The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just published a report examining Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) programs and how they are being managed. The findings are not encouraging. The Department of Education approved forgiveness for a total of 157 loans under Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans as of June 1, 2021, but has not taken the steps necessary … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have been making my student loan (IBR) payments during the forbearance period believing that I was still employed part-time and not in grave need. I know the principle has been reduced during this time, but, frankly, my student loan of over $125,000 will be there until I am 90 years old, … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I read your article on repayment plans, and it was fascinating. My Fed loans were taken out before 2014. Can you please let me know how many people have completed the Income-Based Repayment Plan using only the IBR I am eligible for? I believe it started in 2009, and if I am … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have been trying to find out how many people have actually completed an Income-Based Repayment plan because the Dept of Education always argues this in an adversary proceeding. Any idea on how many people there are who have actually completed it? Rodger Answer: Dear Rodger, Nobody. Nada. Zilch, Zero. The Income-Based … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, In 1995 I took out a loan at Devry. 17,000 of unsubsidized and 17,000 of subsidized totalling 34,000 dollars. After Y2K companies didn’t need as many programmers as they suspected, which left me high and dry. I just couldn’t afford to pay down my load with Sallie Mae being unemployed. Plus, Sallie … Read more
A long implemented trick by some student loan assistance companies has been to tell consumers they can inflate the number of people they support in order to reduce the monthly payment on Income-Drive Repayment (IDR) Plans. Consumers have reported and I’ve covered stories where sales representatives of student loan assistance companies, sometimes pretending to be … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I’ve accrued ~$450,000 of student loan debt in the pursuit of getting a PhD in engineering. My payments are around $4500 per month minimum from both private and federal loans. I can’t keep up with the payments, I’m slowly sinking into not being able to pay anything even though I have a … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, My prison pen pal has been incarcerated since 1998, and will probably serve another 6 years. He took out Perkins Loans and a private college loan for the one year he was in college before he was incarcerated. He wants to know the status of these loans and/or how to get them … Read more
Vicky Jo Metz borrowed $16,613 back in the 1990s to attend a community college, but she never got a degree. Over the years, she filed for bankruptcy three times, but she continued making payments on her student loans under court-approved repayment plans. In fact, she paid almost 90 percent of what she originally borrowed. Nevertheless, … Read more
Steve Rhode posted an essay yesterday titled “Make Sure You Die Before Your Parent Plus and Federal Student Loans Are Forgiven.” As Mr. Rhode explained, the federal government cancels all unpaid student loans owed by debtors who die before their loans are repaid. The canceled debt is not a burden on the deceased debtor’s estate. … Read more
Sandy Baum published a short essay yesterday in the Chronicle of Higher Education titled “Don’t Get Rid of the Income-Based Loan Repayment System. Fix It.” As she said in her essay, the federal student-loan repayment system as it now stands is “broken and at risk of collapsing.” I have a few reservations about Ms. Baum’s … Read more
Perhaps you read Josh Mitchell’s story in the Wall Street Journal about Mike Meru, who took out $600,000 in student loans to go to dental school at University of Southern California. Due to fees and accrued interest, Meru now owes $1 million. How did that work out for Dr. Meru? Not too bad actually. He’s … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I owe 58,000 in school loans and do not have a degree. I’m a single mom making 30,000 a year plus child support. I cannot buy a house bc of my debt to income ratio. I’m on an income based repayment plan now which with a dependent I pay nothing, but interest … Read more
Question: I am currently in a massive amount of debt. I currently make 52k a year before taxes and my wife is currently unemployed. I have around $50k in private student loan debt that I have been paying for the past 6 years. I am currently 6 months behind on payments for these loans. I … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have like 150k in loans, most federal but about 30k private, I My degree was worthless, fine art. I sure wish I never went to graduate school, but thought it would lead to a college job, thanks 2008. I’ve been putting the loans off for 10 years now. making some payments … Read more