By Adam S. Minsky, JD Senior Contributor & Student Loan Law Expert For millions of federal student loan borrowers, a ticking clock is about to run out. The very first major deadline for participants in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan to transition to alternative repayment options is mere days away. With billions…
Main Facts: The Return of Taxable Forgiveness For millions of federal student loan borrowers, loan forgiveness has long been heralded as the ultimate financial finish line. Eliminating a five- or six-figure balance through an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan can feel like a new lease on financial life. However, a hidden financial hazard—frequently referred to by…
Author: Sarah Brady, National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) Updated: July 10, 2026 Introduction and Main Facts For millions of Americans holding federal student loans, the landscape of higher education financing has felt like a moving target over the past several years. A barrage of shifting federal policies, court injunctions, and conflicting public announcements has…
WASHINGTON — Federal student loan repayment has undergone its most radical structural overhaul in decades. Following years of legal turbulence surrounding the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, the U.S. Department of Education has officially finalized a sweeping new rulebook that sunsets legacy repayment options and introduces a modernized framework for the nation’s multi-trillion-dollar…
Main Facts: The Return of the Taxable Forgiveness Era For millions of Americans striving to achieve freedom from mounting student debt, the light at the end of the tunnel may come with a surprisingly hefty price tag. While securing student loan forgiveness can erase a massive financial burden, it can simultaneously trigger an unexpected and…
Author: Sarah Brady, National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) Updated: August 12, 2026 As federal student loan payments resume, escalate, or weigh heavily on household budgets, millions of Americans find themselves grappling with difficult financial choices. The anxiety surrounding upcoming or rising bills is a shared reality for a massive segment of the population. Unfortunately,…
WASHINGTON — The daily average interest rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped below the critical 7% threshold on Tuesday morning, settling at 6.97% APR, according to data provided to financial analysts by Zillow. While a sub-7% average may catch the eye of prospective homebuyers and those eyeing a refinance, financial experts emphasize that…
By Financial News Desk Published: September 2026 For the roughly 7.5 million federal student loan borrowers who parked their debt on the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, the safety net is officially dissolving. Following a series of federal court rulings that blocked the program in 2025, the U.S. Department of Education has spent…
By Travis Hornsby, CFA®, CFP® Founder and CEO, Student Loan Planner Main Facts: What Borrowers Need to Know About the Repayment Assistance Plan The official application window for the newly introduced Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is officially open, allowing federal student loan borrowers to submit their applications online. Designed to reshape how millions of Americans…
Main Facts The U.S. Department of Education has officially updated its online regulatory guidance to reflect sweeping legislative and systemic changes to federal student loan programs that went into effect on July 1, 2026. While these transformations impact millions of borrowers across diverse demographics, they hit Parent PLUS Loan borrowers hardest. Parent PLUS Loans are…
