Don’t miss out on this special one-time forgiveness count adjustment opportunity.
“Any borrower with loans that have accumulated time in repayment of at least 20 or 25 years will see automatic forgiveness, even if you are not currently on an IDR plan.”
If you haven’t looked closely at your student loans for 10 years or more, or you graduated veterinary school around 2014 or before, you really should pay very close attention to the recently announced changes.
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Check out the special Climbing Mt. Debt Case Study video showing how one veterinarian may save more than $65,000 in loan repayment costs using the one-time forgiveness count adjustment:
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Thankfully, most borrowers won’t have to do anything to benefit from the new changes. However, some will. The problem is that it is not obvious who needs to act and who does not to make sure you are considered for the special one-time forgiveness count adjusment.
Anyone with federal student loans is now eligible for forgiveness, regardless of the repayment plan(s) you’ve been using.
But let’s say you graduated veterinary school in 2000 and for whatever reason have a balance remaining on your federal student loans. Under the one-time forgiveness count adjusment, you could be eligible for forgiveness consideration for the last 20+ years of repayment. This would mean that you have less than 3 years before any remaining balance would be forgiven. Essentially, your previous repayment time (and some deferment/forbearance time) will be adjusted to count towards the forgiveness progress normally reserved for income-driven repayment plans.
How do I know if I need to do anything with my loans to be considered for automatic forgiveness?
If you find privately/commercially held FFELs in your student loan portfolio, then you need to consolidate those FFELs into a federal Direct Consolidation Loan before the end of 2023 to be eligible for forgiveness consideration.
How do I identify a federally held vs. privately held FFEL?
However, if you do not see a “DEPT OF ED” ahead of your loan servicer name for your FFELs, then you have privately managed or “commercially held” FFELs. These are the loans that must be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan before the end of 2023 to be eligible for forgiveness consideration.
What if I find privately held FFELs in my federal student loan portfolio?
Some additional good news: Any privately/commercially held FFEL balance you consolidate will also be eligible for the pandemic forbearance benefits, recently extended into 2023, possibly through August 2023. that are in place through at least December 31, 2022. Whichever repayment plan you choose, no interest and no payment will be due through the remainder of that period. However, to assure that your post-consolidation and post-special-forgiveness-recount repayment time is forgiveness eligible, choose an income-driven repayment plan.
A few minutes of your time to save significant time, money, and stress on your student loans
Ideally, once the one-time forgiveness count is complete, you will have a better idea of the exact number of months and years of qualifying student loan forgiveness time. Some will even receive retroactive forgiveness if they surpass 20-25 years of eligible repayment time (likely 25 years for most veterinarians). Any payments made beyond that forgiveness period will be refunded to you. Bonus!
Borrowers who have reached the required number of years in repayment to receive forgiveness should receive word in 2023. All others will see their count adjustments applied in 2024.
Again, this is a big f-ing deal. Student loan forgiveness could be closer than you realize, particularly if you have been paying on your student loans for a long time. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to rid yourself of your remaining student loan debt sooner and cheaper.
If you need student debt help, reach out to VIN and VIN Foundation. We have free online tools like the VIN Foundation Student Debt Center and special message board areas to help you make sense of your options. If you have questions on any of the available tools and options, reach out to studentdebt@vinfoundation.org – we’re here to help!