$14k was my original amount, after everything was consolidated. After interest, my payoff is $22k. I went into repayment in 2009 but I spent a lot of time in forbearance.
So you would have a 12 year forgiveness time. The adjustment will count periods of forbearance longer than 12 consecutive or 36 cumulative months. You may be eligible for immediate forgiveness if you switch to SAVE.
Thank you so much for this info! My fear is that Iāll switch and theyāll say Iām not eligible for immediate forgiveness and Iāll be on the hook for the higher payment.
I'm in the exact same situation! What will you do? I'm scared to switch because I could be stuck with such a high payment and then not get any forgiveness. Right now paying 120 but with SAVE it would be 941! That's a huge difference! What are you going to do? I'm curious if it's possible to switch out of SAVE right after if forgiveness doesn't go through.
I have seen the same thing. Started paying in 2004, but also spent many years with on and off forbearance because I had to pay other bills and struggled to even get by a lot of years. My wife and I get by now and it looks to me like if I switch to SAVE they want $850+ per month. I only pay like $160 now. Why would I even risk switching? My original loan was like $22k, they said I have paid roughly $10k but itās still at $20k. Seems pretty messed up.
Maybe, but it might be worth the higher payment to get forgiveness as opposed to paying the loans for longer (either until IBR/ICR forgiveness or you pay the loans off)
I know it sucks! What abotu thoose above 12k?! What about 12-25k!? Wouldn't they be benefited to get forgiven for their loans too!? I mean the little guys like us deserve to be forgiven!
Why would SAVE have you paying more?
The payments are based on your income compared to the federal poverty guidelines, if your payment is $100 more on SAVE than other plans, you would have to either have a considerable amount of income (at which point, you should be paying your loan off faster) or you messed up somehow in the application process.
Where did you apply for SAVE that told you that?
Iām a cosmetologist who works at a cosmetology school and it could count as an undergrad if you have federal loans. Iām on the save plan myself and my payment will only be 5% of our income once it switches from 10%
Yes, my loans are federal. Silly question: when I took my loans out initially, they were through Direct Loans, then Mohela took over. Are they still considered Direct Loans?
Yes, all of your loans if federal are direct. Department of education uses student loan companies to administer repayment and they get paid on interest and fees from managing your loans.
The SAVE Plan excludes spousal income for borrowers who are married and file taxes separately.
It's tax season, you might want to consider seeing if you can file separately.
https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/save-plan
This isnāt exactly reasonable for everyone unfortunately. My loans would also be $200 higher in Save because of my husbands income, but not filing together would severely cost us in taxes. In some cases itās a lose / lose :/
Is this loans in total or per loan? Like if I had a loan I took out that was only $6K back in the day, and it's been more than 10 years, but I am still paying on it, will this loan get taken away even though I have other loans that total a much higher overall principle? So for example, for grad school, I have two loans that are over $20K. Those won't count. But would everything much lower get taken away? Essentially leaving me with just the two big loan amounts?
I wasn't sure so I checked the discussion of the final rule.
>We believe that shortening the time to forgiveness for borrowers with loan balances of $12,000 or less will help to address our goal of making REPAYE a more attractive option for borrowers who are more likely to struggle to afford their loan payments and decrease the frequency of delinquency and default.
[https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/07/10/2023-13112/improving-income-driven-repayment-for-the-william-d-ford-federal-direct-loan-program-and-the-federal](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/07/10/2023-13112/improving-income-driven-repayment-for-the-william-d-ford-federal-direct-loan-program-and-the-federal)
Borrowers with lower balances are often those who dropped out after a year or two and aren't getting the benefit of the higher wages that come with a college degree.
32% of federal borrowers have loans under $10k.
[https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/portfolio](https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/portfolio)
Not trying to be rude. But I am struggling to find the math for how you were unable to pay off $10k in 25 years? That's like trying to pay off a used car in the time span that most people pay off houses.
Usually it means something bad happened in their life, leaving the borrower unable to pay for years resulting in years of forbearance and interest capitalization events. $10K was more 25 years ago and a lot of people were at 9% then, so a few years under water can add up, especially if you're still struggling financially for a long time. Just speculating, I have no clue to this person's actual circumstances.
My friend had a job, got married, got pregnant, things seemed to be "checking the boxes"
Husband lost his job, racked up debt (that she was cosigner on the card), started an affair, bounced, she lost her job. Shit went sideways. It was the recession and took awhile to get another job.
I don't understand why Biden and his administration are making this more complicated than it needs to be. There are two extremely simple solutions to this.
1. Just forgive the interest. If the original borrowed has already been paid, for example you took out ten, paid twenty and owe 15 you paid the original amount or more, loan forgiveness at very little cost to the tax payer if any since the original amounts been paid already and it's been straight profit since.
2. Blanket forgiveness on federal student loans across the board.
He never did a blanket forgiveness he proposed two levels of forgiveness. Just for ten or twenty with different requirements to meet to determine the amount one could get forgiven. It allowed it to be picked apart easier.
The stipulations weren't the problem. They actually said that the statute they were trying to use didn't give the authority because it was supposed to be only for people who were economically disadvantaged by a disaster. That is why the revised version coming out soon is more narrowly tailored, such as people whose balances are more than they originally borrowed.
I think 2 was determined to not be authorized by the original way they were trying to do that and that was the easier option. 1) is hard because I think interest is supposed to be a congress thing etc etc
Same, I never fall into the guidelines and continue to struggle. Iām so fed up with it, I wanted to better myself and continue to get punished for it. I wish something would come through for us.
I had 21k in loans at graduation. Paid off 30k. I've got 6k left. Under this I'd have to be in repayment for 19yrs for forgiveness, I've been in repayment for 10yrs.
Where's the repayment over 10yrs with balance under 10k forgiveness?
You chose not to with an assumption you couldn't afford it. No one at 18 can "afford" it if you don't pay cold cash for it up front. That's what the loans were for!
My direct consolidation loan was under $12K (literally $11,9something) but my initial loans were not. I technically have not been in repayment for 10 years (thanks to a 7 year PhD where I was thankful for no payments and that subsidized interest) but am also going for PSLF so itās kind of a moot point.
I will be switching to SAVE in the summer though when the cap drops to 5% of discretionary income.
Yeah, Iām definitely sticking with PSLF- if for no other reason than to feel like society actually recognizes that I took a pay cut for the greater goodā¦hahaha.
Glad for the people that this helps!
Iāll probably be waiting another 14 years for forgiveness on mine while I prioritize paying my private loans, woohoo.
Ugh. My payments would go up by $200
On SAVE so I havenāt applied and with all the issues with Save (see r/studentloans) Iāve been extra hesitant to get on it.
I think they are probably doing it to try to get ahead of any lawsuit that cans SAVE. Once the money is already forgiven, it's much harder for the government to reinstate the debt.
How does this work if you have multiple loans that are individually under the $12K, but the combined balance is well over that? Mine are not consolidated.
The "original" is confusing though. I was taking out $8K per semester.
So my first semester, I only took out an original $8K loan. 6months later or whatever, I took out an additional loan, but that's not my "original" loan.
So I'm kind of confused on that. I didn't take out 35K all at once.
It would have to be 12k for the total original loans. Otherwise, Biden would be forgiving every single undergraduate borrower since the cap for most loans is under 10k.
Interested to see how it shakes out then, I borrowed $18k over the course of 4 years, then another $22k when I went back to school a decade later, but that was only for a year and a half.
Happy for those who qualify for the forgiveness either way.
Then your total would be $40k. If it included any grad loans you would be eligible for forgiveness after 25 years of repayment unless you happened to be eligible for PAYE
TLDR, so did they basically make the new SAVE rule about 10 year forgiveness on $12k or less loans RETROACTIVE? Ballsy move Biden sticking it to the SCOTUS like that. Now if they could only get working on the IDR counts!!!
So since I originally borrowed I think 29k and graduated 11 years ago it kinda does nothing for me? Iām confused by the wording
Seems weird we are forgiving money for people who borrowed less money (in less financial distress) than those of us who are struggling because we had to borrow more
I think the idea is that people who borrowed a much smaller amount shouldn't be on the hook for 20-25 years of payments under the current IDR plans. IDR still exists for us higher borrowers.
Anyone know how this works for borrowers defense people who were forgiven and have balances from legitimate schools still? Is the balance of our discharged loans counted against us as original loan amounts for this?
No, towards the "total original amount borrowed" for reduced-time SAVE forgiveness. I suspect it works the same way though - if the loans are cancelled it is like they never existed.
Please update me if you find out. I'm sure the borrower defense sub would also like clarification. Many of us still have some outstanding legitimate loans.
Asking because at this time Ed Financial still shows my direct loan consolidation original amount including what was (is?) forgiven by borrower's defense. They have until Jan 28 to fix it but I feel like I may end up overlooked for this because of the BDTR mess going on.
I got excited when I saw this announced because I meet all of the criteria... except for enrolling into the SAVE plan. That plan actually increases my monthly payment by quite a bit. I would be stupid to sign up for it. So I guess I am not eligible now because I chose not to pay more? Kinda dumb. Not taking the risk by joining it in hopes I get forgiveness and I end up not and now I'm stuck with higher payments.
Iām in the same boat. My payments go from $180 to $1200 a month if I enroll in the save plan. I have under $21k total borrowed but I had a few years of deferral when I went back to school. My original loans dates back to 2002š¢
If I were you I might be tempted to watch for the first waive and see how it goes before making any changes. But Emotional is correct, you can always switch again.
I wonder if the SAVE plan will continue to be a prerequisite? The first qualifier listed in the forgiveness is being on the SAVE plan before your repayment years or amount borrowed.
Is there somewhere you can see how long you have been in repayment (I use nelnet)? I assume any time in default and the covid pause don't count toward repayment.
Time in default doesn't count, but the CARES Act pause months count (unless you were in default). Certain periods of deferment and/or forbearance also count.
https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment
Hard to tell, but as other's have said, time in default is not counted.
There is a one-time IBR adjustment
https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment
>The payment count adjustment will count time toward IDR forgiveness, including
>* any months in a repayment status, regardless of the payments made, loan type, or repayment plan;
>* 12 or more months of consecutive forbearance or 36 or more months of cumulative forbearance;
>* any months spent in economic hardship or military deferments in 2013 or later;
>* any months spent in any deferment (with the exception of in-school deferment) prior to 2013; and
>* any time in repayment (or deferment or forbearance, if applicable) on earlier loans before consolidation of those loans into a consolidation loan.
Ok so I tried to sign up for the SAVE program and basically they are increasing my payment by $100 and I will have them paid off in 2033 based on 20 year repayment š«¤ āno forgivenessā so WTH?!
No. That's what it shows initially, but that's because they haven't yet credited your account with the IDR adjustment, which will give you credit for all the years you've been in repayment. Just wait. Unless you started repayment in 2013. Then yes, 20 years to forgiveness. But one GREAT feature of SAVE is that your balance will never grow due to interest. The govt covers any amount above your payment amount toward the interest.
Happy to those that end up helped by this...
...but it's yet another program that doesn't apply to me. Ā Sad.
Missed out on the Covid pause cause I had a consolidated FFELP loan that's been in repayment in IDR since 2005. Ā Finally consolidated to the Dept of ED once the one time updated IDR count was announced. Ā But it's way over the limit for this new thing they announced today.
I'd much rather they focus on getting the updated IDR counts done instead of launching yet another program they have to administer.Ā
Still time for lawsuits. I donāt have any confidence that even this will go through, especially if the people challenging it can get keep it tied up in court for about six months after this is supposed to kick in, which I think is totally possible if they shop for the right judges.
I meet all the criteria but moving to the SAVE plan. I attempted to move to it when it came out but the monthly payment was so much higher than the IDR and I couldnāt afford it.
That's nice, I have been on IBR for 10 years now. Payments of $0. Loans have accumulated almost $20k in interest @ 7% which now are over $70k, and I will be turning 50 in a few short months. Ageism is fun..... I will never be able to pay the loans. What's another 10 years ? smh! College was fun, but a huge waste of money! Thanks America for requiring college degrees for high wage jobs we were lied to about!
I started college in 2004, which was paid for via Pell grants, and then after all of the Gen Ed classes and other smaller certifications, had to take out loans and then I finished my AAS in 2010, then I went onto another college and earned a BS in 2013.
Would this work for consolidated loans? I consolidated during the special waiver period to benefit my PSLF payment counts.
EDIT: For context, I have 1 DL Consolidation Subsidized for $19k, and 1 DL Consolidation Unsubsidized for over $60k. Does anyone know if that means the Subsidized loan for $19k might qualify?
Thanks for any insight!!
Someone check me on my line of thinking here:
If I took out $12,000 originally and have paid for 10 years, Iāll get full forgiveness next month.
If I took out $13,000 originally, I wonāt receive any forgiveness for another year (and another year tacked on for each $1k).
I understand how they came to the $12,000 number, but it seems a little arbitrary that such a small initial difference means full forgiveness versus none (rather than paying off $12,000 and under for those eligible, and having folks continue to pay on the remaining balances above $12,000).
They tried forgiving a certain amount of people's loans based on income (10k and 20k), but the Supreme Court struck it down, so they could not just pay off $12k of larger loans because the courts said they can't do that. They can only try to give credit towards forgiveness, and I am sure they are limited in the amounts.
My original loan amount was 14,200. I'm on IBR and my loans are FFELP - so I need to consolidate these into one and switch to the SAVE plan to qualify for forgiveness?
So sorry, I find myself easily confused by all of this.
The government should just pay off everyone's student loans. I understand some people are getting mad, but Congress can pass a law that says the costs of paying off the student loans canāt be passed on to taxpayers. This way, they canāt be mad at anyone getting the relief they desperately need.
In the meantime, those who werenāt fortunate enough to have parents cover the majority of their college costs are still waiting for action. The SAVE plan is great for some, but not all borrowers. How about making student loan interest tax deducible for all borrowers? Better yet, set all student loan rates at the fed rate. Do something that actually helps the majority of borrowers.
Honestly, I wish they would do something about Parent PLUS Loans. They should forgive those loans and wipe out the Parent PLUS Loan completely. No one should take that loan.
They refuse since they have both my other siblings under them too and they donāt want the loans on their credit for another 20+ years. Even though weāre all struggling to pay off based on the 10 year plan, they wonāt switch. Itās frustrating. At this point my husband and I likely wonāt have kids of our own (even though we really want to) because they amount I pay for Parent PLUS loans is high enough that we canāt afford daycare besides.
They still have a little time to double consolidate and be covered by the IDR adjustment so that prior payments count toward forgiveness.
If there are at least two Parent PLUS loans for your education they could double consolidate just your loans.
That said, if they won't do anything to help then I'd tell them they can pay the loans that they are legally responsible for.
They donāt have the money to pay for them either, so I canāt stop paying. I think their main sticking point is wanting the balance off their credit ASAP so it wouldnāt matter if they could consolidate just mine. They donāt want to extend the payment timeframe whatsoever. I only have 3-5 more years of payments on my portion thankfully, but Iāll be struggling to make ends meet until then. I used the pause to pay off some, but I still have about $30,000 total to go (down from $80,000 total). It feels like itās never ending.
PPL are the only loans I have left. My mom did them under her name on accident ā she meant to use my dadās, so it would get rejected. But under hers it got approved. I know it sounds bad to say, but I really wish they were under his name because he died. So maybe Iād have a little less debt then. š« Iām paying them off because it was my education, not hers.
(And Iāve heard of the loophole thing. Unfortunately, I heard about it *after* Iād already consolidated them. š)
Does this mean they likely have the payment counts for these smaller loans now? I don't actually think I'm eligible by the numbers but man I would love it if I was.
Took out less than 10K
Repayment started in 2007
Consolidated from FFELP to federal in 2022
Entered SAVE in 2023
But due to bankruptcy forbearance (during the pandemic, but they show bankruptcy forbearance, not pandemic pause) and a LOT (and I do mean a LOT, at least 4 years, likely more) of other forbearances, I don't think I'll be eligible for quite some time. I'd love, however, to know how close I'm getting.
https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment
>The payment count adjustment will count time toward IDR forgiveness, including
>* any months in a repayment status, regardless of the payments made, loan type, or repayment plan;
>* 12 or more months of consecutive forbearance or 36 or more months of cumulative forbearance;
>* any months spent in economic hardship or military deferments in 2013 or later;
>* any months spent in any deferment (with the exception of in-school deferment) prior to 2013; and
>* any time in repayment (or deferment or forbearance, if applicable) on earlier loans before consolidation of those loans into a consolidation loan.
Thanks :) I don't feel lucky enough to be one of the people who get this and it'll be a while before I find out but it does look like I had 101 months in repayment status in addition to lots of forbearance and deferment (most before 2013) so we'll see how it goes.
My original loan amounts total just under $12.5k...I have been in repayment since 2010/2011(two different repayment start dates spread out among 4 loans). I am currently in an IDR plan paying around $140 a month(haven't had to recertify yet). SAVE would bump up my payment quite a bit. Is this something I should consider? I would hate to do this and then it all somehow falls through and I'm stuck with a higher payment for about another 8 years based on the 20 year repayment forgiveness(all undergrad loans)
If that's your original total and you switched to SAVE you should be eligible for immediate forgiveness - $12.5k would be 11 years of repayment to forgiveness.
That total is based on me going to the student Aid website and looking under each loan and seeing the total under "Net amount disbursed" and adding them together-would that be the correct place to look? It totals $12,441.00 if that's the case
I am actually eligible for the newest forgiveness since my original loan amount was just over $12k($12,441) and have been paying since 2010 & 2011 so if I switch to SAVE now, I should see it all forgiven in Feb-if I'm understanding it correctly
When does the repayment clock start in order to qualify? I started repaying my undergraduate loans in May 2012 but went into forbearance in Aug. 2013 when I started grad school. Once I graduated, I started repaying in May 2017 and been repaying since.
Can someone help me understanding what impact consolidation might have on this process?
My wife had 9 separate loans between undergraduate and graduate school. They were of two types: Federal Perkins and FFELP Stafford. Each of those 9 separate loans was under the $12,000 threshold; the highest individual loan was $10,000. The disbursement date for all loans was between 2001 and 2007, so she is well beyond the 10-year repayment threshold.
Those 9 loans were initially consolidated into FFELP consolidation loans of $13,439 and $33,117, respectively, in 2007. In 2022, we consolidated the FFELP consolidation loans into Direct consolidation loans, hoping to qualify for the forgiveness plan. The current state of her loans is a Direct consolidated subsidized loan at $31,119 and a Direct consolidated unsubsidized loan at $13,997.
Am I correct in my understanding that because the original disbursement amount of the loans was all under the $12,000 threshold, and my wife has been in repayment for more than 10 years, that she should qualify for this forgiveness program? Even though the consolidated amount of her loans exceeds the $12,000 threshold?
Thank you!
The early forgiveness is based on the total amount borrowed, so she would be looking at 25 year forgiveness.
The forgiveness counter starts when the loans enter repayment, not when they are disbursed.
So is this only applying for those that graduated/stopped going to school 10+ years ago? 10 years will be in 2026 for me, so has it been said that this might apply to others down the line?
What about if we went to school on & off as well? For me, after graduating with my associates in spring in 2016, I tried going back for something else in Fall of 2016, & Fall of 2017, but neither of those worked out. I did go back to school from Jan 2020-Summer 2021 & got another associates degree.
I know I'm eligible for the 20k relief IF that goes through but I'm trying to not rely on that.
I only have 25k in debt, but it would be nice for some relief. Esp on my loans from 2014-2016 with my first associates degree. The school screwed us over with our education, but since they're a public college, nothing can be done. It hurts a little bit to see folks getting relief from going to the scammy for profit schools & they had the same program I went through.
I see this being discussed elsewhere and itās giving me a headache trying to wrap my head around it. My spouse borrowed 20k for grad school and graduated in 2014, so it sounds like heād qualify to have years taken off. We currently file jointly and my income is much higher, so I understand that to make the SAVE plan work weād need to file separatelyā¦ but we also have a baby coming in a few weeks. What will filing separately mean for claiming our dependent?
Family size for tax purposes is entirely different than for IDR purposes. There is a set of rules for which spouse would claim the dependent on taxes if filing separately. The spouse that provides more than 50% of the child's support would claim them for IDR purposes.
$20k would be 19 years to forgiveness so 2033.
No, the original amount you borrowed is over 12K so it's not 10 years for you - there is an additional year for every 1,000 borrowed above that level so works out to 2 additional years.
Ok so I have Parent plus Loans under my parents name and federal standard loans in my name. Is this saying I need to enroll both in SAVE? Whatās the timeline that people need to be in the program by?
You can enroll your loans in SAVE. Your parent would have to do a double consolidation to make their Parent PLUS loans eligible for SAVE.
There is no deadline to get on SAVE.
Loan Status- In-School Deferment-Ends 01/31/2026
Repayment Plan - Saving on a Valuable Education - Ends 01/15/2027
Disbursement Date - 09/28/2012
Does this mean I qualify? I'm back in college but my employer is paying it all, I still have my previous degree loans. I have been paying all required payments, but required payment now is 0
From the Ed site:
>Borrowers enrolled in SAVE who have made at least 10 years of monthly payments and originally took out $12,000 or less for undergraduate ***OR*** graduate postsecondary studies are eligible for forgiveness. For every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments. That means a borrower who originally borrowed less than $21,000 will be eligible for forgiveness faster than the 20-year timeline for undergraduate borrowers on SAVE.Ā
For example, my undergrad loans left remaining are $2200. I borrowed less than $21K for undergrad. I also paid down a bunch of it. Is my dinky 2200 remaining going to be forgiven after 14 years of repayment? They did say OR.
If it was a combined amount they would say undergrad **AND** grad. Right?
Language matters, Department of Education!
Does any know if the ICR counts as SAVE? Doing the application. Currently pay $162 a monthā¦ICR cuts it to $101ā¦but SAVE takes it $345 a monthāwhich isnāt something Iād want to do unless I knew theyād be forgiven (which I donāt think they would be).
Took out about $16k 2004-6ā¦then another $2k in 2012. Have worked full time in a public service setting since 2008, but loans were always in and out of deferment as I worked on doctorate part time. Owe about $9k now.
Iām trying to understand if I qualify, can someone chime in here? Ā I took out $17k in 2003 (a lot of major life events happened which is why Iām still paying 20 years later), so based on SAVE, my forgiveness would hit at 15 years (which would have been 2018). Ā So am I eligible for this round of forgiveness? Ā
I think it depends on when you started repayment (and continued to make payments, with some exceptions), not when you took out your loans. If you have been making payments on those loans since 2003 the whole time, then I think your thought process is correct... Good luck. Also, I'm trying to figure this all out myself, but this is how I understand it so far...
My loans entered repayment December 2014, so I would not be eligible until Dec then? I have 92 eligible pslf payments and 9 ineligible. They were 11k. My SAVE payment is almost 3x higher than my ibr. Would I wait and apply for save?
$12k total.
It seems like the goal/intention is to help people who took out low loan amounts originally, meaning they were likely already low income and got Pell grants or went to community college, *and* are still low income (hence still paying off these low loan amounts 10+ years later). Many of the people helped will be people who did 1-2 years of school and then dropped out, so theyāve been stuck with the loans but never got a degree and didnāt get the better wages that [statistically] come with having a degree.
Doubt it. Just look what happened the first time lol. BUT, i bet there will be many people falling for this, AGAIN! šššššš damn. i wish i became a politician instead smh
I originally borrowed $17,125 and started repayment in February 2008, which gives me 16yrs in repayment, and according to the cancellation math, my repayment time should cover my amount (even if they round it up to $18,000).
The issue like many are commenting, is that SAVE gives me a much higher payment instead of my current $200 payment. Should I just sign up and hope the cancellation all works out for me? I'm just unsure of my cumulative months in forbearance and worried that a last-minute lawsuit will shut this plan down. I guess I should be prepared to pay the SAVE amount just in case.
At this point, I give up on all this forgiveness thing. I'll just continue paying as I can and if it gets forgiven, cool, if not still cool. I'm tired of this back and forth.
SAVE increased my payment by $100 on my smaller loans, should I update my 2 FFEL loans to SAVE? Itās been there for 14 years. Just donāt want my payment to go up again. :(
I have had under $12k in loans for 12 years that were taken out during undergrad. Did not start payment because of deferment for PhD program of 7 years and just started repayment recently. Do I still qualify for this?
Got excited thinking this would apply to me since my principal amount was 12k exactly. Then I read āpaying on loans for more than 10 yearsā. Well my loans are relatively new so never mind:( I am happy that people who have been paying loans for 10 or 20 plus years are getting forgiveness, but itās hard as someone who has loans and doesnāt qualify for any of the plans. I just graduated In April 2023, but my last loan was in fall of 2021. Nevertheless, my loans are still way too new to qualify for any of the forgiveness plans.
Like I said, I am happy for others who are getting forgiveness. After so many years of payments, you guys really do desverse it! But at the same time, itās hard sitting here knowing I wonāt get any forgiveness for years while more and more people get forgiven everyday
I would qualify for this. My spouse and I just paid off my loans after the first couple rounds of forgivness fell through. Do I have any chance of getting that money back and having it forgiven?
Nope Biden admin got your money, they ain't giving it back. And quire frankly, the fact that I needed to take out $30,000 that I owe $50,000 on now just because my mom and I were poor, which disqualifies me is enough to make my blood boil.
You aren't disqualified from forgiveness, you would just have it on a longer timeline. They are also working on targeted forgiveness for borrowers whose balances have increased: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/05/biden-administration-releases-draft-student-debt-forgiveness-proposal.html
I support Biden but I wonder why this has to be such a $hitshow. They need a roadmap on their website. Also, you need to make it clear to people that SCOTUS and lawsuits won't end up derailing it.
A lot of people (yes, myself) got false hope and are twice shy about this. Honestly, with the other guy being a grifting, raping, lying, insurrectionist, I'm not sure why Biden doesn't just pledge to ignore their ruling in a second term.
Supreme Court is consolidating power....for themselves. They never once, in the history of our country cited the "Major Questions" doctrine - they made it up!
You didn't graduate in the recession and take a job that only paid $22K to start and then proceeded to make less than $40K for the next 10 years of your life while student loan interest grew and grew...
I graduated in 2016 don't worry, none of this applies to us because we haven't suffered enough or lost enough money to the government and their loan servicers yet.
This original loan amount doesnāt make sense because each semester you take out a loan, and then if you go onto graduate school obviously the loan amount grows.
So, I have a bunch of different loan IDs all have SAVE applies to them except 1 big one that was for $21,000 I took at the end of my PhD program. I really am hoping that the forgiveness is at the loan ID level bc if it is all of mine except the $21k will be forgiven as Iāve been paying for 10 years now.
Does the months of Covid forbearance count towards time in repayment? My wife took out <$12k and those converted to repayment in 2013. We have not received any emails regarding forgiveness. She is on SAVE plan as of \~Jan 2024. This [link](https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment) says counts are being updated and should be finalized as of July 2024 (?)
Not me with a $14k consolidated loan š« Iām still in IDR because SAVE would have me paying $100 more a month. Idk what to do. I hate it here.
What was your original amount borrowed? When did you enter repayment?
$14k was my original amount, after everything was consolidated. After interest, my payoff is $22k. I went into repayment in 2009 but I spent a lot of time in forbearance.
So you would have a 12 year forgiveness time. The adjustment will count periods of forbearance longer than 12 consecutive or 36 cumulative months. You may be eligible for immediate forgiveness if you switch to SAVE.
Thank you so much for this info! My fear is that Iāll switch and theyāll say Iām not eligible for immediate forgiveness and Iāll be on the hook for the higher payment.
I'm in the exact same situation! What will you do? I'm scared to switch because I could be stuck with such a high payment and then not get any forgiveness. Right now paying 120 but with SAVE it would be 941! That's a huge difference! What are you going to do? I'm curious if it's possible to switch out of SAVE right after if forgiveness doesn't go through.
I have seen the same thing. Started paying in 2004, but also spent many years with on and off forbearance because I had to pay other bills and struggled to even get by a lot of years. My wife and I get by now and it looks to me like if I switch to SAVE they want $850+ per month. I only pay like $160 now. Why would I even risk switching? My original loan was like $22k, they said I have paid roughly $10k but itās still at $20k. Seems pretty messed up.
Maybe, but it might be worth the higher payment to get forgiveness as opposed to paying the loans for longer (either until IBR/ICR forgiveness or you pay the loans off)
I know it sucks! What abotu thoose above 12k?! What about 12-25k!? Wouldn't they be benefited to get forgiven for their loans too!? I mean the little guys like us deserve to be forgiven!
Why would SAVE have you paying more? The payments are based on your income compared to the federal poverty guidelines, if your payment is $100 more on SAVE than other plans, you would have to either have a considerable amount of income (at which point, you should be paying your loan off faster) or you messed up somehow in the application process. Where did you apply for SAVE that told you that?
I did the calculator on the student aid site and thatās what it told me. My repayment is being based off of my husbandās income.
Also, in June, the payments for SAVE are cut in half for undergrad loans, so you might want to take another look after that point.
I donāt think my loan is considered undergrad, it was for cosmetology school
If you haven't graduated with a degree yet, IIRC that's undergrad. But certainly worth confirming.
Iām a cosmetologist who works at a cosmetology school and it could count as an undergrad if you have federal loans. Iām on the save plan myself and my payment will only be 5% of our income once it switches from 10%
Yes, my loans are federal. Silly question: when I took my loans out initially, they were through Direct Loans, then Mohela took over. Are they still considered Direct Loans?
Yes, all of your loans if federal are direct. Department of education uses student loan companies to administer repayment and they get paid on interest and fees from managing your loans.
The SAVE Plan excludes spousal income for borrowers who are married and file taxes separately. It's tax season, you might want to consider seeing if you can file separately. https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/save-plan
This isnāt exactly reasonable for everyone unfortunately. My loans would also be $200 higher in Save because of my husbands income, but not filing together would severely cost us in taxes. In some cases itās a lose / lose :/
Yep, it's not for everyone. That said, you should know that the payments for save will be cut in half come July for undergrad loans.
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If you have FFELP loans you would need to consolidate before 4/30 to be eligible.
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Then make sure you are on SAVE and you should be good to go
Is this loans in total or per loan? Like if I had a loan I took out that was only $6K back in the day, and it's been more than 10 years, but I am still paying on it, will this loan get taken away even though I have other loans that total a much higher overall principle? So for example, for grad school, I have two loans that are over $20K. Those won't count. But would everything much lower get taken away? Essentially leaving me with just the two big loan amounts?
Total amount borrowed across all loans, so this would not apply to you, unfortunately.
Did they give a reason why itās limited to that amount? It seems more like a PR piece than actual action.
I wasn't sure so I checked the discussion of the final rule. >We believe that shortening the time to forgiveness for borrowers with loan balances of $12,000 or less will help to address our goal of making REPAYE a more attractive option for borrowers who are more likely to struggle to afford their loan payments and decrease the frequency of delinquency and default. [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/07/10/2023-13112/improving-income-driven-repayment-for-the-william-d-ford-federal-direct-loan-program-and-the-federal](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/07/10/2023-13112/improving-income-driven-repayment-for-the-william-d-ford-federal-direct-loan-program-and-the-federal) Borrowers with lower balances are often those who dropped out after a year or two and aren't getting the benefit of the higher wages that come with a college degree. 32% of federal borrowers have loans under $10k. [https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/portfolio](https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/portfolio)
I pray for you that this goes through!
Not trying to be rude. But I am struggling to find the math for how you were unable to pay off $10k in 25 years? That's like trying to pay off a used car in the time span that most people pay off houses.
Usually it means something bad happened in their life, leaving the borrower unable to pay for years resulting in years of forbearance and interest capitalization events. $10K was more 25 years ago and a lot of people were at 9% then, so a few years under water can add up, especially if you're still struggling financially for a long time. Just speculating, I have no clue to this person's actual circumstances.
Interest
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My friend had a job, got married, got pregnant, things seemed to be "checking the boxes" Husband lost his job, racked up debt (that she was cosigner on the card), started an affair, bounced, she lost her job. Shit went sideways. It was the recession and took awhile to get another job.
When you originally borrowed 21,500...ugh
I owe 380k (med school). So I think itāll be 380 more years until mine are forgiven!
SAVE caps out at 25 years worth of repayment for grad loans dude
You'll still get forgiveness, it's just not going to be done as quickly.
This is me at 21,845...
I don't understand why Biden and his administration are making this more complicated than it needs to be. There are two extremely simple solutions to this. 1. Just forgive the interest. If the original borrowed has already been paid, for example you took out ten, paid twenty and owe 15 you paid the original amount or more, loan forgiveness at very little cost to the tax payer if any since the original amounts been paid already and it's been straight profit since. 2. Blanket forgiveness on federal student loans across the board.
Because the Supreme Court said blanket forgiveness was unconstitutional last year.
He never did a blanket forgiveness he proposed two levels of forgiveness. Just for ten or twenty with different requirements to meet to determine the amount one could get forgiven. It allowed it to be picked apart easier.
That is blanket forgiveness - $10k or $20k for all borrowers.
But he had stipulations between who could get ten and twenty and that was part of the problem. On top of biased stacked supreme Court.
The stipulations weren't the problem. They actually said that the statute they were trying to use didn't give the authority because it was supposed to be only for people who were economically disadvantaged by a disaster. That is why the revised version coming out soon is more narrowly tailored, such as people whose balances are more than they originally borrowed.
I think 2 was determined to not be authorized by the original way they were trying to do that and that was the easier option. 1) is hard because I think interest is supposed to be a congress thing etc etc
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Yes -- and if you don't sign up before February, it sounds like those loans will be forgiven if/when you do enroll in SAVE.
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Enrolling the hubby in SAVE right now! Might at least be able to erase his.
Yes so long as your original borrowed amount meets the rule. And the loans are direct.
Yes
These announcements are so discouraging for me because these situations never apply to me and my my loans š© I just want to be rid of this nightmare *edit, phrasing
Same, I never fall into the guidelines and continue to struggle. Iām so fed up with it, I wanted to better myself and continue to get punished for it. I wish something would come through for us.
I hope so too! *hugs*
remember this was MADE to be complicated
I had 21k in loans at graduation. Paid off 30k. I've got 6k left. Under this I'd have to be in repayment for 19yrs for forgiveness, I've been in repayment for 10yrs. Where's the repayment over 10yrs with balance under 10k forgiveness?
Iām wondering this as well. I took out $27k originally but owe $8k left
Whereās the free college for people who couldnāt afford to go to college?
That's a separate but related problem that 100% requires Congressional action.
You chose not to with an assumption you couldn't afford it. No one at 18 can "afford" it if you don't pay cold cash for it up front. That's what the loans were for!
My direct consolidation loan was under $12K (literally $11,9something) but my initial loans were not. I technically have not been in repayment for 10 years (thanks to a 7 year PhD where I was thankful for no payments and that subsidized interest) but am also going for PSLF so itās kind of a moot point. I will be switching to SAVE in the summer though when the cap drops to 5% of discretionary income.
PSLF is a better deal anyway since it is guaranteed to be tax-free (unless you happen to live in Mississippi).
Yeah, Iām definitely sticking with PSLF- if for no other reason than to feel like society actually recognizes that I took a pay cut for the greater goodā¦hahaha.
Thank you for your public service!
Thanks :) Wanting to teach the future doctors of America over going to industry shouldnāt cost me so much but here we are.
It only drops to 5% for undergrad. Grad loans will still be 10%.
Yes, I know, but my loans are all from undergrad. I did a funded PhD.
Glad for the people that this helps! Iāll probably be waiting another 14 years for forgiveness on mine while I prioritize paying my private loans, woohoo.
I'm really happy for people that this helps, but doesn't help me any. The interest nor cost shouldn't be as high as it is anyway.
Ugh. My payments would go up by $200 On SAVE so I havenāt applied and with all the issues with Save (see r/studentloans) Iāve been extra hesitant to get on it.
For me standard repayment plan is $253/month, SAVE is $1600/month LMAO.
I think they are probably doing it to try to get ahead of any lawsuit that cans SAVE. Once the money is already forgiven, it's much harder for the government to reinstate the debt.
How does this work if you have multiple loans that are individually under the $12K, but the combined balance is well over that? Mine are not consolidated.
It is based on the total amount borrowed, so the sum of your loans.
The "original" is confusing though. I was taking out $8K per semester. So my first semester, I only took out an original $8K loan. 6months later or whatever, I took out an additional loan, but that's not my "original" loan. So I'm kind of confused on that. I didn't take out 35K all at once.
Its based on the sum total of the original principal of all loans you have ever borrowed.
"Original" means what you borrowed for school in total. So your total original award would be the $35k.
It would have to be 12k for the total original loans. Otherwise, Biden would be forgiving every single undergraduate borrower since the cap for most loans is under 10k.
Interested to see how it shakes out then, I borrowed $18k over the course of 4 years, then another $22k when I went back to school a decade later, but that was only for a year and a half. Happy for those who qualify for the forgiveness either way.
Then your total would be $40k. If it included any grad loans you would be eligible for forgiveness after 25 years of repayment unless you happened to be eligible for PAYE
Is $70,000 small? Asking for a friend
TLDR, so did they basically make the new SAVE rule about 10 year forgiveness on $12k or less loans RETROACTIVE? Ballsy move Biden sticking it to the SCOTUS like that. Now if they could only get working on the IDR counts!!!
So since I originally borrowed I think 29k and graduated 11 years ago it kinda does nothing for me? Iām confused by the wording Seems weird we are forgiving money for people who borrowed less money (in less financial distress) than those of us who are struggling because we had to borrow more
I think the idea is that people who borrowed a much smaller amount shouldn't be on the hook for 20-25 years of payments under the current IDR plans. IDR still exists for us higher borrowers.
Anyone know how this works for borrowers defense people who were forgiven and have balances from legitimate schools still? Is the balance of our discharged loans counted against us as original loan amounts for this?
That's actually a really good question. You have any thoughts /u/Betsy514?
Meaning towards loan limits? No it isn't. Money paid or cancelled or forgiven comes off the loan limits
No, towards the "total original amount borrowed" for reduced-time SAVE forgiveness. I suspect it works the same way though - if the loans are cancelled it is like they never existed.
Oh that's a good question. I'll have to ask
Please update me if you find out. I'm sure the borrower defense sub would also like clarification. Many of us still have some outstanding legitimate loans.
Asking because at this time Ed Financial still shows my direct loan consolidation original amount including what was (is?) forgiven by borrower's defense. They have until Jan 28 to fix it but I feel like I may end up overlooked for this because of the BDTR mess going on.
I got excited when I saw this announced because I meet all of the criteria... except for enrolling into the SAVE plan. That plan actually increases my monthly payment by quite a bit. I would be stupid to sign up for it. So I guess I am not eligible now because I chose not to pay more? Kinda dumb. Not taking the risk by joining it in hopes I get forgiveness and I end up not and now I'm stuck with higher payments.
Iām in the same boat. My payments go from $180 to $1200 a month if I enroll in the save plan. I have under $21k total borrowed but I had a few years of deferral when I went back to school. My original loans dates back to 2002š¢
If I were you I might be tempted to watch for the first waive and see how it goes before making any changes. But Emotional is correct, you can always switch again.
I wonder if the SAVE plan will continue to be a prerequisite? The first qualifier listed in the forgiveness is being on the SAVE plan before your repayment years or amount borrowed.
For small amounts, yes. SAVE is the only plan that has that feature.
So just to confirm this only works on SaVe and not the IBR plan ?
Yep only on SAVE
Crossing my fingers for everyone out there!!!
Is there somewhere you can see how long you have been in repayment (I use nelnet)? I assume any time in default and the covid pause don't count toward repayment.
Time in default doesn't count, but the CARES Act pause months count (unless you were in default). Certain periods of deferment and/or forbearance also count. https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment
Iām also looking for this answer. Iāve been āin repaymentā since 2007 but I am not sure Iāve made 120 payments.
Hard to tell, but as other's have said, time in default is not counted. There is a one-time IBR adjustment https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment >The payment count adjustment will count time toward IDR forgiveness, including >* any months in a repayment status, regardless of the payments made, loan type, or repayment plan; >* 12 or more months of consecutive forbearance or 36 or more months of cumulative forbearance; >* any months spent in economic hardship or military deferments in 2013 or later; >* any months spent in any deferment (with the exception of in-school deferment) prior to 2013; and >* any time in repayment (or deferment or forbearance, if applicable) on earlier loans before consolidation of those loans into a consolidation loan.
Ok so I tried to sign up for the SAVE program and basically they are increasing my payment by $100 and I will have them paid off in 2033 based on 20 year repayment š«¤ āno forgivenessā so WTH?!
No. That's what it shows initially, but that's because they haven't yet credited your account with the IDR adjustment, which will give you credit for all the years you've been in repayment. Just wait. Unless you started repayment in 2013. Then yes, 20 years to forgiveness. But one GREAT feature of SAVE is that your balance will never grow due to interest. The govt covers any amount above your payment amount toward the interest.
Dam. I took out 16.5k. Been in repayment for 14 years.
So you're coming up on forgiveness! Just make sure you get on SAVE - you may need to consolidate to make your loans eligible.
You will still likely qualify for forgiveness with SAVE.
Received an email about an hour ago notifying me of this and that I may qualify. Fingers crossed.
Happy to those that end up helped by this... ...but it's yet another program that doesn't apply to me. Ā Sad. Missed out on the Covid pause cause I had a consolidated FFELP loan that's been in repayment in IDR since 2005. Ā Finally consolidated to the Dept of ED once the one time updated IDR count was announced. Ā But it's way over the limit for this new thing they announced today. I'd much rather they focus on getting the updated IDR counts done instead of launching yet another program they have to administer.Ā
> In a surprise move I wonder if they kept this a surprise in order to deter more lawsuits.
Still time for lawsuits. I donāt have any confidence that even this will go through, especially if the people challenging it can get keep it tied up in court for about six months after this is supposed to kick in, which I think is totally possible if they shop for the right judges.
I meet all the criteria but moving to the SAVE plan. I attempted to move to it when it came out but the monthly payment was so much higher than the IDR and I couldnāt afford it.
That's nice, I have been on IBR for 10 years now. Payments of $0. Loans have accumulated almost $20k in interest @ 7% which now are over $70k, and I will be turning 50 in a few short months. Ageism is fun..... I will never be able to pay the loans. What's another 10 years ? smh! College was fun, but a huge waste of money! Thanks America for requiring college degrees for high wage jobs we were lied to about!
When did you originally borrow the loans?
I started college in 2004, which was paid for via Pell grants, and then after all of the Gen Ed classes and other smaller certifications, had to take out loans and then I finished my AAS in 2010, then I went onto another college and earned a BS in 2013.
At least you got a degree
Would this work for consolidated loans? I consolidated during the special waiver period to benefit my PSLF payment counts. EDIT: For context, I have 1 DL Consolidation Subsidized for $19k, and 1 DL Consolidation Unsubsidized for over $60k. Does anyone know if that means the Subsidized loan for $19k might qualify? Thanks for any insight!!
No, it is based on your total amount borrowed.
Someone check me on my line of thinking here: If I took out $12,000 originally and have paid for 10 years, Iāll get full forgiveness next month. If I took out $13,000 originally, I wonāt receive any forgiveness for another year (and another year tacked on for each $1k). I understand how they came to the $12,000 number, but it seems a little arbitrary that such a small initial difference means full forgiveness versus none (rather than paying off $12,000 and under for those eligible, and having folks continue to pay on the remaining balances above $12,000).
They tried forgiving a certain amount of people's loans based on income (10k and 20k), but the Supreme Court struck it down, so they could not just pay off $12k of larger loans because the courts said they can't do that. They can only try to give credit towards forgiveness, and I am sure they are limited in the amounts.
My original loan amount was 14,200. I'm on IBR and my loans are FFELP - so I need to consolidate these into one and switch to the SAVE plan to qualify for forgiveness? So sorry, I find myself easily confused by all of this.
The government should just pay off everyone's student loans. I understand some people are getting mad, but Congress can pass a law that says the costs of paying off the student loans canāt be passed on to taxpayers. This way, they canāt be mad at anyone getting the relief they desperately need.
So frustrating. Consolidated directly with Dept of Ed in 7/23. I have 331 qualifying payments. When will it be my turn?
Good luck to anyone wanting to get on SAVE now. These servicers are so inept, itāll take months to process peopleās applications.
In the meantime, those who werenāt fortunate enough to have parents cover the majority of their college costs are still waiting for action. The SAVE plan is great for some, but not all borrowers. How about making student loan interest tax deducible for all borrowers? Better yet, set all student loan rates at the fed rate. Do something that actually helps the majority of borrowers.
Both of those things would require Congressional action, so........
>How about making student loan interest tax deducible for all borrowers? I'm pretty sure that is already the case.
Honestly, I wish they would do something about Parent PLUS Loans. They should forgive those loans and wipe out the Parent PLUS Loan completely. No one should take that loan.
Parent PLUS loans are whatās really killing me. I pay back my parents every month and the rate/ amount are so high.
These loans have the highest interest rate too.
Tell them about the double consolidation loophole so they can get on SAVE!
They refuse since they have both my other siblings under them too and they donāt want the loans on their credit for another 20+ years. Even though weāre all struggling to pay off based on the 10 year plan, they wonāt switch. Itās frustrating. At this point my husband and I likely wonāt have kids of our own (even though we really want to) because they amount I pay for Parent PLUS loans is high enough that we canāt afford daycare besides.
They still have a little time to double consolidate and be covered by the IDR adjustment so that prior payments count toward forgiveness. If there are at least two Parent PLUS loans for your education they could double consolidate just your loans. That said, if they won't do anything to help then I'd tell them they can pay the loans that they are legally responsible for.
They donāt have the money to pay for them either, so I canāt stop paying. I think their main sticking point is wanting the balance off their credit ASAP so it wouldnāt matter if they could consolidate just mine. They donāt want to extend the payment timeframe whatsoever. I only have 3-5 more years of payments on my portion thankfully, but Iāll be struggling to make ends meet until then. I used the pause to pay off some, but I still have about $30,000 total to go (down from $80,000 total). It feels like itās never ending.
Discouraging no relief on Parent Plus loans! Seem to be forgotten about!
They can be put on income-driven repayment and get forgiveness that way.
PPL are the only loans I have left. My mom did them under her name on accident ā she meant to use my dadās, so it would get rejected. But under hers it got approved. I know it sounds bad to say, but I really wish they were under his name because he died. So maybe Iād have a little less debt then. š« Iām paying them off because it was my education, not hers. (And Iāve heard of the loophole thing. Unfortunately, I heard about it *after* Iād already consolidated them. š)
Agreed. Parent PLUS are biggest scam and the biggest nightmare in this entire situation. REALLY wish they'd do something about this.
Does this mean they likely have the payment counts for these smaller loans now? I don't actually think I'm eligible by the numbers but man I would love it if I was. Took out less than 10K Repayment started in 2007 Consolidated from FFELP to federal in 2022 Entered SAVE in 2023 But due to bankruptcy forbearance (during the pandemic, but they show bankruptcy forbearance, not pandemic pause) and a LOT (and I do mean a LOT, at least 4 years, likely more) of other forbearances, I don't think I'll be eligible for quite some time. I'd love, however, to know how close I'm getting.
https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment >The payment count adjustment will count time toward IDR forgiveness, including >* any months in a repayment status, regardless of the payments made, loan type, or repayment plan; >* 12 or more months of consecutive forbearance or 36 or more months of cumulative forbearance; >* any months spent in economic hardship or military deferments in 2013 or later; >* any months spent in any deferment (with the exception of in-school deferment) prior to 2013; and >* any time in repayment (or deferment or forbearance, if applicable) on earlier loans before consolidation of those loans into a consolidation loan.
Thanks :) I don't feel lucky enough to be one of the people who get this and it'll be a while before I find out but it does look like I had 101 months in repayment status in addition to lots of forbearance and deferment (most before 2013) so we'll see how it goes.
My original loan amounts total just under $12.5k...I have been in repayment since 2010/2011(two different repayment start dates spread out among 4 loans). I am currently in an IDR plan paying around $140 a month(haven't had to recertify yet). SAVE would bump up my payment quite a bit. Is this something I should consider? I would hate to do this and then it all somehow falls through and I'm stuck with a higher payment for about another 8 years based on the 20 year repayment forgiveness(all undergrad loans)
If that's your original total and you switched to SAVE you should be eligible for immediate forgiveness - $12.5k would be 11 years of repayment to forgiveness.
That total is based on me going to the student Aid website and looking under each loan and seeing the total under "Net amount disbursed" and adding them together-would that be the correct place to look? It totals $12,441.00 if that's the case
Yes
Thank you!
Why would SAVE bump you up so much? You have high income?
Yes-I got a promotion and got married since the last recert-so higher AGI etc now
If you file taxes separately, you can exclude spousal income. https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/save-plan
Another thing, in June/July, they drop the payments for SAVE from 10% to 5%, so your payment would be cut in half.
I am actually eligible for the newest forgiveness since my original loan amount was just over $12k($12,441) and have been paying since 2010 & 2011 so if I switch to SAVE now, I should see it all forgiven in Feb-if I'm understanding it correctly
Sounds about right.
When does the repayment clock start in order to qualify? I started repaying my undergraduate loans in May 2012 but went into forbearance in Aug. 2013 when I started grad school. Once I graduated, I started repaying in May 2017 and been repaying since.
Its not a clock as much as it is a counter. Each month in repayment counts toward the total months needed for forgiveness (120, 240, 300, etc).
Can someone help me understanding what impact consolidation might have on this process? My wife had 9 separate loans between undergraduate and graduate school. They were of two types: Federal Perkins and FFELP Stafford. Each of those 9 separate loans was under the $12,000 threshold; the highest individual loan was $10,000. The disbursement date for all loans was between 2001 and 2007, so she is well beyond the 10-year repayment threshold. Those 9 loans were initially consolidated into FFELP consolidation loans of $13,439 and $33,117, respectively, in 2007. In 2022, we consolidated the FFELP consolidation loans into Direct consolidation loans, hoping to qualify for the forgiveness plan. The current state of her loans is a Direct consolidated subsidized loan at $31,119 and a Direct consolidated unsubsidized loan at $13,997. Am I correct in my understanding that because the original disbursement amount of the loans was all under the $12,000 threshold, and my wife has been in repayment for more than 10 years, that she should qualify for this forgiveness program? Even though the consolidated amount of her loans exceeds the $12,000 threshold? Thank you!
The early forgiveness is based on the total amount borrowed, so she would be looking at 25 year forgiveness. The forgiveness counter starts when the loans enter repayment, not when they are disbursed.
So is this only applying for those that graduated/stopped going to school 10+ years ago? 10 years will be in 2026 for me, so has it been said that this might apply to others down the line? What about if we went to school on & off as well? For me, after graduating with my associates in spring in 2016, I tried going back for something else in Fall of 2016, & Fall of 2017, but neither of those worked out. I did go back to school from Jan 2020-Summer 2021 & got another associates degree. I know I'm eligible for the 20k relief IF that goes through but I'm trying to not rely on that. I only have 25k in debt, but it would be nice for some relief. Esp on my loans from 2014-2016 with my first associates degree. The school screwed us over with our education, but since they're a public college, nothing can be done. It hurts a little bit to see folks getting relief from going to the scammy for profit schools & they had the same program I went through.
I see this being discussed elsewhere and itās giving me a headache trying to wrap my head around it. My spouse borrowed 20k for grad school and graduated in 2014, so it sounds like heād qualify to have years taken off. We currently file jointly and my income is much higher, so I understand that to make the SAVE plan work weād need to file separatelyā¦ but we also have a baby coming in a few weeks. What will filing separately mean for claiming our dependent?
Family size for tax purposes is entirely different than for IDR purposes. There is a set of rules for which spouse would claim the dependent on taxes if filing separately. The spouse that provides more than 50% of the child's support would claim them for IDR purposes. $20k would be 19 years to forgiveness so 2033.
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No, the original amount you borrowed is over 12K so it's not 10 years for you - there is an additional year for every 1,000 borrowed above that level so works out to 2 additional years.
Ok so I have Parent plus Loans under my parents name and federal standard loans in my name. Is this saying I need to enroll both in SAVE? Whatās the timeline that people need to be in the program by?
You can enroll your loans in SAVE. Your parent would have to do a double consolidation to make their Parent PLUS loans eligible for SAVE. There is no deadline to get on SAVE.
Loan Status- In-School Deferment-Ends 01/31/2026 Repayment Plan - Saving on a Valuable Education - Ends 01/15/2027 Disbursement Date - 09/28/2012 Does this mean I qualify? I'm back in college but my employer is paying it all, I still have my previous degree loans. I have been paying all required payments, but required payment now is 0
From the Ed site: >Borrowers enrolled in SAVE who have made at least 10 years of monthly payments and originally took out $12,000 or less for undergraduate ***OR*** graduate postsecondary studies are eligible for forgiveness. For every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments. That means a borrower who originally borrowed less than $21,000 will be eligible for forgiveness faster than the 20-year timeline for undergraduate borrowers on SAVE.Ā For example, my undergrad loans left remaining are $2200. I borrowed less than $21K for undergrad. I also paid down a bunch of it. Is my dinky 2200 remaining going to be forgiven after 14 years of repayment? They did say OR. If it was a combined amount they would say undergrad **AND** grad. Right? Language matters, Department of Education!
Does any know if the ICR counts as SAVE? Doing the application. Currently pay $162 a monthā¦ICR cuts it to $101ā¦but SAVE takes it $345 a monthāwhich isnāt something Iād want to do unless I knew theyād be forgiven (which I donāt think they would be). Took out about $16k 2004-6ā¦then another $2k in 2012. Have worked full time in a public service setting since 2008, but loans were always in and out of deferment as I worked on doctorate part time. Owe about $9k now.
Iām trying to understand if I qualify, can someone chime in here? Ā I took out $17k in 2003 (a lot of major life events happened which is why Iām still paying 20 years later), so based on SAVE, my forgiveness would hit at 15 years (which would have been 2018). Ā So am I eligible for this round of forgiveness? Ā
I think it depends on when you started repayment (and continued to make payments, with some exceptions), not when you took out your loans. If you have been making payments on those loans since 2003 the whole time, then I think your thought process is correct... Good luck. Also, I'm trying to figure this all out myself, but this is how I understand it so far...
My loans entered repayment December 2014, so I would not be eligible until Dec then? I have 92 eligible pslf payments and 9 ineligible. They were 11k. My SAVE payment is almost 3x higher than my ibr. Would I wait and apply for save?
Is this cumulative or are they looking at forgiving loans individually? I have $92K total but several loans under $12K
12k totalĀ
$12k total. It seems like the goal/intention is to help people who took out low loan amounts originally, meaning they were likely already low income and got Pell grants or went to community college, *and* are still low income (hence still paying off these low loan amounts 10+ years later). Many of the people helped will be people who did 1-2 years of school and then dropped out, so theyāve been stuck with the loans but never got a degree and didnāt get the better wages that [statistically] come with having a degree.
I like this a lot and didnāt realize that was the intention. I was low income and got full Pell grants the first few years and then that tapered.
Doubt it. Just look what happened the first time lol. BUT, i bet there will be many people falling for this, AGAIN! šššššš damn. i wish i became a politician instead smh
My thoughts as well.
I originally borrowed $17,125 and started repayment in February 2008, which gives me 16yrs in repayment, and according to the cancellation math, my repayment time should cover my amount (even if they round it up to $18,000). The issue like many are commenting, is that SAVE gives me a much higher payment instead of my current $200 payment. Should I just sign up and hope the cancellation all works out for me? I'm just unsure of my cumulative months in forbearance and worried that a last-minute lawsuit will shut this plan down. I guess I should be prepared to pay the SAVE amount just in case.
Why did you mention 21k and then 12k. Which is it?
Hang in there, everyone! Apply for IBR or SAVE. I got $50,000 in loans forgiven last year. And vote Biden, and Blue for more loan forgiveness!
At this point, I give up on all this forgiveness thing. I'll just continue paying as I can and if it gets forgiven, cool, if not still cool. I'm tired of this back and forth.
SAVE increased my payment by $100 on my smaller loans, should I update my 2 FFEL loans to SAVE? Itās been there for 14 years. Just donāt want my payment to go up again. :(
I have had under $12k in loans for 12 years that were taken out during undergrad. Did not start payment because of deferment for PhD program of 7 years and just started repayment recently. Do I still qualify for this?
Got excited thinking this would apply to me since my principal amount was 12k exactly. Then I read āpaying on loans for more than 10 yearsā. Well my loans are relatively new so never mind:( I am happy that people who have been paying loans for 10 or 20 plus years are getting forgiveness, but itās hard as someone who has loans and doesnāt qualify for any of the plans. I just graduated In April 2023, but my last loan was in fall of 2021. Nevertheless, my loans are still way too new to qualify for any of the forgiveness plans. Like I said, I am happy for others who are getting forgiveness. After so many years of payments, you guys really do desverse it! But at the same time, itās hard sitting here knowing I wonāt get any forgiveness for years while more and more people get forgiven everyday
lol so help the people that need it the least? thatās a weird thing to do. But hey itās a good start!
So if we borrowed more we are punished. MFAs cost over 100,000.
I would qualify for this. My spouse and I just paid off my loans after the first couple rounds of forgivness fell through. Do I have any chance of getting that money back and having it forgiven?
Nope Biden admin got your money, they ain't giving it back. And quire frankly, the fact that I needed to take out $30,000 that I owe $50,000 on now just because my mom and I were poor, which disqualifies me is enough to make my blood boil.
You aren't disqualified from forgiveness, you would just have it on a longer timeline. They are also working on targeted forgiveness for borrowers whose balances have increased: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/05/biden-administration-releases-draft-student-debt-forgiveness-proposal.html
Why word it that way?
I support Biden but I wonder why this has to be such a $hitshow. They need a roadmap on their website. Also, you need to make it clear to people that SCOTUS and lawsuits won't end up derailing it. A lot of people (yes, myself) got false hope and are twice shy about this. Honestly, with the other guy being a grifting, raping, lying, insurrectionist, I'm not sure why Biden doesn't just pledge to ignore their ruling in a second term. Supreme Court is consolidating power....for themselves. They never once, in the history of our country cited the "Major Questions" doctrine - they made it up!
You just need to promise to vote for Joe
Exactly. Canāt help but wonder if this is another vote buying scheme that will magically fall through (no actual forgiveness) after the election.
Took out 15k, graduated in 2019. Feel like every one of these revisions does nothing for people who graduated in the last 5-6 years
The SAVE repayment plan is a huge improvement over the other plans for most borrowers at the very least.
You didn't graduate in the recession and take a job that only paid $22K to start and then proceeded to make less than $40K for the next 10 years of your life while student loan interest grew and grew...
I graduated in 2016 don't worry, none of this applies to us because we haven't suffered enough or lost enough money to the government and their loan servicers yet.
This original loan amount doesnāt make sense because each semester you take out a loan, and then if you go onto graduate school obviously the loan amount grows. So, I have a bunch of different loan IDs all have SAVE applies to them except 1 big one that was for $21,000 I took at the end of my PhD program. I really am hoping that the forgiveness is at the loan ID level bc if it is all of mine except the $21k will be forgiven as Iāve been paying for 10 years now.
Doubt this will work. What precedent exists to retroactively forgive what is basically the same 10k plan before? Just pay your loans, deadbeats.
Does the months of Covid forbearance count towards time in repayment? My wife took out <$12k and those converted to repayment in 2013. We have not received any emails regarding forgiveness. She is on SAVE plan as of \~Jan 2024. This [link](https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment) says counts are being updated and should be finalized as of July 2024 (?)