How much, how to get and what’s next for student loans

Have questions about student loan cancellation?

Here’s what you need to know.

Student loans

President Joe Biden has canceled nearly $ 10 billion in student loans for hundreds of thousands of student loan borrowers. Since taking office in January, Biden has taken strong action to cancel federal student loans through the US Department of Education. With the latest news on student loan cancellation, here are the answers to the most common questions about student loan cancellation and student loan cancellation:

1. How many student loan debts has Biden written off?

Since becoming president in January, Biden has canceled more student loan debt than any other president. This includes:

• $ 5.8 billion in student loans for student loan borrowers with total and permanent disabilities;
• $ 1.3 billion in student loan cancellations for 41,000 student borrowers in March;
• over $ 1.5 billion in student loans through the Borrower to Repayment process for nearly 92,000 student loan borrowers; and
• Another $ 1.1 billion in canceled student loans today thanks to borrowers’ defense against repayment.

In total, Biden canceled nearly $ 9.8 billion in student loans.

2. Which student loan borrowers can get a student loan discount?

Biden’s student loan cancellation focused on student loan borrowers with federal student loan debt. Biden adopted a targeted student loan cancellation for two groups of student loan borrowers, in particular. This includes student loan borrowers with total and permanent disabilities and student loan borrowers who have been misled by their college or university under the borrower’s defense against repayment rule. This student loan forgiveness is based on applicable law and is unrelated to a large-scale student loan forgiveness, which has been proposed to Congress.

3. How do I qualify for student loan cancellation?

Here’s how to qualify for the $ 9.8 billion student loan exemption.

4. How do I get a student loan forgiveness if I am not eligible for the Biden student loan forgiveness?

There are several ways to qualify for a student loan forgiveness. (Here are 3 things student loan cancellation means for your student loans). Among other student loan forgiveness programs, two popular choices are the public service loan forgiveness program or an income-based repayment plan. None of these programs offer immediate student loan cancellation, so be prepared to wait several years. You can get federal student loan forgiveness through the public service loan forgiveness program after making 120 monthly student loan payments (10 years) and fulfilling other requirements. You can get federal student loan forgiveness through an income-based repayment plan such as IBR, PAYE, REPAYE, and ICR after 20 years (undergraduate student loans) or 25 years (graduate student loans).

5. How to cancel your private student loans?

The student loan exemption is mainly available for federal student loans, which are issued by the federal government. Private student loans are issued by a private lender, so any possibility of student loan cancellation would be between you and your lender. Contact your lender or student loan officer to understand the student loan forgiveness options for your private loans based on your specific life situation. Biden or Congress are not expected to cancel private student loans.

6. Will Biden cancel more student loans?

Yes, Biden is expected to continue writing off more student loan debt. Expect Biden to enact more student loan cancellations under existing law, such as for totally and permanently incapacitated student loan borrowers and student loan borrowers under the defense rule. borrowers against repayment. Biden can also help improve student loan repayment and student loan forgiveness through income-based repayment and the civil service loan forgiveness program, for example, so that more borrowers can student loans have access to the cancellation of their student loan. (Here’s what Biden’s student loan cancellation means for your student loans).

7. Will Biden cancel everyone’s student loans?

Student loan cancellation can help student loan borrowers, but that doesn’t mean Biden will cancel everyone’s student loans. Biden backs $ 10,000 student loan cancellation for student loan borrowers, but wants Congress to pass legislation to cancel student loans. (Canceling the student loan has become a priority at Capitol Hill). To date, Biden has not enacted large-scale student loan cancellation and does not believe he has the existing legal authority to do so. This is squarely at odds with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who say Biden has the existing legal authority to cancel student loans through ‘a decree. Warren and Schumer refer to the Higher Education Act of 1965, which they claim grants the President (through the US Secretary of Education) unlimited right to cancel student loans for all student loan borrowers. . Despite their legal argument, Biden – a former U.S. senator with a law degree – was not swayed and instead focused on targeted student loan cancellation.

8. Should I stop paying student loans?

Should we stop paying student loans? This is a question that student loan borrowers ask themselves, especially in the context of a student loan cancellation. For example, some student loan borrowers think student loans are unfair and too expensive. Until Biden enacted the cancellation of the student loan, they decided to stop paying their student loans. Is it a good idea? No. Seriously, don’t stop paying your student loans because you are waiting for your student loan cancellation because student loan cancellation may never happen. When you borrowed student loans, you signed a principal promissory note, which includes a legal commitment to repay your student loans on the terms and conditions you agreed to. Don’t just stop paying off your student loans. Instead, contact your student loan officer to discuss potential solutions. For example, if you lost your job or suffered a drop in income, you might be eligible for a monthly payment for your federal student loans as low as $ 0 per month. By contacting your student loan manager, you can assess your options, which are likely better than non-payment, which could also negatively impact your credit score.

9. Does Student Loan Relief Really End in January?

Yes, student loan relief is scheduled to end on January 31, 2022. Biden has twice extended student loan relief, following two extensions by President Donald Trump, after Congress passed the Cares Act , a $ 2.2 trillion stimulus package, in March 2020. During this period, which will total more than 22 months, student loan borrowers have not been required to pay federal student loans, no new interest has not been accrued on their federal student loans and there has been no collection of delinquent student loans. As of February 1, this temporary student loan forbearance will end and student loan borrowers will begin making federal student loan payments at their usual interest rate. If you include the $ 60 billion in student loan cancellations from Covid-19 student loan relief, then Biden has written off nearly $ 70 billion in student loans.

Will your student loans be canceled? There are many ways to get student loan forgiveness, but it’s more difficult to get student loan cancellation in advance unless you qualify for an existing federal program. Immediate student loan cancellation is unlikely to be available to all, or even most, student loan borrowers. If you have student loans, here are some popular ways to save money:

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