Monday, July 19, 2010

Changes to student loan programs make repayment easier

With the fall semester of 2010 coming up for students, recent changes to student loan programs are taking effect. One of the changes is an income based repayment standard being implemented. This could help make it an easy loans for students with debt trying to make payments. For student loans, new formulas and rules will help make higher education more reasonable for most.

Rates for student loans dropping

Rates on a form of small loan subsidized by the government dropped on July 1. Rates for Stafford loans which were subsidized dropped from 5.6 percent to 4.5 percent. Subsidized loans that originated before July 1, 2010, and unsubsidized loans may have the very same rate as before.

Income based upon repayment changes

The changes to student loan programs that could have the biggest effect are all of the changes to income based upon repayment formulas. Many recent graduates are discovering that with a tough job market and banks with no money to lend, it is nearly impossible to make student loan payments. This income based upon repayment recalculation adjusts the program introduced last year. The point of income-based repayment is to keep debt manageable for all of the students who are saddled with huge loans and few job prospects.

Removing the marriage penalty

For married couples who have two sets of student loans, the new income based repayment formula won’t penalize married couples. Combined loan payment amounts can be used to calculate eligibility as long as couples are likely to file their taxes jointly. Only a single money loan balance could be measured against total household income.

Current balance against repayment balance

Income based upon repayment used to be calculated using the amount borrowers owed when they first entered repayment. Now, income-based repayment estimates could be calculated using the current amount nevertheless owed. This will help reduce the load on students who have had loans in deferment, building interest without making payments.



No comments: