1 week Ago By Jason Knowles
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The ABC7 Chicago I-Team is investigating the uncertainty over student loans and the 8 million SAVE plan borrowers scrambling to find new payment options. All of it is happening as the plan is ending, and government workers are being laid off. Just in the last several weeks, the SAVE student loan forgiveness plan was put on hold by a federal court.
And the Department of Education started cutting its workforce by nearly 50 percent. "I think about this loan balance almost every day," Auburn Gresham resident Kathy Broome Duke said. She carries $75,000 in federal student loan debt.
Now that the "Saving on a Valuable Education Plan" is likely history, she and millions of others enrolled are wondering what's next. "There are a lot of changes that have been taking place at the Department of Education that have really had the effect of really terrifying borrowers because about at least 8 million people are in the SAVE forbearance," attorney Rae Kaplan said. Kaplan helps borrowers like Broom Duke manage student loan forgiveness.
She says borrowers are panicking because of recent developments. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Student loan forgiveness 'SAVE' plan under threat from courts, Trump administration In February, a federal court issued an injunction, preventing the U.S.
Department of Education from implementing SAVE. And as borrowers are trying to find new payment options, the Department of Education is being slashed in half. "There are fewer people at the Department of Ed to process these applications; so, it's a very difficult time right now for student loan borrowers, but it is going to get better," Kaplan said.
Kaplan said those in the SAVE plan will still be in forbearance on their loans until there is a final court decision. Or, SAVE could be gone for good if the House and Senate pass the College Cost Reduction Act within a larger budget plan this summer. "Either it's going to get struck down by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, or if the budget reconciliation passes, then it's going to be knocked out that way.
So, either way, the SAVE plan is toast. So, if you're in the SAVE plan forbearance, you may just want to ride it out," Kaplan said. The Department of Education says borrowers like Broome Duke can apply online for other repayment plans, including income-driven repayment programs .
For example, those in the public sector could have an income-driven repayment plan forgiven in 10 years. But, those not in the public sector could have their loans forgiven in 20 or 25 years. "There are great ways under the law to keep your payments nice and reasonable until they get forgiven.
Because, for the most part, very often you're eligible for some type of loan forgiveness, especially for our health care workers and people who work in the public sector," Kaplan said. The bottom line is those enrolled in SAVE should be patient. They should be able to get into another repayment plan before it ends.
If SAVE officially dies, those bills will start coming again. Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan Request Borrower Defense PSLF.
