May 12, 2009

IBR Information Now Reflected in Claims Processing

FFELP Claim Form

The FFELP Claim Form has been updated to support the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan. The form, which is used by lenders and servicers to request loan reimbursement from the guarantor, now has fields to support the reporting of IBR plan data. In addition, the instructions for field 41 (# Events) have been clarified. The IBR option will be available for eligible borrowers starting July 1, 2009.

Lenders and servicers are encouraged to use the new form on or before July 1, 2009, because the new IBR data elements are required for all claims submitted on or after that date. Due to the short implementation timeframe, a supplemental form may be submitted with the older version of the claim form until the updated version has been implemented. Both the revised claim form and the IBR Supplemental Information form are available in the School and Lender Forms section of our Web site.

CAM and Implementation Guidelines

To accommodate lenders and servicers who file claims electronically, revised specifications for Common Account Maintenance (CAM) have been published. CAM Record type 54, which is used to submit loan level claim data electronically, now includes the new IBR fields. The new CAM layouts for IBR are available in the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) e-library under the Electronic Standards Documents & Tools section.

Due to the short implementation timeframe, lenders and servicers should use the supplemental Income-Based Repayment Data form in addition to their normal CAM submissions until their organization can transition to the new file layouts.  Please note that the revised specifications (version 1.3) include cumulative layout changes since the July 31, 2008 version.  Examples of additional changes include the new deferment type codes of PD and PE.

We encourage lenders and servicers to implement the updated claim form and revised CAM layouts by Dec. 31, 2009 to support consistency and standards.

If you have questions about the updated forms, please contact OGSLP’s Claims Department Manager, Eric Okeke, at 405.234.4342, 800.247.0420 (toll-free) or eokeke@ogslp.org.