Student Loan Debt Help: Loan Forgiveness
Student Loan Debt Help
College students are graduating with more and more debt. Paying off mountains of debt is not going to be an overnight walk in the park. It will take time--months, years, even decades--to remove student debt. One way to receive Student Loan Debt Help is participating in loan forgiveness programs. In exchange for your service the debt is forgiven. However, the "service" part is a drawback to many.
Loan forgiveness comes in two main forms: public service loan forgiveness and loan repayment assistance program. Choosing the public service loan forgiveness program mean committing to ten years worth of monthly payments before the rest is forgiven. You will also have to work at an approved public service job for those same ten years. Debt forgiven doesn't have to be paid back through taxes.
Loan repayment assistance programs require a short period of dedicated service (volunteer) to an organization in exchange for some loan forgiveness. You will also get a salary while volunteering. Because so many people want their loans forgiven it's hard to get accepted. The best thing you can do to increase the odds is to apply early. If you are chosen know that taxes will be paid for any awards offered during the year you "cash in." This is a full-on commitment and there's no partial credit. If you drop out before time is up, you get nothing. It's an all or nothing program.
You can double-dip and join both programs. Choose to dedicate your time to volunteer programs like AmeriCorps. Peace Corps and Teach for America. Use that to count for the ten-year public service loan program. Either way you will have to contribute to paying some of the loan back. This is great for teachers, librarians, public defenders and medical field majors although all occupations should be on the lookout for debt forgiveness opportunities nationally and statewide. Make sure you know what kind of loan you have because it does decide whether you qualify for loan forgiveness or not.
Other loan forgiveness options reduce payments before forgiveness. They are income based repayment and pay as you earn. Income repayment reduces monthly payments. The remaining balance is forgiven after 25 years of continued, on-time payment. The amount forgiven will be taxed by the IRS. Pay as you earn is has the same rules as income based repayment but the debt is forgiven after 20 years. There's also debt forgiveness programs based on occupation. As stated before check the type of loans you have because it will determine if you're qualified.
There are so many ways to reduce or forgive your student debt. This is a great opportunity to start fresh. Contact us for more information on debt forgiveness. We can find the right loan forgiveness plan for your debt, income, occupation and financial situation.
