Best Parent PLUS Loan Forgiveness Options

Loan forgiveness is a form of financial aid that relieves borrowers from the responsibility of repaying all or a portion of their debt. It can be granted in various forms, such as through income-driven repayment plans, public service loan forgiveness programs, and complete discharge of the remaining balance. This type of debt relief can provide significant financial relief to people who are struggling to manage their debt. It is important for borrowers to thoroughly research the different loan forgiveness programs available and determine if they meet the eligibility requirements before applying.

Consider any one of the following Loan forgiveness program options that best suit your situation.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program forgives Parent PLUS Loans of parents or guardians who are full-time government or nonprofit organizations employees for at least ten years. To qualify for this program, you must merge all your loans into a direct consolidated plan and make at least 120 payments under an Income-Driven Repayment Plan (IDR), which helps people manage and eliminate debt. The IDR includes plans such as Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). Parent PLUS Loans only qualify for Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), so this would be the option to use for merging your loans into one plan to qualify for PSLF. 

Teacher Loan Forgiveness is a program that forgives loans of people who have been full-time teachers for five academic years in schools in low-income schools. You can get up to a $17,500 forgiveness on your subsidized and unsubsidized direct loans. 

Military personnel in various branches, including the Army, Navy, National Guard, Air Force, and Coast Guard, can get up to $65,000 in loan forgiveness if they commit to three years of service. In the event of the person being discharged from service, certain rules will apply such as the following:

• Death:
  If the person who took out the Parent PLUS Loan or their child dies, the loan is canceled after verification.
• Disability: 
  Total and permanent disability qualifies parents for Total and Permanent Disability Discharge (TPD).
• School closure: 
  If your child’s school closes before graduation, you are eligible for student loan discharge.       

There is only one requirement you need to meet to be eligible for Parent PLUS Loan forgiveness. The biological, adoptive, step parent or guardian must earn less than $125,000 per year or $250,000 per household to qualify.

Applying for loan forgiveness is a simple process. You are required to complete an online application (available both in English and Spanish) with the following information:

• Name
• Date of birth 
• Social security number 
• Phone number 
• Email 
• Electronic signature

Before submitting the form, you will be asked to tick a box (under penalty of perjury) certifying that all the information provided is not false or misleading. You might also be required to show proof of income later on. It will take up to six weeks for the loan forgiveness to reflect in your loan balance. 

The main challenge in loan forgiveness is the high rejection rates. Loan forgiveness programs have more than 80 percent rejection rates attributed to incomplete applications and submitting the wrong paperwork for your type of loan. To increase your approval rate, double-check your application before submission to avoid mistakes such as missing dates or paperwork, and conduct thorough research on eligible loans, repayment plans, and place and form of employment.

In the event that you do not qualify for the Parent PLUS Loan forgiveness options mentioned, there are a number of alternatives that you may find suitable to your situation. Take a look at the options below: 

Deferment and forbearance allow you to take a temporary break from loan payments. If you defer your loan, you will be able to postpone your monthly loan payments for some time; while with forbearance, you can suspend your principal loan payments temporarily. However, the interest on your loan will keep accruing with both a deferment and forbearance.  

With this option, you will allow a lender to pay off your Parent PLUS Loan with another loan that, in most cases, has a much lower interest rate, reducing your monthly loan payments. loan refinancing is dependent on your financial stability and credit history. These factors determine the interest rate on your new loan. 

Parent PLUS Loans enable families to send their children to college and help them to complete their studies. Parent PLUS Loan forgiveness options give parents who have been saddled with a lot of debt due to the high cost of tuition a helping hand so they can enjoy life. Equip yourself with the correct information when deciding on the program that best suits your situation and needs.