Latest news with #PublicServiceLoanForgiveness
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Don't Wait – These 3 Steps Could Save you a Ton on Your Student Loans
Confused over new rules for student loans and repayments? Informed decisions made now could save thousands of dollars and lots of headaches trying to manage life's other financial challenges. Finance and policy expert Elaine Rubin worked for seven years at the U.S. Dept. of Education's Federal Student Aid office, making her extremely knowledgeable on this complex subject. Here is the cheat sheet of her three top tips to save money on your student loans. Don't Miss: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Find out what you've borrowed and how much you still owe. Copy or snap key figures for later reference if you don't want to slog through contracts and fine print. Include sections that show interest rates and how much they've been adding to your loan liability. Look at your repayment plans. Are you enrolled in the government's Saving on a Valuable Education Plan, also known as SAVE? If so, pay attention to garnishment rules arising from legal challenges during the Biden administration. Rubin says total indebtedness is a "question that most borrowers can't answer." She adds that folks behind in their payments often don't know it, adding to interest costs. "Many borrowers I've worked with are surprised to find they owe more than they initially borrowed when it's time to start repayment, Rubin explained. "Because most loans, except subsidized ones, begin accruing interest from the moment they are disbursed." Trending: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: . SAVE enrollees have been in limbo since last summer, caught in a court-ordered administrative forbearance. That stopped interest rates, but the payment hold is scheduled to end no earlier than September, after government systems are updated. Check out the Department of Education's Loan Simulator for possible repayment options when the interest clock runs again. That site also has eligibility information for specific to Rubin, borrowers can also restate income if they earn less now than at the time of the first loan forbearance in 2020. Lower income may reduce your student loan payment if you are enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan. Borrowers on that program may also qualify for student loan forgiveness. But they shouldn't count on relief because, as Rubin notes, "legal challenges continue to threaten SAVE and some of the other IDR repayment plans." As a side note, teachers, nurses and other public service employees under the Department of Education's Public Service Loan Forgiveness program can cancel debt if they meet strict job length and repayment rules. Not everyone has the resources to pay for college, and a college loan, at the same time. But student loans generally don't start the repayment clock until six months after graduation, or after failing to meet enrollment guidelines. So, Rubin says it helps if the borrower can "pay off any interest that accrues while you're still in school. Even small contributions can help reduce the overall cost of your loans in the long run." Read Next: Many are using retirement income calculators to check if they're on pace — Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partners with Amazon, Walmart & Target – Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Don't Wait – These 3 Steps Could Save you a Ton on Your Student Loans originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Education Department wanted Treasury to help manage student loans
The U.S. Department of Education planned for the Treasury Department to take a hand in managing the country's $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio, recent court documents show. "The Department had been negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the Treasury Department regarding student loan management," Rachel Oglesby, the chief of staff at the Education Dept., said in a court declaration filed late on Tuesday. The agreement involved moving nine Education Dept. employees from the agency's Federal Student Aid Default Collections Unit to Treasury "to discuss collections activities," a spokesperson for the Education Department told CNBC. Education Department plans with the Treasury Department are now on hold after U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston blocked the Trump administration on May 22 from its efforts to dismantle the Education Department. Joun ordered the department to rehire the more than 1,300 employees affected by mass layoffs in March, and blocked the department from transferring student loans to the Small Business Administration. More from Personal Finance:Trump's 'big beautiful' bill could curb low-income tax creditWhat a 'revenge tax' in Trump's spending bill means for investorsWhat's happening with unemployed Americans — in 5 charts Experts say the Treasury talks are more evidence that the Trump administration hopes to reduce the role of the Education Department. President Donald Trump said on March 21 that the Small Business Administration, instead of the Education Department, would handle the country's debt. "They're all set for it," the president said of the SBA, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office. "They're waiting for it." At the time of Trump's announcement that student loans would move to the SBA, experts had said the next most logical agency would have been Treasury, since it already plays a role in collecting past-due debts from Americans through the Treasury Offset Program. Still, financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz pointed out that The Higher Education Act of 1965 is "very clear" that the Education Department's Federal Student Aid office is "responsible for student loans." "It will require an act of Congress," Kantrowitz said, to move the loans to either the SBA or Treasury. Consumer advocates express worries that the mass transfer of accounts to another agency could trigger errors, or compromise borrowers' privacy. They also raised concerns about how a change in agency might affect unique student loan protections, and programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness. More than 42 million Americans hold federal student loans.
CNET
11-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
If You're a Student Loan Borrower Enrolled in Save, Make This Move Now While Your Payments Remain Paused
If you're enrolled in SAVE, make this move while your payments remain on hold. Pla2na/Getty Images/CNET There's been a lot of student loan noise over the past year, but little clarity for borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education repayment plan. We've witnessed several updates to student loan programs over the past year, from proposed changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility to the ramping up of collections efforts on defaulted student loan accounts to a new Republican-fronted bill seeking to change existing income-driven repayment plan options. But the official rejection of SAVE may have the biggest impact for the 8 million borrowers who qualified for lower monthly payments. Now that we know SAVE is officially out, what's next? Should you switch to another income-driven repayment plan? Or wait it out? I talked to experts to find out when payments are expected to restart and what you should do during this downtime. Read more: You May Need to Resubmit Your Student Loan IDR Plan Application. Here's Why When will payments restart for SAVE student loan borrowers? It's not clear when payments will start again for borrowers on the SAVE plan, but it's looking like the end of this year would be the earliest timeframe. The Department of Education's website says SAVE borrowers will stay in a general forbearance until at least the fall. It also directed loan servicers to adjust the income recertification deadline to no earlier than Feb. 1, 2026. Robert Farrington, student loan expert and founder of The College Investor, expects the general forbearance to last even longer. "Borrowers will likely see the SAVE forbearance end in mid-to-late 2026," says Farrington. "Many borrowers are already reporting the end date of their forbearance moving to September 2026." Currently, loan payments for any borrower in SAVE remain on hold in a general forbearance and your balance isn't accruing interest. If you're enrolled in a loan forgiveness program like PSLF, each paused month will not count towards your forgiveness during the pause. While you can choose to switch to an alternative repayment plan, most experts suggest sticking with SAVE, and doing this one thing ahead of payments resuming. While your payments are paused, you won't have to worry about your account being moved to collections. Although borrowers with defaulted loans are once again subject to collections, including wage garnishment, those enrolled in the SAVE plan don't have to worry about those consequences for now. Should PSLF borrowers in SAVE switch to another payment plan? If you're a teacher, nurse or other public servant pursuing PSLF, you may be worried that the payment pause is not counting toward your 120-payment requirement. That leaves you with three options. First, you could switch from SAVE to another income-driven repayment plan (ICR, IBR or PAYE). That way, your payments will count toward PSLF's 120-payment requirement. Alternatively, if you would have hit 120 months of on-time payments if not for the pause, you can apply for the PSLF Buyback program to get credit for your time in forbearance. "This program [allows borrowers] to make a lump-sum payment for any months spent in administrative forbearance under SAVE, ensuring those months count towards PSLF," explains Megan Walter, NASFAA senior policy analyst. The downside of these first two options is that borrowers have been reporting processing delays. So don't expect a fast response. Lastly, if you've recently enrolled in PSLF or are not close to receiving forgiveness, you might prefer to wait until you're moved into a new payment plan. Yes, your months in forbearance won't count toward your 120-payment goal, but this could give you time to start saving for a potentially higher student loan payment. Whether you decide to change plans now or wait, make sure your decisions align with your financial goals. With SAVE no longer an option, it's important to understand all your avenues for paying back your student loans. Two things SAVE borrowers can do right now That doesn't mean you should sit back and do nothing, though. Take this time to prepare for the likelihood that your payments will increase in the future by reviewing other payment plans and putting money away so you're prepared when payments resume. You can use the Federal Student Aid's Loan Simulator tool to help calculate how much your monthly payment will be under different payment plans. If you have the wiggle room in your budget, you can start paying yourself each month the same amount you'd put toward your student loan payments. Pay this money directly into a high-yield savings account so you can earn a little interest on your savings. Then, when payments resume, you'll have a cushion ready to go.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - Higher ed reform shouldn't punish low-income students
Congress is understandably concerned about the return on federal investment in higher education and the $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt. But in its rush to fix a system that too often fails low-income students, the Trump administration's 'one big, beautiful bill' would further reduce opportunity and access for those very students and jeopardize the work of colleges and universities doing the most to serve them. If passed, the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal financial aid and accountability rules. Some of its goals are worthy. Colleges should be transparent about student outcomes. They should be accountable for quality. And no student should graduate, or drop out, with insurmountable debt. But reducing access to loans for the students who face the steepest barriers to opportunity is not the way to achieve those goals. One provision of the proposed bill would eliminate subsidized federal loans, which currently prevent interest from accruing while undergraduates are still in school. For students from low-income backgrounds who already borrow more than their wealthier peers, this would significantly increase the cost of a college degree. Another proposal would cap the amount of aid a student could receive at a national median cost by program, without regard for the individual student's or family's specific economic need. The legislation would also eliminate PLUS Loans and raise the minimum course load required to receive full Pell Grant aid, even though many working students enroll part-time by necessity, not choice. Reducing Pell Grant access is counterproductive to lowering student debt. Pell Grant recipients already account for seven of every 10 federal student loan borrowers, and, on average, incur $4,500 more in debt than other non-Pell graduates Capping graduate student borrowing, especially in health and public service fields, would undercut workforce development just as we face national shortages of nurses, teachers and social workers. And the bill's 'risk-sharing' proposal, which would penalize colleges when student loans are forgiven, even through programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, would shift resources away from need-based aid and student support and discourage institutions from enrolling those most in need. That includes institutions like the University of Mount Saint Vincent, which I lead. Ours is a small, private, nonprofit university in the Bronx founded in 1847 to educate young women at a time when few others would. Today, we serve students of every background, and more than half are the first in their family to attend college. More than half of our undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Ninety percent of our graduate students are preparing for public service careers in education, nursing or healthcare. And like many mission-driven colleges, we make enormous investments in financial aid and academic support, precisely because we know what it takes for low-income and first-generation students to thrive. This bill threatens our ability to invest in students and potential. It would impose a six-figure penalty, rising annually, because we enroll the very students we were founded to serve. That's not accountability. That's a deterrent. And we are not unique. Hundreds of small, private colleges across the country, many of them religiously affiliated, offer intimate learning environments, close faculty support and flexible programs that enable students to work while pursuing their degrees. These institutions are among the most accessible and most responsive options for students who are otherwise being left behind in higher education. The better path forward is one that strengthens accountability for all institutions without dismantling the tools that low-income students need to access and afford college in the first place. That means preserving need-based aid, not narrowing it. And it means supporting colleges that produce teachers, nurses and public servants, not penalizing them. At a time when the U.S. risks falling behind in educational attainment and workforce readiness, we should be doubling down on institutions that help students rise. The question isn't whether reform is needed, but whether we're reforming the right things. Susan R. Burns, Ph.D., is president of the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Riley supporting loan forgiveness for volunteer first responders
WASHINGTON, FC (WIVT/WBGH) — Congressman Josh Riley is making sure volunteer heroes receive the respect and support that they deserve. Riley announced his co-sponsorship of the Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Emergency Situations, or HEROES, Act. The initiative is a bipartisan bill that would extend eligibility for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to include volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders. 'If you've put on the gear and answered the call, you shouldn't be buried in debt,' said Riley. 'The HEROES Act gives volunteer firefighters the respect they've earned by making their service count toward student loan forgiveness. They don't do it for the money—they do it because they love their communities and want to keep their neighbors safe.' According to Riley, the HEROES Act would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to recognize the service of unpaid emergency responders as qualifying public service under the PSLF program, making them eligible for federal student loan forgiveness after ten years of service and qualifying payments. Riley supporting loan forgiveness for volunteer first responders P. East Trading Corp recalls Salted Smoked Split Herring 'It Ain't Necessarily So' discusses American Black history A mix of sun and showers today News 34 Pizza Week returns Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
