Department of Education Announces Actions to Fix Longstanding Failures in the Student Loan Programs
Categories: US Education News
Today, the Branch of Training reported advances that will carry borrowers nearer to public help credit and pay driven reimbursement (IDR) absolution by tending to authentic disappointments in the organization of the government understudy loan programs.
Government Understudy Help (FSA) gauges that these progressions will bring about prompt obligation abrogation for no less than 40,000 borrowers under the Public Assistance Credit Absolution (PSLF) Program. A few thousand borrowers with more seasoned credits will likewise get pardoning through IDR. More than 3.6 million borrowers will likewise get somewhere around three years of extra credit toward IDR absolution.
“Student loans were never meant to be a life sentence, but it’s certainly felt that way for borrowers locked out of debt relief they’re eligible for,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Today, the Department of Education will begin to remedy years of administrative failures that effectively denied the promise of loan forgiveness to certain borrowers enrolled in IDR plans.
These actions once again demonstrate the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to delivering meaningful debt relief and ensuring federal student loan programs are administered fairly and effectively.”
Beyond the immediate corrective actions announced today that will provide relief to borrowers harmed in the past, FSA will take action to ensure that borrowers receive these benefits in the future. Below are the actions being taken today.
The Department will address forbearance steering by:
- Conducting a One-Time Account Adjustment to Count Certain Long-Term Forbearances toward IDR and PSLF Forgiveness
- Increasing Oversight of Servicers’ Forbearance Use
- Tracking Progress Toward IDR Forgiveness
- Conduct a One-Time Revision of IDR Payments to Address Past Inaccuracies
- Permanently Fix IDR Payment Counting by Reforming FSA's IDR Tracking