TAMPA, Fla. — After weeks of waiting, the application for federal student loan debt relief is now live.
Sandra Rodarte has about $52,000 in federal student loans.
“I immediately just went into the income-based repayment program and just been making monthly payments since then, and it’s just been paused since COVID, so no payments have been coming out,” said Rodarte.
Rodarte had Pell grants, and with the recent plan for federal student loan debt relief, she qualifies for up to $20,000 in relief.
“I’m like awesome, let me complete the application,” said Rodarte.
The program provides eligible borrowers with full or partial relief up to $20,000 to federal Pell grant recipients and up to $10,000 to non-Pell grant recipients.
Those who qualify can fill out a simple application which asks for information like your name, social security number, and date of birth.
Christie Arkovich, the founding attorney with Arkovich Law, specializes in student loan help. She said you shouldn’t wait until the deadline to file the application.
“The deadline is not until the end of next year, but with the lawsuits that have been filed, it’s risky to wait,” said Arkovich. “I would go ahead and file for relief because they’re anticipating to have it returned in a matter of weeks, and so get it while it’s there is basically what I would say.”
Experts also want you to keep in mind the pause on federal student loan repayment was extended one final time through December 31, 2022, and people should expect to resume payments in January.
“This new income-driven plan coming out in July paying 5 percent, it should be easy. It should be no problem," said Arkovich. "It should be less than half of what they were previously paying.”
With federal student loan debt relief, people can apply now, but no later than December 31, 2023.
“I’m still going to owe, but it’s a lot less, and it’s a lot more manageable,” said Rodarte. “The way I’m thinking about it, it’s more like a car payment.”
