New Delhi, July 22 -- The Department of Education has paused student loan forgiveness under the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan. While IBR is one of several income-driven repayment options available to borrowers, it is currently the only one not facing any legal disputes or court-ordered blocks.

"Currently, IBR forgiveness is paused while our systems are updated," announced the department in updated guidance on pending court challenges issued earlier this month. "IBR forgiveness will resume once those updates are completed."

The department's announcement corroborates previous statements by former education department officials. And it confirms what some borrowers who had reached the threshold for student loan forgiveness - but didn't ...