The AAMC joined a Sept. 19 letter signed by 54 other national organizations and 57 state and local organizations applauding the Department of Education’s effort for putting Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan enrollees in forbearance while urging the Department to count time in forbearance toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) credits. Since the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling preventing the Department from operating the SAVE Plan in July, all SAVE enrollees have been placed in a temporary forbearance [refer to Washington Highlights, July 26]. However, this forbearance will not count toward PSLF or IDR loan forgiveness.
The letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona (PDF) describes the disadvantages SAVE enrollees face if they are not able to count time in forbearance toward PSLF and IDR discharges. “Due to the federal court injunction preventing the Department from implementing parts of the SAVE Plan and other IDR plans, the suspension of online applications for all other IDR plan options, and the processing backlog of paper applications, millions of borrowers are essentially stuck in forbearance for the foreseeable future through no fault of their own. These borrowers should not be further harmed by having their progress toward IDR or PSLF forgiveness stalled indefinitely.”