WHAT'S HAPPENING
BIDEN CANCELS $7B IN FEDERAL LOANS FOR DISABLED STUDENTS THROUGH DATA-SHARING PROGRAM
The Biden administration recently announced that it has cancelled $7 billion in federal student loan debt for about 350,000 borrowers with disabilities through a datasharing initiative between the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Education. If you plan to apply for forgiveness under the plan, you'll need to follow certain steps to see if you qualify.
PAYING IT FORWARD: The administration's updated policies will restore the promise to provide debt relief to teachers, nurses, firefighters, and others serving their communities.
The first thing you need to know is that there are three ways to qualify for a total and permanent disability discharge. These involve veterans, those who meet Social Security disability criteria and those with a doctor's certification. Here's a quick rundown:
- Veterans: You might qualify for forgiveness if you have a service-connected disability that is 100% disabling or an individual unemployability rating qualifies you as disabled.
- Social Security Disability: You might qualify if you receive benefits from Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income.
- Doctor's certification: You might qualify if you have certification from a medical doctor that you're unable to take part in any "substantial gainful activity" because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death, has lasted for a continuous period of not less than 60 months or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 60 months.
To apply for student loan forgiveness, you'll need to submit a Total and Permanent Disability Discharge application on the Federal Student Aid website (disabilitydischarge.com) and provide supporting documentation of your total and per manent disability. The exceptions are if the Education Department contacts you directly based on information received from the SSA or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In this case, you don't have to provide supporting documents.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most federal student loans and their interest rates have been paused since March 2020. This moratorium was recently extended until September 1. Once payments resume, you won't have to pay federal student loans while your application for student loan forgiveness is reviewed.
If you don't qualify for student loan forgiveness due to your disability, you might still qualify for forgiveness in other ways.
For example, the Education Department announced changes that will result in immediate debt cancellation for at least 40,000 federal student loan borrowers and move an additional 3.6 million borrowers closer to some form of loan forgiveness. This forgiveness plan mainly involves borrowers who qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgive- ness-cancellation/public-service) or Income-Driven Repayment plans (studentaid.gov/manage- loans/repayment/plans/income-driven).
AUTOMATIC CANCELLATION FOR THOSE WHO RECEIVE SS DISABILITY BENEFITS
Last year, the Biden administration announced a new initiative to streamline student loan relief for certain disabled borrowers. By allowing the Social Security Administration to share data with the Education Department about borrowers who were receiving Social Security Disability benefits, the administration could identify borrowers who would qualify for the TPD discharge program, and then cancel their student loans automatically.
The administration announced that through this data sharing initiative, the Education Department has cancelled approximately $7 billion in federal student loan debt for 350,000 borrowers.
"Working together with @SocialSecurity, Federal Student Aid has provided much needed relief for 350,000 borrowers with approximately $7 billion in student loans," said Richard Cordray, Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid, in a tweet. The Department anticipates that another 15,000 to 20,000 borrowers may receive TPD discharges every quarter going forward via the same data sharing program.