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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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. …