[rehab] [Nfbv-fairfax] Obama to forgive the student debt of permanently disabled people - The Washington Post

[Dick Davis]

Hi,
I recommend that anyone who is considering it check this offer over
carefully.  The loan forgiveness program in the past required individuals to
certify that they were totally and permanently disabled and unable to do any
form of work.  That would have serious implications for anyone who intended
to go to work, and especially for anyone who might want federal financial
aid for education in the future.  Perhaps this new initiative is different,
but please read the fine print before applying.
Dick Davis, Chair
NFB Employment Committee

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Subject: [rehab] [Nfbv-fairfax] Obama to forgive the student debt of
permanently disabled people - The Washington Post

Please be sure to share this with as many blind college students and recent
graduates as you can!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/04/12/obama-to-forgive-the-student-debt-of-permanently-disabled-people/



Obama to forgive the student debt of permanently disabled people

[]


(istock)

The Obama administration plans to forgive $7.7 billion in federal student
loans held by nearly
400,000 permanently disabled Americans.

By law, anyone with a severe disability is eligible to have the government
discharge their federal student loans. The administration took steps four
years ago to make the process easier by letting people who are totally and
permanently disabled use their Social Security designation to apply for a
discharge, but few took advantage.
The Department of Education is now taking it upon itself to identify
eligible borrowers and guide them through the steps to discharge their
loans.

“Too many eligible borrowers were falling through the cracks, unaware they
were eligible for relief,” said Education Under Secretary Ted Mitchell in
a statement. “Americans with disabilities have a right to student loan
relief.
And we need to make it easier, not harder, for them to receive the benefits
they are due.”

[Sidelined by disability and saddled with student loans]

Working with the Social Security Administration, the department has been
identifying borrowers receiving disability payments and have the specific
designation of “Medical Improvement Not Expected,” which indicates they
are eligible for the discharge. The agencies found
387,000 matches in its first review. About
179,000 of those people are currently in default on their loans, putting
them at risk of losing their tax refunds and having their Social Security
benefits garnished.

“The creation of the matching program is a great first step, but the
administration needs to go further to ensure that no borrower who has a
right to student loan relief has their benefits taken,” said Persis Yu,
the National Consumer Law Center’s student loan borrower assistance
project director. “Borrowers receiving SSDI need these payments to
survive.”

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News and issues affecting higher education.

Starting next week, borrowers identified in the match will receive a letter
from the government explaining the steps needed to receive a discharge. They
will not be required to submit documentation of their eligibility, unlike
disabled borrowers who apply for the discharge on their own. Notification
letters will be sent over a 16-week period, and followed up with a second
letter after 120 days.

The letters will inform borrowers of the tax implication of the discharge,
since the government has the right to tax the amount of money forgiven.

[Obama plans to make it easier to pay your student loans]


Rising student debt looms over parents and children

Play Video2:52

Many middle class families borrow to build their careers and send their
children to college, and now struggle to pay back growing student loan debt.
A new AP analysis shows it's a rising multi-generational problem. (AP)

Tuesday’s announcement is an outgrowth of President Obama’s Student Aid
Bill of Rights, which directed federal agencies to overhaul the way
Americans repay student loans.


Corbb, from my iPhone
(703) 309-4884
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