Nov. 2, 2009 (Business Wire) -- As the date approaches for thousands of new college graduates to begin repaying their student loans, Sallie Mae offers a full range of repayment plans to help customers manage their higher education bill.

New for this year is income-based repayment (IBR) which enables federal student loan customers experiencing financial challenges to cap their monthly student loan payment at 15 percent of their discretionary income. IBR may be particularly helpful to new college graduates unable to find employment at a level they expected or for those who have accumulated higher-than-average federal loan balances through their undergraduate and graduate programs.

After 25 years, customers who qualify for IBR and who have not repaid their entire loan balance may be eligible for loan forgiveness, which would discharge the remaining loan balance. To find out more information about eligibility, customers can visit www.SallieMae.com/IBR and watch a video as well as download Sallie Mae’s IBR worksheet. Customers may apply online by logging in to their Sallie Mae online account and downloading a personalized application.

The company offers several other payment plans including fixed monthly payments of principal and interest over a 10-year repayment term, graduated repayment and extended repayment, which lowers the monthly payment amount by extending the repayment term. For more information about repayment plans, visit www.SallieMae.com/repayment.

Customers may change repayment plans at any time, and they may prepay at any time without penalty. Sallie Mae’s repayment calculator, available at www.SallieMae.com/RepaymentCalculator, enables customers to compare programs, including IBR, by calculating estimated monthly payment amount, length of time to pay off, and total finance charges paid over the life of the loan. This tool helps customers select the payment option that is best for their unique circumstance.

Sallie Mae makes every effort to help customers achieve success in paying off their student loans. Heather, a resident of Bailey, Colo., was one such customer. After graduating with a master’s degree in social work from the University of Kansas, unexpected medical bills and challenges in establishing a fledgling therapy practice caused her to get behind in her student loans. Sallie Mae contacted her to assist, and by early 2009, Heather was able to pay her education loan bill in full.

Today, she is proudly immersed in her own private practice, giving support and encouragement to people when they need it the most. “Extending a helping hand to someone in need can make all the difference,” says Heather.