Since becoming president this January 2021, President Joe Biden has cancelled about $3 billion of student loans:
According to reports these student loan borrowers get student loan cancellations based on borrower defense to repayment. Borrower defense to repayment is a federal regulation that began under the Obama administration that allows you to get student loan cancellation if you were misled or defrauded by your college or university. Borrower defense applies to federal student loans only.
If your debt did not get cancelled don’t fret , the news said that Biden will extend student loan relief beyond September 30, 2021 or after the pandemic is over. But there are debates on when the pandemic is really over and so there are talks on options on how to give relief to an uncancelled student loan.
Meanwhile here are 4 options you can take to manage your student loan debt if you are struggling right now for payments:
Income-Driven Repayment Programs
What's Inside
There are different types of income-driven repayment choices that may help to manage your monthly federal student loan payments like the following
- Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE Plan)
- Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan)
- Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan)
- Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan)
You might not know but you could be eligible for one or more of these payment choices depending on the types of student loans you have, your family size, your income, and certain other factors.
Under these income-driven repayment plans, any remaining loan balance may be forgiven at the end of the payment period. Payment periods vary depending on the payment option you enroll in, but typically range between 20-25 years.
A financial professional may help you to determine which of these income-driven repayment choices you might be eligible for.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Certain federal loans may be forgiven after 10 years of qualifying payments if you take a job with federal, state, or local government; a non-profit; or certain other public service organizations.
Volunteer
If you volunteer to goverment programs it could ease up on your loan payments. You can sign up for AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and the military, in which service may accrue a benefit that reduces an outstanding loan balance in an amount that varies depending upon the program. Just ask around who knows what you may stumble upon.
Pre-Pay Principal
Did you know that you have the option to do a Pre-payment of principal . This may help lower the lifetime interest costs of a loan. To raise cash to fund pre-payments, one idea is to ask that birthday and holiday gifts be cash to put toward pre-payments. Another way you can do is to direct any raises, bonuses or overtime pay to pre-payments. If you do pre-pay principal, be sure to target the loans with the highest rate of interest.
Loan Consolidation
There are wats you can consolidate your federal loans through the Direct Loan program, or through a private lender if you have private loans. Ask your lender However, this may only make sense if you can obtain an overall lower interest rate. If not then find or try other options available.
There are all suggestions I picked up here and there. I am not a professional in this matter. Please make sure to consult with a qualified financial professional who knows all these things about debt consolidation and other ways you can manage your debts. There are many ways you just have to find it. I know these are trying times but one day you will be able to pay all your debts.
If you are planning to get a student loan this year , you may check this out for options and computations.
