Monday, June 22, 2015

Handling Student Loan Debt With Ease

By Freida Michael


Changing financial fortunes and additional responsibilities is likely to make the repayment of student debts a challenge. The difficulty persists even after attempting to defer repayment as well as taking advantage of forbearance. The consequences of defaulting are too grave to consider. It is time to think about student loan debt management and adjustment programs under the management of federal government.

A common option available to individual is the extension of the normal repayment period of ten years or 120 installments. The management of this program considers how much you earn before making any adjustments. People who have applied for other education loans and those earning lower salaries are eligible for the relief.

A person who has recently taken another education loan is eligible for Pay As You Earn. This program limits your repayment installments to 10 percent of your disposable income. If there is a balance even after making the required number of repayments, you qualify for federal forgiveness that wipes off the balance. You will need to make 120 payments to qualify for forgiveness. This provides financial relief beyond ensuring that you have more money at your disposal.

To qualify for Pay As You Earn forgiveness plan, you must produce evidence that you are experiencing financial difficulty. The first federal loan must also have been acquired after 1st October 2007. You also must have applied and been successful in eight Federal Direct or Direct Consolidation loan. The date for acquisition of either of the two loans is 1st October 2011.

Education debts can be managed easily through the Income Based Repayment Plan. This is a program originated and managed by the federal government. Under the program, your monthly repayment cannot go beyond 15 percent of your disposable income. At the end of the agreed repayment period, which is 120, 240 or 300 installments, the balance is forgiven.

There are special requirements that must be fulfilled to qualify for Income Based Repayment or IBR. The two main considerations is a large family or growing number of dependents and a lower level of income. Instead of the standard repayment period of 10 years, an adjustment is made based on income available to your family based on its size.

The size of family and disposable income that will be available to them determine your terms for Income Based Repayment plan instead of interest rate. The maximum will be set at either 10 or 15 percent of the discretionary income. Forgiveness of the debt is only instituted once you make all repayments within the stipulated time.

Defaults on student loans come with harsh consequences which dent you credit rating, among other harsh consequences. You will be labeled as a defaulter if you will not have made any payments within 270 days. The education loans management plans are an excellent way to maintain a good credit rating and managing your debts.

Easy management and repayment plans include Pay As You Earn, Standard Payment Plan, Income Based Payment, Contingent Payment Plan, Extended Payment and Guaranteed Payment plan. There are experts who understand these plans better and will assist you to choose the best for you. You enjoy financial relief through the adjustment plans instead of defaulting.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment