Debt Elimination And Pslf Uncertainty
Many student loan borrowers face the difficult choice of chasing PSLF or opting for an aggressive repayment strategy.
The decision is much easier for borrowers with private loans. If PSLF is a possibility, but private loans are an immediate concern, borrowers can take the following steps:
- Make Progress Towards Forgiveness.
This approach accomplishes a couple of important goals. First, it keeps the door open on PSLF. Second, it makes eliminating the more risky private student loans a priority.
If borrowers reach a point where PSLF is off the table, a more aggressive repayment strategy can be considered.
Find An Employer That Offers Student Loan Repayment
A growing number of employers are helping their employees with their student loan payments. Major companies like Estée Lauder, SoFi and Hulu will pay off a portion of your student loans as an added benefit, up to an annual or lifetime maximum. Talk to your human resources department to see if your company has an employer student loan assistance program.
How Do You Apply For Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Fill out and submit the Employment Certification Form each year, or as you change jobs.
FedLoan Servicing will review your information and let you know if you qualify. They might ask for more information, like pay stubs, W-2s or other documentation.
FedLoan Servicing will let you know how many qualified payments you have made, and how many payments you will need to make until you qualify for forgiveness.
Currently, there is no limit on the amount forgiven under PSLF. The full amount of your federal student loans is eligible for forgiveness.
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Use Deferment Or Forbearance
If you have trouble making your student loan payments, consider applying for deferment or forbearance with your lender. Both allow you to forgo making payments on your student loans, though its possible that interest will continue to accrue. Most federal loans are in automatic administrative forbearance through May 1, 2022, but forbearance options for private loans vary by lender.
Other Recent Student Loan Forgiveness Developments
The U.S. Department of Education and the Justice Department are reviewing whether the President has the legal authority to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt through executive action. There is no timetable on when these reports will be issued. There may be delays because Congress has not yet confirmed key policy advisors in both departments.
The White Houses Domestic Policy Council will consider how student loan forgiveness should be targeted, regardless of whether it is implemented through executive action or legislation.
Borrowers should beware of student loan scams that promise debt forgiveness, in exchange for a fee. When student loan forgiveness is implemented, it will most likely be automatic and free. The U.S. Department of Education will publish an update on the StudentAid.gov web site.
The U.S. Department of Education has recently taken a few steps toward providing student debt relief for which they have clear legal authority:
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Could President Biden Forgive Private Student Loans
President Joe Biden and other politicians have proposed student loan forgiveness plans for federal student loans but not for private student loans. If youve been crossing your fingers for a private student loan forgiveness COVID-19 relief package, it might not be on the horizon.
As for federal student loan forgiveness, its still up in the air how much could potentially be forgiven. Here are the developments so far:
- From Congress: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer , Sen. Elizabeth Warren , and Rep. Ayanna Pressley are pushing for $50,000 in loan forgiveness per borrower to stimulate the economy and remove a financial burden from those struggling to pay off their student loan balances.
- From the White House: Biden has backed a more modest cancellation of $10,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower but is facing pressure to cancel that amount and more through executive order. Instead, Biden has called on Congress to draft loan forgiveness legislation but this has yet to happen.
Keep in mind:
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Talk To Your Loan Servicer Concerning Hardship
If you cant afford your payments because of a change in your situationsay, you lost your jobsome lenders have financial hardship programs. If you qualify, you could temporarily make reduced payments or postpone your payments altogether while you get back on your feet.
For example, College Ave student loan borrowers may be eligible for up to 12 months of forbearance over the life of their loans. Hardship forbearance is granted in three- to six-month increments.
Some private student loan servicers might let borrowers suspend payments temporarilyknown as forbearancedue to hardship, says Bossler. Interest and penalty fees might continue to accrue, which would increase the loan balance over time, so consider this option carefully.
Contact your lender as soon as you realize youre at risk of missing a payment to discuss your options.
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Would Student Loan Forgiveness Include Private Loans
Private student loan borrowers canât count on President Biden to forgive their debt. So far, Biden and the U.S. Department of Education have canceled the debts of disabled people, those who were defrauded by defunct for-profit schools, soldiers deployed to war zones, and public service workers. But targeted relief for soldiers, disabled borrowers, and scammed students is a lot different from broadly canceling student debt.
Still, progressive lawmakers continued to push Biden for blanket loan cancellation amid negotiations on his Build Back Better framework. However, student loan forgiveness was excluded from the nearly $2 trillion bill. Itâs unlikely Democrats have the votes to cancel student loan debt.
The Complete List Of Student Loan Forgiveness Programs And Options
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Make A Repayment Strategy
Getting rid of your student loan debt requires strategic planning. First things first: get a handle on your balance and interest rate, then craft a payoff plan.
In order to do that, youll need to revisit your budget. Go item by item, and see if there are expenses you can cut and redirect toward your loan payments. Any extra cash you can free up can go directly to reducing your balance. Carpenter says the best way to make a dent in your student loan balance is to make additional payments on top of your minimum amount due. Thats what Kuo did. He figured out how much he was accruing in interest, and paid extra toward his principal every month.
One silver lining in all of this is that it has made all student loan borrowers take a good, hard look at their personal situations, says Matt Carpenter, CEO of College Funding Services, a student loan consultation company in Massachusetts.
Once youve gone through your budget, consider two of most popular payoff strategies: the debt snowball and debt avalanche. If you go with the debt snowball method, youll make minimum payments on all debts except the account with the lowest balance. With the debt avalanche method, youll focus first on the account with the highest .
Student Loan Discharge Options
Unlike the forgiveness programs, which take years to qualify for, discharge can lead to your remaining balance being immediately wiped out. It also can lead to you receiving a refund of payments previously made on a loan.
- Total and Permanent Disability Discharge: according to a doctor, the Social Security Administration, or Veterans Administration, you are totally and permanently disabled.
- Student Loan Bankruptcy Discharge: you canât afford to cover your minimal living expenses and pay your student loans without undue hardship.
- Discharge Due to Death: you die, or, if youâre a parent with PLUS Loans, you die, or the child you borrowed the loan for dies.
- False Certification Discharge: your school falsely certified your eligibility to receive a loan.
- Identity theft: your information was used to receive Federal Student Aid .
- Unpaid Refund Discharge: you withdrew from school, and the school didnât make a required return of loan funds to the loan servicer.
- Closed School Discharge: your school closes while youâre enrolled or soon after you withdraw
- Perkins Loan Cancellation: you work full-time in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school system as a teacher in a low-income area, special education teacher, or in the fields of mathematics, science, foreign languages, or bilingual education, or in any other field of expertise determined by a state education agency to have a shortage of qualified teachers in that state.
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Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is designed for people working full-time in public service jobs, either for the government or a nonprofit organization.
- Who qualifies: All full-time employees of the local, state, or federal government or qualified non-profit organization. For example, charter school teachers, professors, police officers, military service members, nurses, etc. Hereâs a list of qualifying employers.
- Which loans are eligible: All Direct Loans, including Direct Parent PLUS Loans, and, if consolidated, FFEL and Federal Perkins Loans.
- How to apply: Before applying for PSLF, you have to make 10 years of qualifying payments towards Direct Loans while working full-time in public service. Once youâve done those things, you can submit a PSLF Employment Certification and Application Form to your loan servicer.
- How long until loans are forgiven: At least 10 years. You have to make 120 monthly payments before youâre eligible.
Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program
If you work in an underserved community, you might be eligible for the NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program. You can get up to 60% of your student loans paid over two years of employment. If you work for a third year, you could qualify for forgiveness toward another 25%.
What are the requirements?
To qualify for the NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program, you must be a registered nurse, nurse practitioner or nurse faculty member. Nurses must work in a critical shortage area and serve a high-need population. Nurse faculty members must be at an accredited school of nursing.
How do you apply?
Applications are accepted once a year, and guidelines are updated annually. Check the program requirements and guidelines ahead of time and make sure to turn in your application on time.
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Defaulted Loans And Rehabilitation
- If your federal loans are in default, you should contact your student loan servicer to ask about rehabilitation, a process that can return your loans to good standing if you make 9 affordable and voluntary payments within 10 months. For loans covered by the CARES Act, discussed above, the suspended payments count toward repayment, so you should start the rehabilitation process soon. Rehabilitating your loans will also restore your repayment options, putting you in a better position for after the relief program ends.
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Whats The Difference Between Private And Federal Student Loans
Before we talk about student loan relief, its important to know that not all student loans are created equal. Yeah, both private student loans and federal student loans lend money to students to pay for college, but they work very differently. First off, federal student loans are funded by the U.S. Department of Education , while private student loans come from a bank, credit union, state loan agency or another financial institution. In fact, there are entire companies dedicated to making private student loanslike Sallie Mae, Earnest and Ascent.
In order to take out federal student loans , you have to fill out the FAFSA . Private student loans, on the other hand, are treated more like personal loans. The lender looks at your credit score and history to decide whether or not to loan you moneyor if you need a cosigner . But it usually only takes a college acceptance letter for private companies to lend money to an 18-year-old . Because college freshmen are fresh meat to these loan sharks.
Death And Disability Discharge
Some private student loans may include a provision that forgives the student debt if the borrower dies or becomes permanently disabled.
Obviously these strategies are not reasonable options for borrowers looking for loan forgiveness or cancellation. However, it is worth mentioning because borrowers should pay close attention to the death and disability provisions of their student loan. Many loan contracts do not include this important consumer protection. If something happens to the borrower, lenders may pursue money from the borrowers cosigner or estate.
If your lender does not cancel debt for dead borrowers, there are ways to protect your cosigner. First, there are many options to get the cosigner release from the loan. Second, an insurance policy can help make sure a tragedy doesnt become a financial catasrophe for the cosigner.
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Review Your Federal Student Loan Options
Although private student loans dont qualify for forgiveness, there are federal options available if you have a mix of federal and private student loans. These include income-driven repayment and federal student loan forgiveness programs.
For example:
On an income-driven repayment plan, you could have the remainder of your federal student loan balance forgiven after 20 to 25 years of payments, depending on the plan.
Here are the four IDR plans available:
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A 2021 Revamp For Pslf
Under the regular PSLF rules, only payments made on the combined loan counted toward the 120-payment minimum earlier payments made on the old loans werent considered. Also, you had to be enrolled in one of the governments four income-driven repayment plans .
However, on Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced considerable loosening of the program rules. For a limited periodspecifically, through Oct. 31, 2022borrowers may receive credit for past payments made on loans that otherwise would not qualify for PSLF to hit that 120-payments mark. More payments will qualify even if they werent in full or were tardy. Also, payments made under any repayment plan count now, not just income-contingent ones.
You do still have to have direct loans or apply to combine them into direct consolidation loans, though, by the Halloween 2022 deadline. Of course, the changes also apply to those already in the PSLF program.
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Defer Your Student Loans
If youre looking for private student loan forgiveness, its likely that youre struggling with your loan payments after paying for college.
Unlike with federal student loans, private lenders dont offer an income-driven repayment program to make your student loan payments more manageable and affordable. But you may be able to apply for deferment.
Lets say youre looking for Sallie Mae student loan forgiveness. While there is no available option for Sallie Mae loan forgiveness, they do offer deferment for student loan borrowers. When you defer your student loans, you can reduce or pause payments temporarily.
Student Loan Forgiveness For Lawyers
With the Department of Justice Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program, you can qualify for up to $60,000 in loan forgiveness when you have at least $10,000 in qualifying federal student loan debt. The service obligation is three years, and you can receive up to $6,000 per year.
Other state-specific forgiveness programs exist for prosecutors, public defenders, and attorneys serving underserved areas.
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