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| Student Loans Killing Me Now? Help? SSDI Question |
Question:
I read the articles about who qualifies
to be forgiven a student
loan.
It states somewhere that you can only
get forgiveness IF the loan
was
taken out BEFORE ssdi status began.
I took out the student
loan
about 10 years AFTER I got on
SSDI.
So is that it? Any other alternative
to discharging this loan??
No, I intended to finish school and
get a job making $50K, but
something bad happened and I had to
drop out for several years.
Clear?
Answer:
Yes, pay off your loan
as you agreed when you took it out.
When you make
the final payment the loan
will be fully discharged. :)
Did you take out this loan
with no intention of paying it off?
I understand that one! I start paying
back in Aug. I actually stopped
because the loan
was getting larger and I didn't want
it to keep
growing I actually have about 4 cles
to go. I figured I am gonna go
back to vocational Rehab, I have been
igned to a person but she
never calls back to set up an appointment,
I need to call back.
Here is a good outline of the process
taken from various online sources.
It
should answer all your questions.
If I can be of further assistance,
don't
hesitate to ask. --kaylbe
TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY DISCHARGE
Total and permanent
disability is the inability to work
and earn money
because of an injury or illness that
is expected to continue indefinitely
or
to result in death.
You must submit
a physician's certification of total
and permanent
disability. The physician must certify
that you are 100 percent disabled
according to the definition of disability
above.
This standard
may be different from standards used
under other
programs in connection with occupational
disability or eligibility for
social service benefits. You
cannot be considered to have a total
and
permanent disability if your condition
existed at the time your loan(s)
was
made, unless your condition has substantially
deteriorated so that you are
now totally and permanently disabled.
As of July 1,
2002, if you are determined to be
totally and
permanently disabled, you will have
your loan
placed in a conditional
discharge period for up to three years
from the date you became totally and
permanently disabled. During this
period, you don't have to pay principal
or
interest. If you continue to meet
the total-and-permanent disability
requirements during, and at the end
of, the conditional period, your loan
will be canceled. If you don't continue
to meet the cancellation
requirements, you must resume payment.
In addition,
to qualify for a final discharge,
you must meet the
following conditions during and at
the end of the conditional discharge
period:
(A) your annual
earnings from employment must not
exceed the poverty
line amount (see NOTE below) for a
family of two in your state (regardless
of your actual family size), and (B)
you must not receive a new loan
under
the FFEL Program, the Perkins Loan
Program, or the Direct
Loan
Program.
NOTE: A physician
cannot certify that you have a total
and permanent
disability if, at the time of the
physician's certification, you are
able to
work and earn money in any capacity.
However, if you attempt to work during
the conditional discharge period,
you may earn up to the poverty line
amount
each year during that period. This
standard allows you to try to work
without being disqualified from receiving
a final discharge. The poverty
line amounts are updated annually.
ED will notify you of the current
poverty
line amounts during each year of the
conditional discharge period.
APPLYING FOR A DISCHARGE
If you believe you qualify
for a loan
discharge, you must apply
for one:
a.. Federal Perkins
Loan
borrowers must apply to the school
that made the loan
or to the loan
servicer the school has designated.
b.. Direct
Stafford and PLUS Loan
borrowers must contact the
Direct
Loan
Servicing
Center. You can also call the
Servicing
Center at
1-800-848-0979. Url: http://tinyurl.com/rsjy3
c.. FFEL Stafford and
PLUS Loan
borrowers should contact the
lender or agency holding the loan.
If you're not sure what type
of loan
you have or who holds it,
go to www.nslds.ed.gov
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