{"id":104229,"date":"2021-09-28T00:03:33","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T07:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=104229"},"modified":"2021-09-29T08:24:09","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T15:24:09","slug":"should-you-pay-down-student-loan-debt-or-wait-for-forgiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2021\/09\/28\/should-you-pay-down-student-loan-debt-or-wait-for-forgiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you pay down student loan debt or wait for forgiveness?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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During the 2020 presidential election, President Biden campaigned on a platform that included forgiving federal student loan debt. The goal of offering this was to help U.S. citizens find a way out of debt and continue the path of the American Dream; buy a home, have a family, and start to create a healthy retirement savings.<\/p>\n

But in the meantime, while we wait to see if forgiveness happens, we need to create a plan to keep us from drowning in an unwinnable situation. But what about Biden\u2019s plan? Should you wait for the forgiveness order to go through, or is it better to play it safe and keep paying your loans?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where we come in. We will tackle the options Biden has for creating student loan forgiveness and the challenges he faces. We\u2019ll also show you a few ways you can have your loans canceled without waiting for his order. Plus, we\u2019ve got a few methods for how you can start lowering your debt now while waiting to see what happens.<\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s student loan forgiveness: Plan for the worst, but hope for the best<\/h3>\n

Though it was a campaign promise, there\u2019s no guarantee that Biden will be able to follow through on forgiving student loans. There are two avenues he can take: issuing an executive order or getting a bill through Congress, and both are tall hills to climb.<\/p>\n

To have student loans forgiven by executive order, Biden would have to write the order in such a way that would prevent it from being struck down by the Supreme Court if the justices see it as an overreach of his authority. Lawsuits could drag on for years. During that time, you would be required to continue making payments as if there were no executive order.<\/p>\n

To have student loans forgiven by a bill would be even more difficult. While the Democrats currently have a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, that doesn\u2019t mean every Democrat is on board with forgiveness. To have the bill signed into law would involve having every Democratic representative vote for it in the House, and it would need the same plus a few Republican senators to pass through the Senate.<\/p>\n

Finally, the only student loans that would be forgiven are federal if either of these paths worked. Private student loans wouldn\u2019t apply to the federal mandate, so you\u2019d still be on the hook for any private loans taken out.<\/p>\n

Other options for student loan forgiveness<\/h3>\n

There are other avenues to explore for having your federal student loans forgiven. After making 120 successful payments on your loans, you may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.<\/p>\n

The PSLF program is designed to assist employees at any level of government (including federal, state, and local) with the option to have the remainder of their loans forgiven. There are more requirements and a detailed process on the Department of Education\u2019s website<\/a>. If you\u2019re eligible, the PSLF is an excellent program that you should use as quickly as you can.<\/p>\n

If one of your loans is a Federal Perkins Loan, you may be able to have your debt partially or fully forgiven. Unfortunately, the Perkins Loan is no longer an option as of 2018, meaning the Class of 2022 is the last class that had the chance to take out one of these loans. If you already have a Perkins Loan and work in one of the eligible career paths, you could have your loans canceled altogether.<\/p>\n

Lastly, the U.S. Department of Education also offers an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) program. Though it won\u2019t cancel your student loan debt, it can help make your payments more manageable by extending the duration of your repayment terms and lowering your monthly payment. There are four different plans offered as IDRs:<\/p>\n