An Illinois grandmother said she owed $108,000 in student debt, nearly three times the amount of a loan she took out 40 years ago, as the key deadline for loan forgiveness is just five weeks away.
When she was 33, Nancy Peter borrowed $30,000 in 1986 to finish her psychology degree at Mundelein College.
The single mother then took out another loan to attend graduate school at Loyola University in Chicago and worked as a therapist for nearly 40 years, she reported. WGN.
Now, at age 71, the retired grandmother of two owes $108,000 due to interest on those loans and is enrolled in an income-based repayment plan.
‘It’s humiliating, it’s something so private. “If someone knew I owed this amount of money, they would look at me in a completely different way,” Peter said.
Retired grandmother Nancy Peter (pictured) said she owes $108,000 in student debt nearly 40 years after attending college.
Over the past 40 years, Peter said he worked to pay off his debt, but at one point he stopped due to his health problems.
“Interest builds up and builds up, so every penny I don’t pay skyrockets.”
Their current repayment plan allows borrowers to make payments based on how much money they earn, but sometimes the payments are so small that they don’t cover the accrued interest.
Over the past 40 years, Peter said he worked to pay off his debt, but at one point he stopped due to his health problems.
“This is going to sound terrible, but I have a document on different ways you can get your loan forgiven, and the only one I fit is that I would have to die,” Peter said.
‘I needed help, and if I need help, there are plenty of other people who need it. And if at least one person comes out of this getting help, then to me it’s worth it.”
More than 43 million Americans collectively owe $1.3 trillion in student loan debt, and the average borrower owes $37,000, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
President Joe Biden pledged last year to find alternative ways to address debt relief after a Supreme Court ruling in June blocked his sweeping plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt.
On March 21, he announced $6 million in student loan relief for teachers, nurses and firefighters who, due to previous system failures, did not receive the forgiveness they were promised upon entering public service.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) was created in 2007 and aimed to forgive the student debt of Americans who entered public service jobs, but most never received the promised relief .
Thursday’s announcement raised the total for student loan forgiveness under President Biden to $150 billion.
President Joe Biden on March 21 announced nearly $6 billion in student loan relief for 78,000 public service workers.
Biden pledged last year to find alternative ways to address debt relief after a Supreme Court ruling in June blocked his forgiveness plan.
As part of sweeping student loan plans rolled out in recent months, the Biden administration has introduced a one-time adjustment to help address any inaccuracies in payment counts by consolidating your loans.
For borrowers with an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, loans can be paid off after 20 to 25 years, and for those with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) plan, loans can be paid off after 10 years of payment.
The one-time adjustment is designed to correct past administrative failures of borrowers under these plans, forgiving their loans if they have been paying long enough, or at least giving them an accurate picture of their progress in the future.
Many borrowers with federal loans don’t need to do anything and the adjustment will happen automatically.
But those with private loans must apply to consolidate their loans by April 30 to be eligible for the payment count adjustment.