Question:
Dear Steve,
I graduated college in 1994 with $21k in federal student loan debt. Long story short, 23 years later, after several deferments, forbearances and start and stop payments due to different financial circumstances, I now owe over $108,000!!
What can I do? Is there any chance of a settlement or partial forgiveness?
Pat
Answer:
Dear Pat,
What are you doing?
Deferments and forbearance only increase the debt with no path to forgiveness. And if you ever feel into default up to 20% of your balance can be added as a collection fee.
At the very least you should have consolidated your federal loans into a new Direct Loan and then opted for an income driven repayment option like the IBR or PAYE. This way your loans would be forgiven after 25 years.
Granted, the IBR or PAYE can also result in an increased balance owed, see this, but at least you can reach forgiveness in 25-years.
Settlement on federal loans is not an option. Forgiveness is an option if you qualify as a public service worker or through an income driven repayment plan.
Steve Rhode
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This article by Steve Rhode first appeared on Get Out of Debt Guy and was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.