1. (https://www.facebook.com/StudentLoanSupportUS)
(https://twitter.com/StudentLoanSppt)
(http://www.linkedin.com/company/3303306?trk=tyah&trkInfo=tas%3Astudent%20loan%20su)
STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM
AVAILABLE TO MILLIONS WHO AREN’T
UTILIZING IT, CFPB SAYS
WASHINGTON — More than 33 million workers qualify to have their student loans forgiven because
they work in schools, hospitals or city halls, but too few take advantage of the options because the
programs are overly complicated and often confusing, the government’s consumer advocate said
Wednesday.
Roughly a quarter of the U.S. workforce could take advantage of federal rules that give favorable
loan repayment options to those in public service fields, including the military, according to the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency recommended Congress review the loan
forgiveness programs and encouraged employers to make sure their workers know they are
available.
“Teachers, soldiers, firefighters, policeman – public sector careers invariably involve some effort,
some inconvenience or some sacrifice. People give up higher incomes to serve their city, their state
or their country,” said Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB. “We believe that people who
contribute part of their talents, part of the benefits of their education, to society as a whole should
not be mired in debt because they stir themselves to the calling of public service.”
Student loan debt has topped $1 trillion, the consumer advocate estimates, and has been a drag on
the economy as recent graduates are forced to choose between paying down their loans and
buying a house or a car. That sends millions of dollars to lenders instead of keeping that cash in the
local communities.
For many graduates, there are multiple programs in place to ease the financial burden of taking
lower-paying jobs to help their communities. But the system is fraught with complications and
competing options and a firm number of how many graduates could benefit is hard to come by.
“The data is quite weak in this area. We don’t have a sense of how much money is left on the table,”
said Rohit Chopra, the CFPB’s student loan ombudsman. “But we suspect it’s a substantial sum.”
The consumer advocacy bureau knows how many people qualify because they work under the
broad umbrella of public service.
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