{"id":536,"date":"2020-06-05T22:41:21","date_gmt":"2020-06-06T05:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simplifimoney.com\/blog\/?p=536"},"modified":"2024-11-18T10:21:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T18:21:45","slug":"student-loan-forgiveness-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/student-loan-forgiveness-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide to Student Loan Forgiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In 2020, student loan debt hit a record-breaking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zackfriedman\/2020\/02\/03\/student-loan-debt-statistics\/#750f715e281f\">$1.56 trillion<\/a> nationwide. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans found themselves straddled with anxiety-inducing debt loads they weren\u2019t sure they\u2019d ever pay off.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news is: You may qualify for some relief. While there\u2019s no shortcut for dealing with student loans, there are many student loan forgiveness programs that can significantly decrease how much you wind up paying overall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your student loan forgiveness options can depend on the type of loan you have, where you live, where you work, and how much you earn. And while each program comes with its own set of (sometimes tricky to navigate) rules, the wide variety opens up options you may not have thought you had. Here\u2019s what you need to know:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Programs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll have the most options if you have <a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/understand-aid\/types\/loans\/federal-vs-private\">federal student loans<\/a>. That\u2019s because private student loans aren\u2019t eligible for the federal loan repayment assistance programs and some programs only help repay federal student loan debt.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, even if you have federal loans, you\u2019ll need to meet the eligibility requirements. For example, two popular federal forgiveness programs require you to repay your federal loans with certain repayment plans or work at an eligible employer while making your payments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/manage-loans\/repayment\/plans\/income-driven#repayment-period\"><strong>Income-Driven Repayment Plan Forgiveness<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong>Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans can lower your monthly payment by basing your payment on your income and family size. Additionally, IDR has a limited repayment period. Depending on the plan, the remainder of your student loan will be forgiven after you make payments for 20 to 25 years.&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/manage-loans\/forgiveness-cancellation\/public-service\"><strong>Public Service Loan Forgiveness<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong>The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program is one of the most popular forgiveness programs because you can get the remainder of your federal loans forgiven after making 120 monthly payments (10 years\u2019 worth). However, you need to have Direct student loans (a type of federal loan), be on a qualifying repayment plan, and work full-time for a qualified nonprofit or government organization while making those payments.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are additional federal loan forgiveness or cancellation programs as well, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/manage-loans\/forgiveness-cancellation\/teacher\">Teacher Loan Forgiveness<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/manage-loans\/forgiveness-cancellation\/perkins\">Perkins Loan Cancellation and Discharge<\/a> programs. And, you might qualify to have your loan discharged (i.e., you won\u2019t owe the money) in other special circumstances, such as if you become totally and permanently disabled.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">State-Dependent Loan Forgiveness Programs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some states and state-based organizations also have <a href=\"https:\/\/thecollegeinvestor.com\/student-loan-forgiveness-programs-by-state\/\">student loan forgiveness programs <\/a>for eligible residents. These tend to be for people who work in a particular profession, such as healthcare workers and attorneys, and who serve a high-need population within the state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Profession-Dependent Student Loan Forgiveness Programs&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to the state-dependent programs, there are federal-, school-, and industry-funded loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) available to members of certain professions. Generally, you\u2019ll need to commit to working in a specific job or area for several years to receive the assistance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similar to the state-dependent programs, these also tend to be for healthcare workers and lawyers working in underserved areas. But you may be able to find opportunities in other fields as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Student Loan Forgiveness Programs for Military Members<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/studentloanhero.com\/featured\/military-student-loan-forgiveness-repayment\/\">Service members<\/a> may be eligible for the PSLF. Additionally, there are student loan repayment assistance programs for service members with different amounts of assistance depending on the branch, current need, and your experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Employers\u2019 Student Loan Forgiveness Programs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some companies offer student loan forgiveness as a benefit to employees. These aren\u2019t wide-spread benefits, but they\u2019re worth asking about while job hunting. Sometimes, the company will make regular payments to your loan servicer on your behalf. Or, the company may offer to match part of your monthly loan payment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">COVID-19 and Student Loan Relief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"\/blog\/coronavirus-unemployment\/\">Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act<\/a> didn\u2019t directly offer student loan forgiveness to borrowers, but it did provide <a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/announcements-events\/coronavirus\">temporary relief<\/a> to borrowers with federally held student loans.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eligible loans receive a 0% interest rate and deferred payments from March 13 through September 30, 2020. Additionally, the missed payments count as qualifying payments toward IDR forgiveness. They also count toward your required 120 PSLF payments if you meet the other requirements, including remaining a full-time employee at a qualifying organization.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Private student loan companies may also offer hardship programs to borrowers, although the CARES Act doesn\u2019t require it and the loans won\u2019t be eligible for federal forgiveness programs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More and Confirm You\u2019re On The Right Track<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While student loan forgiveness programs can <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-debt\/\">save you a lot of money<\/a>, the rules and requirements can be complicated to understand and follow. Unfortunately, some student loan servicers (the companies you send your payments to) don\u2019t have a great track record of helping steer borrowers in the right direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/manage-loans\/forgiveness-cancellation\">Department of Education<\/a> is a good place to start if you want to learn more about the federal student loan forgiveness options.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have specific questions, you can also find low-cost student loan counselors at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfcc.org\/\">nonprofit credit counseling organizations<\/a>. Or, student loan attorneys who can help you with more complex questions and help if you\u2019ve been wronged.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are many different student loan forgiveness programs. Learn about all the options to see which ones you may qualify for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Guide to Student Loan Forgiveness | Simplifi by Quicken Blog","_seopress_titles_desc":"There are many different student loan forgiveness programs. Learn about all the options to see which ones you may qualify for.","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budgeting-savings"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/SimplifiStudentLoanForgiveness.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3802,"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536\/revisions\/3802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}