Managing Your Student Loan Payments 1 May 2015 Graduates 1. Bar Exam Expenses 2. Locating Your Loans / Account Numbers 3. Student Loan Repayment Plans 4. Loan Consolidation Should You? When? 5. Examples 6. SALT MONEY.ORG Office of Enrollment Services March 2015
Bar Exam Expenses Timely Filing 2 New Jersey Bar Exam Fee $ 575 Laptop Fee $ 0* Bar Prep Course @ $3,150 Living Expenses? ($2,000 a month?) * Laptop Fee only if late filing. New York Bar Exam Fee $ 250 Laptop Fee (?) $ 100 Bar Prep Course @ $3,150 Living Expenses? ($2,000 a month?) Total if taking NJ/NY: $4,075 + Living Expenses
NJ Bar Exam Fees 3 BAR EXAM APPLICATIONS Filing February Exam July Exam Fees Deadline Timely Oct 1 Oct 31 March 1 March 31 $575 First Late Nov 1 Nov 15 April 1 April 15 $850 Final Deadline Nov 16 Nov 30 April 16 April 30 $1,100
NJ Bar Exam Fees - LAPTOP 4 LAPTOP REGISTRATION (NJ) LAPTOP Filing February Exam July Exam Fees Deadline @ opening of Dec 4 May 1 Laptop Reg. Timely Dec 4 Jan 3 May 1 May 31 $ 0 First Late Jan 3 Jan 10 June 1 June 8 $ 75 Final Deadline Jan 10 Jan 17 June 9 June 16 $150
Bar Study Loan Borrow Conservatively 5 May be borrowed for the cost of bar exam, prep course and living expenses Your 2014 15 Financial Aid Budget can be increased for Bar Exam Fee if paid while enrolled (increase to Grad Plus Loan) Complete Loan Adjustment Form with copy of paid Bar Exam fees
Bar Study Loan 6 Private Loan with Variable Interest Rate Credit Check Excluded from Federal Loan Consolidation Max loan is $15,000 (depending upon lender) School certifies the loan Funds are disbursed directly to the student
Start here to locate Federal Loans www.nslds.ed.gov 7 **Contact Loan Servicer for Acct. No.** Federal Loan Servicer Contact Aspire Resources Inc. 1-855-475-3335 CornerStone 1-800-663-1662 ESA/Edfinancial 1-855-337-6884 FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA) 1-800-699-2908 Granite State GSMR 1-888-556-0022 Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. 1-800-236-4300 MOHELA 1-888-866-4352 Nelnet 1-888-486-4722 OSLA Servicing 1-866-264-9762 Sallie Mae - Navient as of 2/2014 1-800-722-1300 VSAC Federal Loans 1-888-932-5626
Deferment 8 Deferment: Temporary suspension of student loan payments for a defined period of time for borrowers meeting criterion. Application Required Recertification required for subsequent periods of deferment Types of Deferment Unemployment Military Service Post Active Duty Student Deferment Interest Accrual Subsidized Loans: Interest free during AUTHORIZED period of deferment Unsubsidized Loans: Interest continues to accrue Deferment does NOT impact Credit rating
Forbearance 9 Forbearance: Temporary postponement OR reduction of student loan payments due to financial difficulty Application required Interest Accrual Interest accrues on all federal loans in forbearance Borrower responsibility Unpaid interest capitalized at the end of forbearance Forbearance does NOT impact credit rating
Federal Loan Repayment Plans 10 Standard Graduated Extended IBR/PAYE Income Contingent Repayment Estimator: https://studentloans.gov/mydirectloan/mobile/repayment/repaymentestimator.action
Federal Loan Repayment Options 11 Standard Graduated Extended 10 Year Repayment Term Fixed monthly payment Automatic UNLESS changed by borrower Up to 10 years Monthly payment increase every 2 years Minimum of $30,000 federal student loan debt Up to 25 year repayment term Two types FIXED: fixed monthly payment amount GRADUATED: Payments increase gradually every two years
IBR / PAYE Payment Plans Based on your Income 12 Repayment plans that make your payments more affordable based on: amount of debt, family size, state of residence, AGI (w /spouse if married filing jointly) Borrower must experience partial financial hardship Accrued Interest on Subsidized Stafford not covered by payment paid by gov t for first 3 years Stafford, Graduate Plus and Federal Consolidation loans Both are eligible plans for PS Loan Forgiveness after 10 years in Public Service
Payment Plans based on Your Income 13 Income Based (IBR) Caps your payment to 15% of your discretionary income. Balance forgiven after 25 years (taxable) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Caps your payment at 10% of discretionary income Balance forgiven after 20 years (taxable) Discretionary Income: the difference between your AGI and 150 percent of the poverty guideline for your family size and state of residence.
Partial Financial Hardship 14 If the payment calculation for the standard 10-year plan exceeds the amount listed here (D), - then you have a partial financial hardship and are eligible for these plans. Example of Partial Financial Hardship, Household size 1, AGI = $60,000 A B C D E 2014 Poverty Levels 150% of Poverty Level Discretionary Income (AGI B) Annual Loan Payments Equated to Monthly Payment IBR $11,670 $17,505 $42,495 $6,374 (15% of C) $531 PAYE $11,670 $17,505 $42,495 $4,250 (10% of C) $354
15 Minimum Loans for Partial Financial Hardship Income IBR Min Loans PAYE Min loans $30,000 $13,866 $9,245 $40,000 $24,728 $16,486 $50,000 $35,590 $23,727 $60,000 $46,452 $30,968 $70,000 $57,314 $38,210 $80,000 $68,176 $45,451 $90,000 $79,038 $52,692 $100,000 $89,900 $59,934 $110,000 $100,762 $67,175
PAYE Eligibility 16 New borrower as of Oct. 1, 2007, Had no outstanding balance on a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan as of Oct. 1, 2007, or Had no outstanding balance on a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan when you received a new loan on or after Oct. 1, 2007. Must have received a disbursement of a Direct Loan on or after Oct. 1, 2011.
Income Contingent Another Payment Plan Based on your Income 17 An option if you don t qualify for IBR or PAYE Based on adjusted gross income, family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans Monthly payment = the lesser of the amount you would pay if you repaid your loan in 12 years multiplied by an income percentage factor that changes with your annual income or 20 percent of your monthly discretionary income.
And if I become Rich and Famous? 18 May no longer be experiencing Partial Financial Hardship May choose to leave IBR or PAYE Loans become due by end of prior repayment plan but may switch May choose to stay in IBR or PAYE Pay original 10 year amortized payment But may take longer than initial 10 years to repay
Public Service Loan Forgiveness 19 1. Right Type of Loans: FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS ONLY 2. Right Type of Payment: 120 of them IBR (can also do ICR or Standard Repayment), On time monthly payments, do not need to be consecutive 3. Full time Paid Work: at least 30 hours per week Full time requirement can be met between two positions 4. Qualifying Position: Government (except for government contractors), and 501(c)(3) Nonprofit, and Some others (AmeriCorps/PeaceCorp, etc.) Note: Amount Forgiven is not taxable.
Receiving Public Service Loan Forgiveness 20 1. Document, document, keep track of eligibility 2. Annually, complete the Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Form. www.studentaid.ed.gov/publicservice 3. Submit form to FedLoan Servicing, the PSLF servicer. 4. After 120 th payment, submit the PSLF application. 5. Remain employed in Public Service until loan is forgiven 6. Public Service Loan Forgiveness is non taxable
Federal Loan Consolidation 21 Federal Loans only: 10-30 year repayment www.studentloans.gov Considerations: Fixed Interest Rate Weighted average, rounded up to nearest 1/8 of 1% (no cap) Amount of Interest Paid over Life of Loan Grace Period Perkins PS Loan Forgiveness?? May Choose Servicer (PHEAA, Great Lakes, Nelnet, Sallie Mae)
Education Tax Benefits 22 The Lifetime Learning Tax Credit Up to $2,000 per tax return (not per student) Tuition and Fees Tax Deduction Can reduce taxable income by as much as $4,000 Student Loan Interest Deduction Can reduce taxable income by as much as $2,500 IRS Publication 970 Tax Benefits for Education http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs pdf/p970.pdf
Checklist 23 1. Know what loans you have borrowed (www.nslds.ed.gov) 2. Determine if you need funding for Bar Expenses 3. Complete Student Loan Exit Counseling (www.studentloans.gov ) 4. Determine if Consolidation is Right for You (www.studentloans.gov) 5. Private Loan Borrowers Contact your Lender
Recap/ Resources 24 nslds.ed.gov www.ibrinfo.org finaid.org/ibrcalculator www.studentloans.gov www.studentaid.gov www.studentaid.gov/publicservice www.askheatherjarvis.com www.annualcreditreport.com
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Questions? 30 Stop by to make an appointment to discuss your personal situation Karen Sokol Cassandra Hunter 973 642 8850 Law_financial@shu.edu