Sadly, the postponement of your student loan payments is coming to an end and you will have to begin making payments in February. You may have already taken the necessary steps to submit your Income-Driven repayment documents to reduce your payments or you may still need to do so. If you have federal loans that need to be consolidated now is the time to also get that done. If you are one of the lucky few that have already paid off your loans or who doesn’t have any federal loans, pass this message on to someone who may need help.

What to expect

  • Interest on all Federal Direct loans will resume
  • All payments will resume on Federal loans
  • All consolidations that would allow for forgiveness must be completed before October 2022
  • Income-Driven repayment documents must be submitted before the end of January

You also want to be aware of some major changes that you should have already been notified about. Navient will be shifting their servicing to Aidvantage. This means that payments will go to them starting in February. You should have received communication from them to update your contact information to ensure you don’t miss any notifications. Also, Fedloan servicing is going away as well. Many borrowers have already been moved away from Fedloans to a new servicing company. Check your online account to determine if you have been moved so you are not late on your payments coming in February.

If you are not ready to pay or can’t pay the full amount you should not delay getting the necessary documents completed. Each situation is different so you may need an Income-Driven Repayment option, a Graduated Repayment or to Consolidate the loans to reduce your monthly payment. You want to be sure you know which repayment plan is right for you. Below are the different options:

1. Standard Payment
2. Graduated Fixed Payment
3. Graduated Extended Payment
Consolidation (to achieve longer term) Payment
4. Income-Based Repayment
5. Income-Contingent Repayment
6. Pay-As-You-Earn Repayment Plan
7. Revised Pay-As-You-Earn Repayment Plan

You also have Deferment and Forbearance options to postpone your payments entirely if needed.

And don’t forget you still may qualify for forgiveness if you have worked in the public sector (government, state, non-profit organization) for 10 years even if you were not in the correct repayment program. As long as you have eligible federal loans, were in repayment, and your organization qualifies you can take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Waiver.

To Learn More about your options or have your documents completed and submitted for you please contact Degrees of Success!