Time Running Out to Apply for Debt Relief
At the start of the pandemic, the federal government paused the repayment requirements for most federal student loans. More recently, the Administration announced that it would forgive a certain amount of student debt to eligible borrowers. Both announcements were meant to help borrowers through economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and regain their financial footing after seeing student debt balloon to over $1.6 trillion. These are unique opportunities that could see thousands of dollars eliminated from your balance. But time is running out.
Repayment of federal student loans is scheduled to resume in the new year and, more urgently, the window for federal student loan borrowers to apply to receive credit for past periods of repayment towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness is scheduled to expire October 31, 2022. AACTE strongly encourages you, a family member and/or friend to apply if you meet the eligibility requirements.
Some borrowers may be concerned about legal challenges to President Biden’s loan forgiveness plans. However, the lawsuits, if successful, only apply to a handful of private loans and do not apply to loans eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
The Department of Education also recently released a short “Student Loan Debt Relief Do’s and Don’ts” that borrowers should keep in mind as they apply for forgiveness and/or resume repayment on their loans.
Tags: federal issues, funding
