Student Loan Debt Forgiveness
Round … —
What now.
As I posted in January, Student Loan Debt Relief has been a hot topic for some time now. You can’t scroll through a news feed without seeing a new story – a promise of hope. A dashed chance for forgiveness.
Legal fights, forgiveness blocked, new proposals, thousands opposed to relief and even more crushed by the lack of it as required repayment looms
When the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s plan, many felt that all was lost. But, keep your chins up! The New Debt Relief Program was announced last week.
How This Is Different
After challenges from several states, that the Biden Administration had overstepped its authority promising to forgive $10,000 for borrowers earning $125,000 or less, and up to $20,000 for borrowers who had received Pell Grants while in school, the Supreme Court agreed. They ruled that the Department of Education needed Congressional approval first because the law did not give it unilateral permission to forgive debt in this manner.
The New Debt Relief Program
On Friday morning the Department of Education announced that $39 billion in federal student loans will be forgiven in the next few weeks. It is expected that over 800,000 borrowers will qualify and some have already received letters.
Unlike the Plan before the Supreme Court, this is an accounting review that was first announced in the spring of 2022 to fix errors of Income Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans. This is a one-time account adjustment for borrowers.
Process:
For some this will be an automatic process. If you are on IDR or have been in the past, many will see their accounts –
- Automatically adjusted
- If you are at the end of your repayment, you will receive loan forgiveness.
- If you still have time left on your loan, this will move you closer to the end of your repayment period.
- If you have more than the necessary number of required months required, you may receive a refund for overpayment.
If you are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Applicant, are a Borrowers with FFEL loans or ParentPlus loans, it may be necessary for you to take additional necessary steps.
- Certify your public service employment.
- Use the PSLF Help Tool if you believe it would be helpful.
- If you hold FFEL loans, CONSOLIDATE by the END OF THE YEAR
Review additional details at Federal StudentAid.
Right Now:
Haven’t received your forgiveness letter? Reviewed your IDR adjustment status and you still have years to pay? That’s okay. There are opportunities available right NOW.
You can fill out our Student Loan Intake Assessment to see if they are ones that we can help you with!
It is possible to:
- reduce your monthly student loan payment
- discharge student loans in bankruptcy
- end a wage garnishment
- find forgiveness avenues based on your career
- consolidate your loans