Standard 10-Year Repayment Plan

The Standard 10-Year Repayment Plan is the default federal repayment plan. If you don't actively choose another plan, you're placed on Standard automatically when your loans enter repayment.

How it works

Under Standard, your monthly payment is calculated as the equal fixed amount needed to pay off your balance over exactly 120 months (10 years). The payment never changes based on your income, family size, or anything else — it's pure amortization.

When Standard is the right plan

Standard pays the loan off fastest of any plan that doesn't require a lump sum. You'll pay less total interest than under any extended or income-driven option. If your income is high enough that you can afford the Standard payment without strain, Standard is usually the cheapest plan over the life of the loan.

When Standard hurts you

Standard is not a PSLF-friendly plan in practice. Technically, payments on Standard count toward PSLF — but because Standard pays the loan off in exactly 10 years (the same length as PSLF's 120-payment requirement), there's nothing left to forgive at the end. If you're pursuing PSLF, you generally want to be on an income-driven plan instead so a balance remains to be forgiven.

Standard as a "cap"

The Standard payment matters even if you're not on it. PAYE and IBR both cap your monthly payment at the Standard amount — you can't owe more under those plans than you would on Standard. SAVE does not have this cap.