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Department of Ed Proposes Cutting Income-Driven Payments in Half

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) proposed regulations to reduce the cost of federal student loan payments, especially for low and middle-income borrowers. The regulations fulfill the commitment President Biden laid out in August when he announced his Administration’s plan to provide student debt relief for approximately 40 million borrowers and make the student loan …

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CFPB Vomits On Student Loan Programs Both Private and Federal

CFPB Vomits On Student Loan Programs Both Private and Federal

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published information in the Federal Register today that shows how screwed up student loan programs are. The data and facts released are enough to make you give up hope the student loan programs can ever be fixed. Indeed not fixed with one-time forgiveness. I will do my best to summarize …

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Bankruptcy Judge Says REPAYE is a Hopeless Strategy

A recent opinion written by United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge Somers is a fascinating read. The bankruptcy judge excoriates the student loan position the government has held that student loans should not be discharged in bankruptcy. Of course, even that position goes against previous Department of Education advice that some federal student loans should be …

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Almost Nobody Has Has Their Student Loans Forgiven Under an Income-Driven Repayment Plan

A couple of weeks ago Rodger asked me how many people have actually completed an Income-Based Repayment plan. I didn’t know the answer so I went and asked the Department of Education and surprisingly they got back to me relatively quickly. Don’t Be Shocked As of January 27, 2020, there have been 19 people that …

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Federal Student Loan Program – “An Outrage”

Last month, Adam Looney of the Brookings Institution released a paper that is chock full of ideas for fixing the federal student-loan program. Looney began his paper with a withering condemnation of the program in its present form, which he accurately described as an outrage. I am quoting his critique verbatim, just putting his words …

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How Can I Avoid a Big Tax Bill in 25 Years on Forgiven Federal Student Loans?

Question: Dear Steve, I am paying the minimal payment for the REPAYE payment plan to the federal government. My yearly pay is merely 12 K per year. My debt is 100 K with all of the interest added. If my student debt should be erased in 27 years, how will that impact my taxes when …

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Alternative Repayment Plan – The Little Known Federal Student Loan Plan When All Else Fails

For individuals struggling to repay their federal student loans and think the only repayment options are a Graduated Repayment Plan, Extended Repayment Plan, Revised Pay As You Earn, REPAYE, Pay As You Earn, PAYE, Income Based Repayment Plan, IBR, Income Contingent Repayment Plan, ICR, or Income Sensitive Repayment Plan. For Direct Loans there is also …

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Income-Driven Repayment Plans for Managing Crushing Levels of Student-Loan Debt: Financial Suicide

By the end of his first term in office, President Obama knew the federal student loan program was out of control. Default rates were up and millions of student borrowers had put their loans into forbearance or deferment because they were unable to make their monthly payments. Then in 2013, early in Obama’s second term, …

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