This month, host Ben Graney sits down with the newest member of the AFSG, Stephen Stocking, about his first year out of school and all of the financial challenges and successes he's had.  For more info, visit www.artistsfinancial.org, or email us at [email protected].

Some editorial clarification on the AFSG Podcast Episode #12: 

Ben spoke about some of the income-based plans having an extra interest benefit of the government paying accrued interest for the first few years of repayment while on the plans.  As with most things regarding student loans, the benefit is more complex than the government just paying all interest that accrues during the first few years in repayment, as Ben explained.  Here’s a clearer explanation from the “Income-Driven Repayment Plans: Questions and Answers” pdf on studentaid.ed.gov:  

“The REPAYE, PAYE, and IBR plans offer an interest benefit if your monthly payment doesn’t cover the full amount of interest that accrues on your loans each month. Under all three plans, the government will pay the difference between your monthly payment amount and the remaining interest that accrues on your subsidized loans for up to three consecutive years from the date you begin repaying the loans under the plan. Under the REPAYE Plan, the government will pay half of the difference on your subsidized loans after this three-year period, and will pay half of the difference on your unsubsidized loans during all periods.”

For further information, read the full pdf here:  https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/income-driven-repayment-q-and-a.pdf