Some student loans are in line for relief. What’s happening and what you should do now
LA TimesPayments were set to resume May 1, but after calls from Democrats in Congress, the White House plans to give borrowers additional time. About 9 million borrowers are in IDR plans, representing about 30% of federal student loans, said Regan Fitzgerald, manager of Pew’s Project on Student Borrower Success. To address the recordkeeping issues, the Federal Student Aid office “will do a one-time revision of IDR-qualifying payments for all Direct Student Loans and federally managed Federal Family Education Loan Program loans,” the Education Department said. Forbearance steering When borrowers tell the company servicing their loans that they’re having trouble making payments, the servicers are supposed to alert them about IDR plans and other lower-cost options, as well as the costs of having their loan go into forbearance — a temporary form of relief that reduces or suspends payments while allowing interest charges and debt to grow. There are plenty of debt-relief scammers out there, Hounanian said, and “when borrowers are confused, that’s when these companies pounce.” The COVID-related moratorium on student loan payments has helped borrowers in many ways, including when it comes to IDR forgiveness.