Schumer: More than 170,000 Central New Yorkers may be eligible for federal student loan relief
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said today that most public sector and nonprofit workers are unaware they are eligible to have their federal student loan payments reduced and eventually forgiven after 10 years of payments .Schumer is shown at an editorial board meeting of syracuse.com and The Post-Standard Monday, July 22, 2013. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com
WASHINGTON - More than 170,000 public sector and nonprofit employees in Central New York could be missing out on a chance to reduce payments on their federal student loans, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said today.
Some teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public and nonprofit workers could also qualify to have the balance of those student loans forgiven after 10 years, Schumer said.
Schumer, D-N.Y., launched an effort today to try to draw attention to the obscure federal program that helps with student loans, noting that only 40,000 people nationwide have enrolled with the U.S. Department of Education.
"The amazing thing is that it's a very good program, but very few people know about it," Schumer told reporters.
He said the low enrollment in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is surprising, given how often he hears from constituents about the high cost of a college education and student loan debt.
"We know how hard it is to pay for college," Schumer said. "We know that student loan debt is more than $1 trillion. Everywhere I go in New York this is one of the No. 1 issues people bring up with me."
Under the program established by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, any employee of a nonprofit or federal, state or local government is eligible to have their federal student loan payments reduced to no more than 15 percent of their discretionary income.
After 10 years of payments, the balances on those student loans are eligible to be forgiven, Schumer said.
The program applies to new loans since October 2007, but those who are still making payments on existing loans prior to that date are eligible to have those loans forgiven after 10 years of payments.
Schumer said the idea is to encourage more people to become interested in public service jobs, which are often lower paying at the entry level than private-sector positions.
"The call to service cannot and shall not be drowned out by loan collectors," Schumer said. "I think we can save a lot of people a lot of money."
A recent report from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Board found 33 million Americans, or about 25 percent of the nation's workforce, would be eligible to take part in the loan repayment program.
In Central New York, the number includes 67,233 public health employees, 13,773 public education employees and 90,764 government employees, according to Schumer's office.
Only federal Direct Loans - those originated by the U.S. Department of Education - would qualify for forgiveness under the program.
Schumer said money has already been set aside to pay for the program, and no new funding from taxpayers is required.
The senator said he asked the Department of Education and the Department of Labor to work together to raise awareness about the program, and make sure all new public employees are notified of the loan program when they are hired.
Schumer's office plans to post application forms for the program on the senator's website, along with other material explaining the program's requirements.
Contact Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWeinerDC
Some teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public and nonprofit workers could also qualify to have the balance of those student loans forgiven after 10 years, Schumer said.
Schumer, D-N.Y., launched an effort today to try to draw attention to the obscure federal program that helps with student loans, noting that only 40,000 people nationwide have enrolled with the U.S. Department of Education.
"The amazing thing is that it's a very good program, but very few people know about it," Schumer told reporters.
He said the low enrollment in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is surprising, given how often he hears from constituents about the high cost of a college education and student loan debt.
"We know how hard it is to pay for college," Schumer said. "We know that student loan debt is more than $1 trillion. Everywhere I go in New York this is one of the No. 1 issues people bring up with me."
Under the program established by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, any employee of a nonprofit or federal, state or local government is eligible to have their federal student loan payments reduced to no more than 15 percent of their discretionary income.
After 10 years of payments, the balances on those student loans are eligible to be forgiven, Schumer said.
The program applies to new loans since October 2007, but those who are still making payments on existing loans prior to that date are eligible to have those loans forgiven after 10 years of payments.
Schumer said the idea is to encourage more people to become interested in public service jobs, which are often lower paying at the entry level than private-sector positions.
"The call to service cannot and shall not be drowned out by loan collectors," Schumer said. "I think we can save a lot of people a lot of money."
A recent report from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Board found 33 million Americans, or about 25 percent of the nation's workforce, would be eligible to take part in the loan repayment program.
In Central New York, the number includes 67,233 public health employees, 13,773 public education employees and 90,764 government employees, according to Schumer's office.
Only federal Direct Loans - those originated by the U.S. Department of Education - would qualify for forgiveness under the program.
Schumer said money has already been set aside to pay for the program, and no new funding from taxpayers is required.
The senator said he asked the Department of Education and the Department of Labor to work together to raise awareness about the program, and make sure all new public employees are notified of the loan program when they are hired.
Schumer's office plans to post application forms for the program on the senator's website, along with other material explaining the program's requirements.
Contact Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWeinerDC
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