Student Loan Forgiveness - Big Changes are Coming!

student loan forgiveness

The total amount of all student loan debt is almost $1 TRILLION dollars! That's an average of about $25,000 per loan or about 40 Million loans!  With our economy in a recession for the last few years, many of these loans are in default.

 

The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 or H.R. 4170, has been introduced in congress by Rep. Hansen Clark.  If this passes, how will it affect you and your student loan?

 BANKRUPTCY WILL NOT HELP!

The bill, introduced in March would create a new "10-10 standard" for student loan forgiveness:

  • If you make payments equal to 10% of your discretionary income (take home pay) for 10 years, the remaining balance of your federal (not private) student loan would be forgiven.
  • If you have been making payments on your federal student loans, your repayment period would likely be shorter than 10 years.  In other words, the amount you have already paid on your student loans over the past 10 years would be credited toward meeting the "10-10 standard".
  • The bill would also cap interest rates on federal student loans at 3.4%
  • The bill would allow private student loans to be converted to federal Direct Loans, and then enrolling their new federal loans into the 10/10 program.
  • If you enter a public service profession like teaching, firefighting, law enforcement, etc., you would qualify for a 5 year Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program!

If you currently have a Federal Student Loan, there is little you can do but keep paying.  However, if you are unemployed or have a reasonable financial hardship, you may qualify for a DEFERMENT.

If you have a PRIVATELY FUNDED STUDENT LOAN, you may qualify for a settlement or forgivenss of 50% or more. 

To learn more, CLICK HERE.

 

 

 

Tags: debt forgiveness, student loan forgiveness, deferment