College students struggle to pay off loans during COVID-19 pandemic

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Millions of recent college graduates are struggling to pay off their student loans in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is help available for those who can’t make their payments.

For the time being, student loan repayment is on pause until the first of the year, but that is just a short term solution.

However, more substantial relief is out there.

One way to get your debt wiped out is through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness plan.

If you work at a qualifying public service agency for ten years and make 120 loan payments, the rest of the debt is wiped out.

Public service work is broadly defined. Teachers, school administrators, state, local, and federal government jobs all qualify.

But if that doesn’t sound like you, there is another option you can try.

It is called the Income-Driven Repayment Plan.

Your payment amount is determined by your income.

“They cap your monthly payment at 10 or 15 percent of your discretionary income, which means you could have a payment as low as zero dollars per month and that legally qualifies you as a monthly payment,” said Robert Farrington of The College Investor.

Sounds good, right?