How to Get Navient Student Loan Forgiveness – Latest Updates
If you’re looking for a way to get your Navient loans forgiven or canceled, you’re not alone. This post should help you find a way out. Let’s get to the details!
If you have student loans, you may be interested in getting out of debt quicker or cutting down on your monthly loan payments.
Navient Student Loan Forgiveness
If you have loans serviced by the Navient company, you may have heard your student loans can be forgiven.
While this may be true, forgiveness for Navient student loans is more complicated than it sounds. It’s important to understand where you and your loans fit in.
There are many general student loan forgiveness programs that Navient borrowers may qualify for, however. Let’s take a look at the Navient loan forgiveness options available today.
Navient and Sallie Mae are now completely separate organizations, despite being once the same company. Forgiveness for Navient loans is not the same as forgiveness for the Sallie Mae loans.
Because of its history with Sallie Mae, however, Navient services a mix of private and federal student loans. You’ll want to know which kind you have. It makes a big difference in terms of which forgiveness programs you qualify for.
To find out what kind of student loans you have with Navient, you can contact them directly or conduct a “Financial Review” on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).
If you have federal student loans, those loans will be eligible for all of the federal forgiveness programs. But private student loans won’t be.
Private student loans may be eligible for forgiveness through state or profession-specific student loan forgiveness programs.
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If you have federal Navient student loans 2020, here are three forgiveness options that are available to you.
1. Income-Driven Repayment Forgiveness
Currently, the Department of Education offers four income-driven repayments (IDR) plans.
- Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan
- Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) Plan
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan
- Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan
With each of those arrangements, once you reach the end of your repayment schedule, you will be prepared for Navient student loan forgiveness.
You will be eligible for forgiveness within 20 to 25 years depending on the plan you choose, but you will want to remain vigilant to ensure that your payments are handled correctly. And each year, you’ll have to recertify your salary and family size.
And, note, if you seek forgiveness, you’ll owe income tax on the amount you’ve been forgiven. So if IDR forgiveness is your strategy, make sure you save a little money on the tax bill that’s coming down the road each year.
2. Public Service Loan Forgiveness
If you work in the public sector, such as for the government or a non-profit organization, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), is probably your best student loan forgiveness option.
With PSLF, you can earn tax-free student loan forgiveness in as little as 10 years (or 120 qualifying payments).
If you’re working in the public sector, such as for government or a non-profit organization, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) may be your best option to forgive student loans.
With PSLF you can earn forgiveness for tax-free student loans in as little as 10 years (or 120 qualifying payments).
It should be noted that FedLoan Servicing is the exclusive PSLF service provider, meaning you can qualify for this program only if FedLoan is your service provider. But don’t worry if you are present with Navient.
3. Teacher Loan Forgiveness
Teachers can receive up to $17,500 of Navient student loan forgiveness through the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program.
But to qualify, you’ll need to be considered a “highly qualified” teacher. And you’ll need to teach for five consecutive years in a low-income school or educational service agency.
It’s important to point out that PSLF and Teacher Loan Forgiveness don’t mix well. In many cases, you may be better off sticking with PSLF.
4. Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge
This type of loan forgiveness is available to borrowers who are unable to make their student loan payments due to total and permanent disability.
How to Apply for Navient Student Loan Forgiveness
Navient makes it easy to apply for repayment plans and other forgiveness options. When you log into your Navient account online, click the link to apply for income-driven repayment, and enter your information.
You can also use the government-issued forms to apply for each forgiveness program.
- Income-Driven Repayment Plan Application
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness Application
- Disability Discharge Application
- Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application
Remember that since Navient is your loan servicer, it manages your loan repayment process and is there to help you apply for and switch repayment plans. If you have questions regarding repayment plans, Navient is who you want to contact.
What to Do if You Have Private Navient Student Loans
While private Navient student loans aren’t eligible for Navient student loan forgiveness, there are some private student loan forgiveness options.
This includes private loan assistance programs, like those offered to healthcare providers by the National Health Service Corps, as well as refinancing and negotiating lower monthly payments.
Most loan servicers, including Navient, would rather work with you to find a repayment plan that works than see you default on your loan because you’re unable to pay.
If you don’t qualify for any of the above programs — or even if you do — you may want to consider refinancing your Navient student loans. By refinancing, you could kill two birds with one stone.
It’s your chance to kick Navient to the curb, and you may save money on student loan interest, too. So, while refinancing isn’t technically student loan forgiveness, it could be your best Navient student loan strategy.
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Take Away
Navient student loan forgiveness even doesn’t exist specifically. Instead, your Navient loans may qualify for loan forgiveness with the federal government’s loan forgiveness and repayment programs.
If you have Navient loans and you want to get out of debt faster or reduce your monthly loan payments, you may be able to qualify for a federal loan repayment or forgiveness program.
