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Borrowers should research Student Loan Forgiveness options
May 27, 2021
Student Loan Forgiveness is trending topic both online and in offline conversations. One look at the student loan statistics and you can see why that could be the case with about 44.7 million people owing about 1.7 trillion dollars in student loans.
As Congress and federal officials debate student loan forgiveness programs, students should research current loan forgiveness programs to make sure they take advantage of any for which they could be eligible.
The current federal loan forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge programs include the following:
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Teacher Loan Forgiveness
- Closed School Discharge
- Perkins Loan Cancellation and Discharge
- Discharge Due to Death
- Total and Permanent Disability Discharge
- Bankruptcy Discharge (very rare)
- False Certification
- Unpaid Refund Discharge
- Parent PLUS Loan Discharge
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), which is probably the most widely used student loan forgiveness program, and to be eligible for forgiveness you must make 120 eligible payments on eligible loans while working for an eligible employer. While the basic rules are simple, it is important to review understand the details to maintain eligibility.
In addition to the federal forgiveness programs, there are other programs available to borrowers, including some state-based programs, programs for the military, and those based on specific careers or employment.
Finally, many employers are stepping up and providing student loan repayment assistance to their employees. While it is not a student loan forgiveness program, it is a great program which helps employees with student loan debt and helps the companies, which offer the program, retain valuable talent.
If a borrower is having trouble with student loan payments or wants to determine if they are eligible for student loan forgiveness, they should contact their loan servicer. Students who don't know who their loan servicer is can call 1-800-433-3243 or sign in to StudentAid.gov.
Counselors and professional wanting to learn more about student loans may be interested in a Student Loan Counseling Bootcamp offered by The Institute for Student Loan Advisors.