You Got a Sweet Deal on Student Loans From Biden

Quick Answer: Biden’s administration has approved $25 billion in student loan forgiveness and announced up to $20,000 in debt cancellation per borrower. The new income-based repayment plan requires only 5% of income over $33,000, with borrowers expected to repay just 50 cents per dollar borrowed on average.College debtors definitely have a friend in President Biden.  …

Read more

Federal Student Loans Are Broken: Myth vs Reality

Quick Answer: Federal student loans are indeed broken, as confirmed by a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report documenting widespread mismanagement. Key issues include colleges withholding transcripts from indebted students and loan servicers improperly kicking borrowers out of income-driven repayment plans due to administrative errors.The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines snafu as “a situation marked by errors or confusion.” The …

Read more

Student Loan Forbearance Relief: Myth vs Reality

Quick Answer: The Department of Education’s forbearance relief addresses historical administrative failures by providing immediate debt cancellation for at least 40,000 PSLF borrowers and giving over 3.6 million borrowers additional credit toward income-driven repayment forgiveness. These changes remedy years of mismanagement that previously denied eligible borrowers access to loan forgiveness programs.The Department of Education announced …

Read more

Student Loan Repayment Help: Who to Contact

Quick Answer: For federal student loan repayment issues, contact the Department of Education for loan rehabilitation or consolidation programs to stop Social Security garnishment. When payments only cover accrued interest without reducing principal, borrowers can consolidate defaulted loans or enter rehabilitation programs to access Income-Driven Repayment plans with potentially zero-dollar monthly payments.Question:Dear Steve,I took a …

Read more

Income-Based Repayment Plans: Myth vs Reality

Quick Answer: Income-driven repayment plans allow 8.1 million borrowers to make payments based on income rather than loan amount, but virtually none will pay off their debt due to low payments that don’t cover accrued interest. The Department of Education has essentially written off about one-third of the $1.5 trillion in outstanding student loans.Congress has …

Read more

Student Loan Bankruptcy: IDR Plans Can’t Block

Quick Answer: Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans cannot automatically prevent student loan discharge in bankruptcy, according to multiple court rulings including a 2003 case. Courts have found undue hardship exists even when IDR payments would be $0, as availability of payment plans is just one factor in determining discharge eligibility.Here is another bankruptcy case from 2003 …

Read more