IBR, ICR, and PAYE – the income driven repayment plans:
These three plans, Income Based Repayment (IBR), Income Contingent Repayment (ICR), and Pay As You Earn (PAYE), are all based on your income. That means low income earners, or those on social security, can qualify for an exceptionally low . . .
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Treating Servicers like Potty-Training Toddlers
This past weekend, I attended the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference put on by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). The opening speech was by Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin. It was a fabulous speech about my favorite topic - student loans. Understand that the NCLC conference . . .
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The Problem with Senator Warren’s Student Loan Bill
Senator Warren’s bill failed to gain enough support to move on from the Senate. Now that it's dead, let me tell you why I’m glad for that.
This bill is a bad idea. It does little to help already struggling borrowers, and hurts more than most folks realize. Further, with President Obama’s recent . . .
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Obama’s Executive Action Falls Woefully Short
On June 9, 2014, President Obama took action to make college more affordable. Can we call this what it really it is? It’s an act to make student loans more affordable. This act in no way makes college any more affordable than it already isn’t.
What the President did was expand a program he . . .
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Student Loan Debt Crisis Symposium Review
This past Friday I attended the ABI's (American Bankruptcy Institute) Student Loan Debt Crisis Symposium. It was...um...interesting. I say that because I came in with a unique perspective, being in the trenches and all. For me, it was more review and less of an informative or "problem solving" . . .
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Dear ED: Clarify Undue Hardship
On May 16, 2014, seven Congressmen/women sent a letter to Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, asking for clarification of "Undue Hardship" to allow Federal student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy. The signers of the letter were Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Elizabeth . . .
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FDIC v Sallie Mae
On May 13, 2014, two consent orders were issued: FDIC v Sallie Mae Bank and FDIC v Navient Solutions Inc. (formerly known as Sallie Mae, Inc.). These are the results of the FDIC's investigation into Sallie Mae's alleged violations of the Servicemenbers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), Electronic Fund . . .
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“Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act” in Plain English
Yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced legislation aimed to help level the playing field for student loan borrowers. The main goal is to lower interest rates on ALL student loans (Fed and Private) to a fixed amount for the duration of the loan term. The theory being that if interest . . .
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Does the Government Shutdown affect Student Loan Collections?
VinothChandar / Foter / CC BYNow that the government is shut down, there is a great concern about how this affects collections of student loans, default or not. We first need to clarify that the shutdown only affects government agencies. Guarantee agencies like ECMC, Great Lakes, etc. are not . . .
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Sallie Mae in the News…Again!
I was trying to find a witting opening, but all I could come up with for a reference was Mustang Sally. It's not on target, but some of the lyrics could be made relevant, "All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride."
What's that? Sallie Mae is riding around? Well yes, if we . . .
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