Public Service Loan Forgiveness Archives

Biden’s New Plan for Student Loan Forgiveness

Posted on January 15, 2024by Admin

President Biden has a ‘Plan B’ lined up for student loan forgiveness, which looks significantly different from the first plan.

His original plan, which was recently blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court, would have cancelled up to $20,000 in student loan debt for tens of millions of borrowers. Following the ruling, the President created a Student Loan Debt Relief Committee to create an alternate plan.

The President’s original plan impacted nearly 40 million American borrowers, but the new plan will be narrower in reach. The original, which covered more than 90 percent of federal student borrowers, will now cover just 10 percent.

Do You Qualify for Student Loan Relief?

Posted on July 6, 2022by Admin

The subject of student loan debt has become a major topic of political discourse. While lawmakers have called for widespread student loan relief, a number of loan forgiveness programs have existed for several years.

One public method of student loan forgiveness is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), although this program has come under fire in recent years. PSLF was created in 2007 with the purpose of helping borrowers working in nonprofit and governmental roles following graduation. If the borrower was able to pay consistently on his or her debt while working in a qualifying nonprofit or government job for ten years, making a total of 120 payments), the remaining debt would be forgiven.

student loan debt, Student Loans

100,000 Borrowers Rejected for Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness

Posted on October 10, 2019by Admin

Statistics have come out showing just how many borrowers who have applied for public service loan forgiveness have ended up being denied loan forgiveness. It is estimated that more than 100,000 applicants have been rejected since the program began, which has many scratching their heads asking why so many borrowers are being rejected?

According to the U.S. Department of Education, as of June 30, 2019, 90,962 student loan borrowers submitted 110,729 applications for public service student loan forgiveness. Of these applications, a total of 102,051 have been processed while 8,677 remain pending. Only 1,216 of the over 102,000 applications submitted have been approved, leaving a total of 100,835 applications being rejected. These numbers mean that less than one percent of all applications have been approved.

Digging deeper into these numbers, only 845 borrowers have received a collective $52 million in public service student loan forgiveness. The average debt discharged is $61,592. Another 726 applications have been approved under the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which has given an additional 681 borrowers relief. However, a large number are still left without any recourse or assistance.

The reasons why so many applicants are being rejected vary. Fifty-five percent of them were because the borrowers failed to make all the required qualifying payments while 24 percent of them were due to missing information. Another 15 percent reportedly did not include “eligible” loans. Two percent were rejected due to employment date discrepancies, and another two percent were because the employer listed was not an eligible employer under the program.

If these issues are discovered early on, they can be remedied fairly easily. However, problems arise when the borrower does not discover this fact until years into the program.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program forgives federal student loans for borrowers who are full-time employees, working more than 30 hours per week, in an eligible federal, state, or local public service job or 501(c)(3) nonprofit job. The borrower needs to make 120 eligible on-time payments, as well. Over half of borrowers who were rejected failed to meet this specific requirement.

One of the requirements under the program is the borrower must complete the Employment Certification Form and submit it to the U.S. Department of Education whenever the person begins a job in public service, when he or she switches employers, and annually to ensure that the borrower is on track. Not submitting this certification form can result in the person not remaining on the right track to qualify for the program.

Additionally, borrowers must be enrolled in an income-based federal student loan repayment plan to qualify and must make 120 required payments while enrolled in this federal student loan repayment plan. As these kinks get worked out, it is possible that the number of applicants who are approved for loan forgiveness will increase. At this time, however, the small amount that are being approved is less than encouraging.

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For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. There are ways to file for bankruptcy with student loan debt. It is important you contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade Garcia McMaken has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

student loan debt, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Teachers Sue U.S. Over Student Loans that Were Not Forgiven

Posted on July 23, 2019by Admin

The American Federation of Teachers has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of educators who argue that they have been wrongfully denied loan forgiveness under the federal public service loan forgiveness program.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was created more than a decade ago to encourage young graduates to seek employment in a government job or in public service industries. While the pay in these types of jobs tends to be lower, the promise of having their federal student loans forgiven at the end of a ten-year period was created to entice them to apply for these positions.

Under the program, borrowers who work in certain public service professions, including law enforcement, nursing, and teaching, and who make payments consistently for ten years, can have their federal loans forgiven. It is estimated that more than one million borrowers have filed official paperwork to participate in the program. However, many of these borrowers are finding out that they suddenly do not qualify for forgiveness for one reason or another, including not carrying the correct type of loan.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Student Loans

Another Broken Promise to Student Loan Borrowers: Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Posted on May 8, 2019by Admin

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Proves Unforgiving for Borrowers

A program that was once promoted as a way for student loan borrowers to receive forgiveness for their student loans is now coming under fire after it has been discovered that 99 percent of its applicants have been rejected.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program was created in 2007 and promised to cancel any remaining student debt for those who work government jobs or for non-profit organizations and have been making continuous payments on their student loans for 10 years. Many teachers, public defenders, Peace Corps workers, and law enforcement officers have applied for the student loan forgiveness offered by the program.

It is estimated that over 73,000 borrowers have applied for debt forgiveness as of March 31, 2019, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. However, only 864 of these borrowers have had their loans forgiven. In fact, only one percent of all Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) applications submitted were approved for loan forgiveness. This rate of approval leaves borrowers frustrated and confused as to why they worked so hard to qualify for a program that is now failing them.

Consumer advocates claim that the legislation was poorly written while others claim that mismanagement by loan servicers has led to the issues these borrowers are now facing.

According to the breakdown from the U.S. Department of Education, 16 percent of the denials were due to the borrower having the wrong type of loan while 25 percent were due to information missing in the applications. In addition, 53 percent of applications were denied due to the borrower not making enough payments.

One of the major issues that borrowers are discovering is that while their loans are federally-guaranteed, they are actually privately owned. Many law schools have been accused of offering only private student loans in their financial-aid packages but not clarifying this fact to the borrower. Congress has fixed this issue by eliminating federally-guaranteed private loans as of 2010, but if you are a borrower who took out one of those loans before that time, this fact may hurt your chances of qualifying for the loan forgiveness.

Government officials have also been accused of not properly educating borrowers on the requirements of the program or publishing clear guidelines on which employers qualify as a public-service organization and which do not, another issue that has resulted in denials for many borrowers.

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Bankruptcy Law, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

99 Percent of Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Applicants Rejected

Posted on May 7, 2019by Admin

According to recent U.S. Department of Education statistics, more than 99 percent of people who have applied for available public service student loan forgiveness have been rejected. As of December 31, 2018, it was reported that 65,500 total applications for the public service student loan forgiveness program had been submitted. However, of this total, 58,000 applications had been processed with the majority of them resulting in denials. An additional 7,200 applications were marked as pending.

The program’s requirements are complicated, and not well-explained to qualifying borrowers. Approval requires more than simply working in public service. The Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program is offered through the federal government and requires the borrower work full-time, meaning more than 30 hours per week, in an eligible federal, state or local public service job. The borrower can also work for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so long as the position is a full-time, eligible one. The borrower must make 120 eligible on-time payments to qualify.

Several different reasons were given for these denials. Seventy-three percent of these rejected applications were denied due to the applicant not meeting the “program’s requirements.” These requirements could mean either the borrower did not have student loans that were eligible for forgiveness, did not have qualifying employment, or did not make the 120 consecutive required qualifying student loan payments. Another 25 percent of these student loan forgiveness applications were denied because the applications were incomplete or had missing information on the employment certification form.

The report indicated that only 610 applications for student loan forgiveness had been approved and that 338 borrowers had received a collective amount of $21.1 million in public service student loan forgiveness. Less than 0.5 percent of the applications submitted were successful.

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Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

President Trump Plans to End Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Program

Posted on March 13, 2019by Admin

The White House has released President Trump’s budget proposal for 2020, and many of the cuts take aim at the student loan debt crisis. Here are some of the specific proposals, which could affect borrowers’ ability to pay off their student loan debt.

The end to public service loan forgiveness. According to Trump’s proposed budget, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program would be eliminated. The effects could adversely impact members of the U.S. Armed Forces, police officers, firefighters, first responders, prosecutors, public defenders, and other public servants.
A change to federal student loan repayment. The number of income-driven repayment plans would be reduced to just one. Current plans, such as PAYE and REPAYE, allow borrowers to repay their federal student loans based on income, family size and additional factors, and can result in student loan forgiveness. The changes would favor undergraduate borrowers who typically earn less than graduate school student loan borrowers. Monthly student loan payments would be capped at 12.5% of income and after 15 years of monthly payments, any remaining student loan debt would be forgiven. This is five years earlier then the current income-driven repayment options. Graduate student loan borrowers would see the opposite effect – a five year increase to student loan debt repayment before their loans are forgiven.
The end to subsidized student loans. Subsidized student loans has traditionally meant that the government pays the interest costs on federal student loans while borrowers are enrolled in school. The rationale behind eliminating these type loans is to save the federal government money by collecting additional interest. This could result in the cost of a higher education being that much more expensive due to additional interest costs.

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Debt Relief, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Student Loan Debt is Doubling, Tripling, and Even Quadrupling for Some

Posted on May 8, 2018by Admin

For a number of individuals, what they borrow in student loans can end up being only a portion of what they wind of up owing. Student loan debt stands at a staggering $1.5 trillion and outstanding student loan debt has tripled over the last decade in the U.S. This is in part due to many borrowers seeing their balances spiral out of control. According to Persis Yu, director of the Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project at the National Consumer Law Center, “There are ways these loans are structured that encourage this ballooning.”

Many schools have hired consultants to ‘encourage’ struggling borrowers to put their loans into forbearance, which provides a temporary postponement of payments, for a three-year window, according to an April report by the Government Accountability Office (GOA). While forbearance prevents a borrower from defaulting and accumulating late fees, there are better options, such as income-driven repayment plans.

When a borrower’s student loans go into forbearance the interest on the debt continues to accumulate. Borrowers are often shocked by the new, higher balance. Another disappointment is the 2007 program, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which allows certain student loan borrowers in government or non-profit public service jobs to wipe out their remaining debt after 10 years of on-time payments. However, a number of students claim that after making 10 years of payments and trying to obtain forgiveness on the remaining balance, were told they did not qualify because they had the ‘wrong type’ of loan. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report last year about how many people believe they are paying their way toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness only to learn they do not actually qualify for one technical reason or another.

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Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

New House Bill Calls for Federal Student Loan Caps, End of Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Posted on December 7, 2017by Admin

A new bill from House Republicans could end Public Service Loan Forgiveness for student loans. The U.S. House of Representatives will consider proposed changes to the Higher Education Act, including limits on the amount of money students and parents can borrow in government student loan programs, and ending loan forgiveness programs for public interest employees. Approximately a quarter of jobs in the U.S. economy are considered public interest positions.

The earliest someone could receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was October 2017, and not a single person has reported receiving loan forgiveness through the program.

The proposal also suggests changes to student loans’ income-driven repayment plans. Currently, if borrowers make payments of between 10 and 15 percent of their discretionary incomes the remainder of their school loans will be forgiven after 20 or 25 years.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce introduced the 542-page legislation known as the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act. The PROSPER Act, if implemented, would have borrowers in income-driven repayment plans “pay 15 percent of discretionary incomes for as long as it took to cover the amount they would have paid under a 10-year standard repayment plan,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

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For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. It is important you contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade Garcia McMaken, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Related Resources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2017/12/06/house-bill-student-loan-forgiveness/#1f25540b7990