Today, the Department of Education announced that $39 Billion dollars of student loans will be forgiven this year under the IDR waiver.
804,000 borrowers who have made 240 or 300 monthly payments—the equivalent of 20 or 25 years on an IDR plan or the standard repayment plan, will receive email notifications as soon as today. Discharges will be sent 30 days after emails are sent.
What Loan Types and Payments Qualify?
Forgiveness will be available to all federal loan borrowers who meet the qualifying repayment time frame with Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) held by the Department, including Parent PLUS loans.
To ensure more people qualify for forgiveness, the Biden administration included payments made by borrowers who had paused their payments in certain deferments and forbearances as well as those who had made partial or late payments.
A Breakdown of Qualifying Payments
- Any month in which a borrower was in a repayment status, regardless of whether payments were partial or late, the type of loan, or the repayment plan
- Any period in which a borrower spent 12 or more consecutive months in forbearance
- Any month in forbearance for borrowers who spent 36 or more cumulative months in forbearance
- Any month spent in deferment (except for in-school deferment) prior to 2013
- Any month spent in economic hardship or military deferments on or after January 1, 2013
- Any payments made prior to consolidation
- Any month counted for this purpose can also be counted toward PSLF if the borrower documents qualifying employment for that same period.
What’s Next
Check your emails! The Department of Education will begin notifying eligible borrowers today. If you didn’t get an email and believe you qualify, don’t worry. The Department of Education will continue to identify and notify borrowers who reach the applicable forgiveness thresholds every two months until next year when all borrowers who are not yet eligible for forgiveness will have their payment counts updated.
Use Chipper for Lower Payments
Chipper can help you find a student loan repayment plan that actually fits into your budget. You simply fill out your information and link your student loan account for us to generate your options in seconds. We help the average student loan borrower save over $300 a month off their student loan monthly payment. Lowering your monthly payment plan can game changing for your personal finance and can be done in minutes! Sign up for Chipper today to get on track with your student loans.
Use Chipper for The Best Path to Forgiveness
Finding your path to student loan forgiveness is easier than ever before. Chipper helps members find better Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans every day. Once enrolled in an eligible repayment plan, we can help you explore your forgiveness options and understand your path towards forgiveness. Sign up with Chipper today and get on track with your student loans.
Use Chipper for Round-Ups
Paying off your student loans doesn’t have to be a long and painful journey. Round-Ups are a way to directly pay off your loans with your everyday spending! By tracking your linked spending account(s), we will calculate the rounded up amount from each transaction in a week (IE spending $4.28 would add $0.72 to the weekly amount). We then initiate a payment towards your student loan for the weekly amount. Get chipping away on your student loans with Chipper today.
Use Chipper for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was created to provide relief to borrowers aiding the public sector. Unfortunately, 30% of applicants are denied due to incorrect paperwork. We can help! Chipper was created to solve this issue by assisting borrowers in understanding their options as well as allowing forgiveness eligible users enroll into the best forgiveness program available. Sign up for Chipper today to see your student loan forgiveness options and get the forgiveness you deserve.
Use Chipper for Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF)
The Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) program was created to enable teachers working in Title 1 schools to receive student loan forgiveness of up to $17,500 (depending on their teaching subject). Chipper has helped teachers from all over the country qualify for TLF program and can help you get the forgiveness you deserve today. Find out if you qualify for forgiveness in minutes with our employer search tool.
