GBE Clients,
Roughly 8 million borrowers are now eligible for student loan debt forgiveness. To begin the process please click https://studentaid.gov/welcome/?redirectTo=%2F and then Start the Application.
REQUIREMENTS
People who make less than $125,000 per year, or families who make less than $250,000 per year, are eligible for up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness. Borrowers who meet those same income requirements and attended college with Pell Grants, designed to help low-income students, are eligible for up to $20,000 in forgiveness.
TIMELINE
Borrowers have until Dec. 31, 2023, to apply for the forgiveness program. But the administration has recommended that people apply by Nov. 15 of this year to have the form processed before the pause on federal student loan payments ends (payments are set to resume in January).
PAYMENTS DURING PANDEMIC
Borrowers who hold eligible federal student loans and have made voluntary payments since March 13, 2020, can get a refund, according to the Department of Education. For some people, that refund will be automatic. Others will have to apply.
1) You will receive an automatic refund on payment amounts which brought your loan balance below the maximum debt relief threshold:
- $10,000 for all borrowers and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients (borrowers can check balances in their studentaid.gov account).
- For example, if a borrower paid $100 a month for 10 months of the pandemic and their balance is now $8,000;
- The $1,000 of payments will automatically be refunded
- They must apply to get the rest of their $8,000 debt forgiven
2) But if a borrower paid throughout the pandemic and still owes more than $10,000; they won’t get an automatic refund. They can, however, apply to have $10,000 of the remaining debt erased.