students,loans,website,payments,debt,loan,student,said,payment,plan,information,public,obama,people,private,new,borrowers,uncategorized,comment,pay,direct,account,income,admin,17dec,president,interest,late,1098,read,online,education,federal,year,announcement,history,working,profit,may,college,bankruptcy,payed,help,reduced,monthly,wednesday,bill,default,lower,need,burden,take,loonin,debiting,kwikpay,taken,issue,available,declare,card,forms,blog,2011,accounts,plans,colleges,know,get,department,credit,rates,applied,low,forgiveness,struggling,durbin,000,repayment,percent,means,address,high,september,institutions,debits,years,increasingly,measures,call,use,able,lowering,problems,day,register,back,graduates,dept,support,time,traditional,important,just,center,rss,financial,house,cohen,deceived,cost,ach,delayed,told,cleared,really,administrations,good,benefit,rate,broader,automatic,average,provide,month,system,date,combined,class,eda,morning,community,done,site,republican,increases,helping,bank,previously,skyrocketing,lenders,approved,shireman,mortgage,works,denver,verification,starting,special,post,servicing,right,confidence,503544,want,prospects,michelle,hearing,fraud,consumer,university,send,continue,telling,days,faces,bad,kind,2005,phone,forgive,www,…,com,senate,passwords,programs,earn,letter,reform,statement,program,congress,measure,official,bankrupt,non,gov,real,school,added,cbsnews,actions,result,debited,americans,sen,coming,industry,getting,crowd,aimed,introduced,infolink,forbearance,surpassed,past,law,received,earning,argued,due,suggested,password,forcing,increase,log,gary,eligible,contact,administration,best,debts,120,show,step,amount,var,making,number,manage,study,different,proposal,http,comments,way,left,wordpress,access,explained,costs,electronic,title,colorado,give,aid,,outlining,dick,collegeone,mail,early,risks,drive,look,place,yesterday,distressed,adress,server,groups,usa,outlined,times,robert,recalled,graduate,announced,hurtling,rampant,oct,asked,selection,method,says,dictated,burdened,find,consolidations,options,anita,studentaid,welcome,attended,prefer,cap,spectrum,row,morehttp,meaningful,praised,collegefamilies,affected,zwwooooo,servants,news,message,store,hang,exceed,fairly,growth,publicly,noted,audience,fifth,pointed,lot,tenn,quipped,firsthand,fees,traded,tough,full,fix,voices,ultimately,legislation,consultant,quote,attorney,consolidate,led,rep,suspended,today,siblings,doesn’,forgiveness Deferment/Forbearance Posted by admin. myedaccount.co is a blog about debt. If you are looking for the Direct Loan site, go to www.myedaccount.com Student Loans The interest rate on subsidized Stafford Loans will increase to 6.8% beginning in 2012-2013. The current interest rate is only 3.4%! If you consolidate, you could loose the right to defer your loans. Be sure to read the fine print. Because the forms are not currently available on one official site, I am starting a list of (what I believe to be) the most current forms: Education Related Deferment Economic Hardship Deferment General Forbearance Scribd.com is being used so that the most current forms can be updated and shared among users. More forms are on the way! Deferment or Forbearance A deferment or forbearance could allow you to put off making payments on your loan if necessary. The interest on a subsidized loan is usually paid by the government when a deferment is granted. The interest on an unsubsidized loan may continue to add up (accrue) and become capitalized (added to the balance of your loan) at the end of the forbearance period. Look at your loan documents to see whether you have an unsubsidized or subsidized loan. Oftentimes, borrowers have both. Either way, you might qualify for a deferment if you are: Enrolled in school half-time (6 units) in a graduate program Enrolled full-time in a graduate fellowship program Completing an internship (or specific courses/exams required for current employment) Participating in a state’s rehabilitation program (a retraining program due to mild or severe disability) Serving in the military Receiving unemployment, food stamps or have a special circumstance Other reasons Step #1: Determine if you qualify Look for the “Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities Statement” or any other statement you have received from your lender for a list of programs. Or, read the “Forms” page and the other posts and pages on this site, myedaccount.org Start by reviewing ALL of the application forms and instructions (for each of the different programs). Then, read the fine print on each of the instructions. Highlight the program requirements and see if your situation is similar. Then, fill out the correct form completely, step-by-step. Be careful, you might be using the wrong form by mistake. If you call your lender, don’t be discouraged by an opinion you receive over the phone. If the facts support your position that you qualify for a deferment (or forbearance, see below), then you will likely be granted the deferment (or be given a reason for denial). Talk with someone who understands your situation AND the organization’s protocols. IF YOU DO NOT QUALIFY, consider the possibility of creating the conditions necessary to qualify (for example, go back to school, apply for food stamps, apply to the department of rehabilitation, etc.) and then fill out the forms. You might find that one of these other programs can help you even though what you really need is the deferment (or forbearance). MORE INFORMATION ON VARIOUS STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS IS ON THE WAY! Step #2: Submit the correct application form by certified mail All information on the form needs to be correct and filled-out completely, otherwise the application will be rejected and/or mailed back to you. To get approved, you also have to submit supporting documentation, such as a letter from an authorized official, agency or other person-in-charge. A person-in-charge could be someone you know who is willing to vouch for you and your situation by signing the form. Don’t stretch the truth but, at the same time, don’t be discouraged from applying. After you fill-out the form, wait a day and take another look at it to be sure your application will be taken seriously (unless you are in a hurry). You can also ask someone you trust (or a legal professional) to take a look at the form. Make photocopies of all forms for yourself but be sure to send the original. If you are in a hurry, you could speed up the process by first sending the application form and documentation by fax to a specific person or department (and then send it by certified mail). You should not be in default on a student loan before applying for deferment. Your rationale should be well-documented and you should send the form to the correct person or department. You could also follow up by phone to make sure your application has been received. Mail the form and documentation from the post office in a letter that is “certified with return receipt”. Certified shows the date you sent the document, return receipt means they send you a post card with the recipient’s signature. The post office charges about $6 for this service. A forbearance is used instead of a deferment to postpone payments and, unfortunately, the interest will continue to add up (accrue) and become capitalized (added to the balance of your loan) at the end of the forbearance period, usually. You might qualify for a forbearance if you have: Illness Financial Hardship An Internship Position (usually medical or dental) Other reasons Oftentimes borrowers have both subsidized and unsubsidized loans. By taking the deferment or forbearance, your loans won’t be paid off any time soon. It might be best to come up with another solution, if possible, such as taking the bus to work instead or using Google Voice and/or Skype instead of having a cell phone. Either way, you could save thousands of dollars every year. Then, use the money you saved to make the loan payments. Otherwise, these loans can, and will, go on forever. You might even be able to make payments while your loans are in deferment, in which case you could specify that the payment be applied to the unsubsidized loan. Outline your request in a letter and send it the mail (with the payment) (certified with return receipt) instead of electronically. An electronic payment probably won’t get the human touch required to reduce the balance of a specific unsubsidized loan. You can also pay the interest only while your unsubsidized loans are deferred. That way, the balance won’t keep going up. Check back to this website for more information. For the list of forms that have been assembled so far, go to Scribd.com/myedaccount More forms are on the way! Remember, this site is not associated with any other site, government or otherwise. The purpose of this blog is to provide rough ideas on debt and employment. myedaccount my-edaccount MyEdAccount myedaccount There may be inaccuracies and/or incomplete information. Therefore, this site should not replace the help of a Certified Public Accountant, Attorney or other professional. direct loans! There are programs out there for loan forgiveness for people who work in "public service". Public service includes law enforcement, public education, public childcare, public service for children with disabilities... many occupations actually. Unfortunately they have very strict guidelines. In order for your loan to be forgiven you have to make 120 consecutive payments on them, (that is 10 years). And since all DIRECT loans are put on a 10 year payment plan, your loan is paid off before you meet the guidelines. Pretty stupid uh? Your tax dollars at work. Plus all the loans have to have been made after 2007, so nothing would qualify to be forgiven before 2017. Perkins loans are a bit less strict, but not many people actually have Perkins loans... most have Stafford loans only. Here is the EXACT wording from the Dept of Ed (see link attached for reference). What is loan forgiveness for public service employees? Under this program, the remaining outstanding balance of principal and accrued interest on an eligible Direct Loan will be forgiven for a borrower who is not in default and who makes 120 monthly payments on the loan, under certain repayment plans, after Oct. 1, 2007 (the first cancellations of loan balances will not be granted until Oct. 1, 2017 at the earliest), while employed in certain public service fields. You must be employed full-time in a qualifying public service field during the same period in which the 120 payments are made and at the time that the cancellation is granted. For this loan forgiveness program, eligible Direct Loans include Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans (for parents or graduate and professional students), and Federal Direct Consolidation Loans. Although loan cancellation is only available for loans made and repaid under the Direct Loan Program, borrowers with loans made under other federal student loan programs may be eligible if you consolidate those loans into the Direct Loan Program. However, only payments made on the Direct Consolidation Loan will count toward the required 120 monthly payments. NOT E: You may have to meet additional eligibility requirements to consolidate these loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. If you are unsure about what kind of loans you have consult the National Student Loan Data System at www.nslds.ed.gov. What is a public service job? Eligible public service jobs are full-time jobs in the following fields: • Emergency management • Government • Military service • Public safety • Law enforcement • Public health • Public education (including early childhood education) • Social work in a public child or family service agency • Public child care • Public service for individuals with disabilities • Public interest law services (including prosecution or public defense or legal advocacy in low income communities at a nonprofit organization) • Public service for the elderly • Public library sciences • School-based library sciences and other school-based services • Certain tax-exempt organizations • Faculty teaching in high-needs areas, as determined by the Secretary • Full-time faculty member at a Tribal College or University NOTE: NOTE: NOTE: A borrower who pays only, or primarily, under a 10-year standard repayment plan or under another repayment plan in amounts consistent with a 10-year standard repayment is unlikely to have a remaining balance for loan forgiveness after making 120 payments on the loan. How do I qualify for this loan forgiveness? To be eligible to have remaining balances canceled, you must not be in default on the eligible loans and must have made 120 monthly payments on the eligible loan(s) beginning after Oct. 1, 2007. Earlier payments do not count toward meeting this requirement. Payments must have been made under any one or a combination of the following Direct Loan Program repayment plans. • Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period. • Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan—not available to parent Direct PLUS loan borrowers. • Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan—not available to parent Direct PLUS loan borrowers. • Other Direct Loan repayment plans, but only payments that are at least equal to the amount that would be required under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan may be counted toward the required 120 payments. http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attach… page 42-43