Student loan debt is a crushing weight many Americans are currently facing. Fortunately, help is on the way $8.1 Billion worth of help is on the way. See how to qualify for student loan forgiveness.
There has been $8.1 billion of student loan forgiveness approved by the U.S Department of Education (DOE) for public servants, since October of 2021, according to the Wall Street Journal. For any student loan borrower, this is a huge deal. Many students have struggled to receive student loan cancellation from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
The US DOE has canceled $6 billion in student loans for 200,000 student loan borrowers, according to Forbes. Those seeking student loan forgiveness need to learn the requirements to qualify.
Qualifying for these students requires that you follow these seven steps according to the student loan forgiveness program:
- Working Full-Time | To qualify for the loan forgiveness, you must work full-time, which is at least a 30-hour work-week, for a qualified public service or non-profit employer. If you do not work one of these jobs and want loan forgiveness, consider switching careers or workplaces.
- Employer Certification Form | You must complete an Employer Certification Form, then submit this form to the US DOE.
- Verify You Have Direct Student Loans | Having Direct Student Loans is a requirement, so make sure you have one. To do this log in to Federal Student Aid and verify what type of federal student loans you acquired.
- Consolidation of Student Loans | Having federal student loans such as Perkins Loans or FFELP Loans, are not considered Direct Loans. You can still however consolidate your federal student loans to get a Direct Loan. To do this Contact your student loan servicer to consolidate your existing federal student loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan.
- Income-Driven Repayment Plan | You should enroll in an income-driven repayment plan. There are four main income-driven repayment plans: Income-Based Repayment (ICR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR).
- Student Loan Payments | You must make 120 monthly student loan payments. The majority of your student loan payments must be made while you are still enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan.
- Student Loan Forgiveness | Get student loan forgiveness on your remaining federal student loan balance.
Biden’s administration has already canceled $25 billion of student loans, and will soon be changing the framework of these loans according to Forbes. There is hope for those who were previously denied forgiveness as the US DOE is implementing a one-time limited waiver, enabling borrowers to get credit for student loans that previously did not qualify for debt forgiveness, these will even count towards the 120 monthly student loan repayment quota, such as:
- Late student loan payments
- Partial student loan payments
- Payments made under wrong loan repayment programs
No need to apply for a limited-time waiver is required, as it will be updated to your account to reflect additional student loan payments, according to US DOE. Approximately 9 million student loan borrowers qualify for student loan cancellation through the public service loan forgiveness program. Only 15% of these borrowers have filled out the paperwork and applied. Many of these borrowers are awaiting Biden to make a decision for this student loan cancellation that will affect millions, however. Examples of this could look like $10,000 of student loans to $50,000 of student loans could be qualified for cancellation. However, due to inflation as a big concern, Biden could forgo or change the amount.
There is, however, temporary student loan relief scheduled to end on August 31, 2022, which means student loan payments for federal student loans will restart at the beginning of September 1, according to US DOE. Preparation in this situation is key if you want your student debt canceled. To save money and pay off student loans, here are some suggestions given by Forbes:
- Student loan refinancing (lower interest rate + lower payment)
- Income-driven repayment (lower payment)
- Student loan forgiveness (federal student loans)
Student loan debt forgiveness is something that will free many of the financial burdens our education system has put on Americans. Follow this guide and see if you could be one of the millions to qualify.
