is used if a person needs to pay back their student loans but have a low income. Any direct subsidized or unsubsidized loans are eligible, as well as direct plus loans or direct consolidation loans. Loans that are not eligible are federal family education loan program loans (FFEL) and direct plus loans made to parents. If you choose the income contingent repayment option, you would make monthly payments for 25 years based on your family size, income, and amount of money owed for your direct loans.
If it's federal, consolidate with Direct Loans and go on income contingent repayment.
As of July 1, 2009, graduate and professional student Direct PLUS Loan borrowers are eligible to use the ICR plan. Parent Direct PLUS Loan borrowers are not eligible for the ICR repayment plan.
Direct loans payment can be found at the relevant sites of the federal government in co-operation with your employer. There are several repayment plans to choose from: standard, extended, graduated, and income contingent.
The options available for repayment of student loans include standard repayment, income-driven repayment plans, extended repayment, graduated repayment, and loan forgiveness programs.
If your situation involving your student loan passes all prongs of the Brunner test, then it can be discharged. But, with the Ford Payment Plan, the income contingent plan, your payments are set based on your income according to your tax returns. One of the prongs of the Brunner test, is that the person has made a "good faith and honest effort to pay". Therefore, it is very difficult to pass that prong unless you have continued to make your payments according to your arranged Ford plan.
Income based repayment
Borrowers who enter the repayment period on their student loans, but have trouble affording their payments have an option. The federal loan service allows borrowers to make payments on their student loans based on their income. Borrowers must submit records of their income to qualify for income-contingent payments. The lender will evaluate the borrowers' income and set their payment amount accordingly. Borrowers still accrue interest during the period of time that they are making income-contingent payments. However, borrowers may still save money by making these lower payments if they do so in a timely manner, thereby avoiding earning late fees or defaulting on payments.
The options available for Naviant student loan repayment include standard repayment, income-driven repayment plans, deferment, forbearance, and loan forgiveness programs.
Choosing the right repayment plan for your student loans is your first step toward meeting your financial goals. See which repayment option best meets your needs. These are Standard repayment, Extended repayment, Graduated repayment and Income-sensitive repayment (available only for FFELP loans).
No, if you receive an income sensitive repayment plan after consolidating and the payment is $0 because of your dependents and income, then it will not adversely affect your credit score.