Student Loan To-Dos

2024 is out, 2025 is in, and soon there will be a new (old) president in the White House, leaving a lot of uncertainty for student loan borrowers. After four years of tremendous progress on student debt, the future is unclear for those pursuing programs like IDR forgiveness and PSLF. As we watch for what’s to come, we recommend that borrowers take steps to get their student loans squared away and make sure they have copies of all up-to-date documentation.

What to Expect

Whenever there are big changes to the student loan system, there are myriad opportunities for misinformation, errors, and confusion. If you’ve spent much time on the phone with your loan servicer, you know that they’re likely to be just as confused as you might be! With the impending presidential transition, there will surely be changes to student loan policy. Even if some of the more dramatic proposals fail to happen, borrowers should expect a shift in “business as usual.”

What Do I Need to Do?

To prepare for whatever comes next, student loan borrowers should take a few steps to collect all their information into one easily remembered and accessible, but secure place.

• Make sure you have copies of all recent correspondence regarding your IDR plan, especially if your plan or servicer has changed over the last couple of years.
• If you’re pursuing PSLF:
  • Download and save your most recent employment certification with QPs
  • Download and save your payment history.
  • If you were on SAVE and need to change IDR plans to get back on track for forgiveness, try to submit your application as soon as you can.
• Make sure FSA and your servicer have your current contact and banking information.

If you’re pursuing PSLF and have changed jobs since you last certified your employment, or just haven’t done so for a while, you should use the PSLF Help Tool to certify your current employer and get your qualifying payments all up-to-date and documented.

If you have questions about how the presidential transition may affect your repayment, or your path to loan forgiveness, give us a call! We’ll get through the chaos together—don’t forget to breathe! We’re here to help, and we’re always just an email or call away.