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‘It feels predatory’: 6 million people are not eligible for a COVID-19 pause on student-debt payments even if they work in public service MarketWatch 3/8/2021
DISPATCHES FROM A PANDEMIC
When the federal government declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency in March, Christopher Granado continued sending $730 each month to pay his federal student-loan bill.
He wasn’t trying to get ahead on his balance amid the COVID-era pause on student-loan payments, collections and interest. In fact, he would have preferred to put any funds he had toward making sure he was prepared for a financial emergency.
Granado, 48, a health, safety and environmental manager in the oil and gas industry, said, “I’ve been trying to save as much as I can because I don’t know whether I’ll have a job tomorrow.”
Seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness? You could run into this pandemic roadblock
By Kathryn Pomroy article
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) forgives up to 100% of the remaining balance on your federal Direct Loans after making 120 qualifying payments under a qualifying repayment plan. But to be eligible for the program, you may face a coronavirus pa
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The nearly $1.6 trillion in student debt owed by U.S. families continues to be the largest source of (nonmortgage) debt, as noted by the Federal Reserve s recent Survey of Consumer Finances. For that reason, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program should come as welcome relief for many families impacted by COVID-19.
urfinguss/istock/getty images plus
Among the urgencies facing President-elect Joe Biden soon after he is sworn in on Jan. 20 is the expiration of the CARES Act’s student loan forbearances (principal and interest) 11 days later and the tidal wave of new payment defaults that is likely to follow.
Biden has repeatedly committed to discharging $10,000 of higher education debt per borrower. At the extreme end of the progressive political spectrum, however, amounts of $50,000 and more are being bandied about.
In other words, unqualified amnesty.
But the notion of loan forgiveness whether in full or in part is a political expedient. An ineffective remedy that does not give sufficient weight to several fundamentally important considerations.