ED Announces 2024-25 FAFSA Inflation Adjustments, But How and When Remains Unclear
Maria Carrasco
January 23, 2024
The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday announced that it will update the tables used to protect a portion of a family’s income and assets from being considered in the Student Aid Index (SAI) by inflation-adjusted amounts. However, the department failed to give a timeline of when or how the new tables will be implemented, causing concerns among the higher education community around delays in financial aid offers to students.
First reported by NPR and shortly thereafter confirmed by an ED spokesperson in an email to NASFAA and other member-based organizations, the department said it will be updating data tables used in the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation to account for inflation for the 2024-25 award year. According to the spokesperson, ED estimates that this update will provide students with an additional $1.8 billion in federal student aid that would have been left on the table had ED’s mistake not been corrected.
“We will share more details on the timeline for these updates soon,” the spokesperson wrote. “We understand the urgency in providing clear information to schools, counselors, students and families.”
