With the rising inflation in the country, it is becoming imperative to find ways to offset the raising student debt. Recently, President Biden made an announcement with regards to a new student loan forgiveness plan. However, this is not enough for college graduates to be completely debt free.
This is because Biden’s new student loan forgiveness program has strict financial requirements. Not only a strict income limit to qualify, but also a no-go zone for current and future graduates making above $75,000 a year. Especially, the single household in the United States.
Do not worry about it though, good reader.
There are other ways of legally getting out of paying your student loans right now. This is outside of what President Biden had proposed. Here are some you need to know as a student loan borrower.
Getting Rid Of Student Loan Debt Legally
Here are the ways you can forever disregard the payment of your student loan debt to the federal government. These are legal. You can walk away from student loans without paying a dime.
1. Work In A Public Service Industry
What most college students and graduates do not know, is working in a public sector in any field can completely quash your student debt. When I say public sector here, I refer to government jobs. Any tier of government job opens up opportunities to avoid paying student loans back.
This is because the government has a program which pays back your student debt for your yearly service. There is a worker benefit package called PSLF. PSLF is an acronym for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Your loan is forgiven, after you have made 120 consequent monthly payments towards your student debt. The amount you have made towards your debt does not matter. As long as you are consistent with the payment for 120 months, you will qualify.
Further, your job can be any public service job in the government sector. Or, qualifying public service in a non-profit organization. It can range from health sector to postal service. The government pays off your student loans for your service.
Most employers offer this to public service workers. It is worthwhile to note this will not affect your monthly salary in anyway. To learn whether your employer qualifies for this, visit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness page on Student Aid Government website..
2. Apply For Disability Discharge
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, student debt was discharged for disabled college graduates. A lot of people with disability got their student loans reset this way. You can get out paying student loans, if you are a disabled person.
Currently, there is a way called Total and Permanent Disability Discharge- TPD. It is for people who are disabled as a result of military service or work-related injuries. This could be physical or mental impairment.
You can avoid paying back student loans as a disabled person. Here is what you need to know about the requirements.
Firstly, you have to be totally or permanently disabled for your student debt to be discharged. You can prove this through a doctor note or reaching out to the social security administration due to previous record. Either way, your disability has to be such that it will be dangerous to you to work.
This is since your disability serves as a sort of impairment. And, it could risk death for you.
In addition, your disability prior to application has been around for 60 months and will be around for another 60 months. For more information on Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, go on TPD 101 on the Federal Student Aid website.
3. Apply For Student Loan Forgiveness For Health Workers
The health field is one of the careers, which is very rewarding. This is because you can get out of student loan debt, through its various loan forgiveness programs for health workers. There are hundreds of them out there.
How do you know which one can help you get rid of student loan debt fast?
Besides general health workers forgiveness programs, there are specific ones tailored to each health sector career. I wrote an article for loan forgiveness for medical student graduates or doctors in as little as two years. Check it out.
Also, nurses can get their student loans forgiven 100%. Here are a list of free state loan repayment programs for nurses, which will take care of your student debt as a current or future nursing graduate.
4. Join the United States Military Service
I know. It sounds extreme, does it not?
The United States Military is the best way to get rid of your loans completely. This is because each branch has certain amount of contribution they make toward your student debt for being a reserve or active member.
For example,
The US army offers a Loan Repayment Program for active members. It contributes 33.3% on the principal of your student debt per year for each yearly service. This can amount up to $65,000.
Other branches of the United States military service offer competitive repayment programs too. The best thing about this, is you can even find a job at what you studied in college in any of the military branches.
The only thing I recommend you to do, prior to application, is to consider this is what you actually want before embarking. Military service requires dedication. Lastly, do not join when your loan is in default. This is because the military knows it is one of the loopholes to get rid of student loans.
Besides, their eligibility requires you do not default in student loan at the time of joining military service. Do consider this, prior to joining any branch of military service.
5. Get Your Employer To Reimburse Your Student Debt
You probably do not know, but some employers offer loan repayment options. I do not mean tuition reimbursement, but actually get rid of your student loan debt without you paying a dime. This is called loan repayment assistance.
I always ask employers about it, whenever I interview for a new job. If you are already in an existing job, you can call your HR department to inquire whether they have such an offer.
Often, this is done annually. You will not get your full student debt balance paid off. However, there will be monetary contribution to the balance per year. This is in the form of loan repayment assistance.
Depending on how long you work for the company, I figured you can avoid paying student loans this way. This is the more years you work for such a company, the more your student debt decreases. Am I right?
6. Biden’s New Loan Forgiveness Program
Currently, there is a new Biden’s student loan forgiveness measure. It is a series of changes to the COVID-19 stimulus package. But, these new measures announced on 2022, are to permanently erase student debt for people making less than $75,000 a year.
Although this is not implemented yet, everyone is eagerly waiting for the date the application form will be released. You can read the above highlighted article for more information on this.
In summary, this new Biden’s loan forgiveness proposal will have a new income driven plan for current and future borrowers. Also, it will include a new forbearance plan. Finally, pell grant borrowers can have up to $20,000 forgiven, while non-pell grant borrowers can have up to $10,000 forgiven.
The way I see it, this is a free help getting out of student loan debt. You can absolutely quit paying your student loans legally this way.
7. False Certification Discharge
You may not believe it, but you can have your student debt discharged if your school made you eligible for students loan when you were not. This is especially, when the school was involved in a student-loan related fraud. What do I mean by this, my dear reader?
If your school falsely made you eligible when you do not obviously qualify for a student loan, you can have all the debt discharged. You will not be paying student loans back. This is for Direct Loan and Federal Family Student Loan.
The requirements for removing your student loan debt are based on three factors:
- The school signed the loan without letting you know.
- You were qualified to receive loans, when you did not meet eligibility.
- Finally, you were made qualified when you failed any of the loan conditions.
For more information on False certification discharge, visit the Federal Student Aid.
Having mentioned these ways of getting out of student debt, I recommend you try one of them. They are legal. They will not be arrested for not paying your student loans through these approaches.