Biden Excludes Student Loan Cancellation From Annual Budget

President Joe Biden excluded student loan cancellation from his annual budget. Here’s what it means for your student loans.

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April 2024

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Fixed APR ?APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the price you pay to borrow money. Fixed APR means that your interest rate will always stay the same. Even if interest rates change, your interest rate or monthly payment will not. Fixed APR includes a 0.25% discount when you enroll in autopay.

Variable APR ?APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the price you pay to borrow money. Variable APR means that your interest rate can fluctuate over time, which can increase or decrease your monthly student loan payment. Typically, a variable-rate loan has a lower introductory rate than a fixed-loan rate loan. Variable APR includes a 0.25% discount when you enroll in autopay.

APR

5.24% - 9.99%

6.24% - 9.99%

5.24% - 9.99%

Get My Rate

View Details

on SoFi's website

Overview

Variable APR:

6.24% - 9.99%

Fixed APR:

5.24% - 9.99%

Minimum Credit Score:

650

Minimum Income:

None

Fees:

None

Minimum Loan Amount:

$5,000 ($10,000 in CA)

Details

Eligible Loans:

Private & Federal

Eligible Degrees:

Undergraduate & Graduate

Loan Terms:

5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years

Borrower Residency:

All states

Hardship Deferment:

Yes

Co-signer Option:

Yes

Review:

SoFi Student Loan Refinancing Review

5.44% - 9.99%

6.24% - 9.99%

5.44% - 9.99%

Get My Rate

View Details

on Earnest's website

Overview

Variable APR:

6.24% - 9.99%

Fixed APR:

5.44% - 9.99%

Minimum Credit Score:

650

Minimum Income:

None

Fees:

None

Minimum Loan Amount:

$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:

Private & Federal

Eligible Degrees:

Undergraduate & Graduate

Loan Terms:

5-20 years

Borrower Residency:

All States except NV

Hardship Deferment:

Yes

Co-signer Option:

No

Review:

Earnest Student Loan Refinancing Review

5.19% - 9.74%

5.84% - 9.75%

5.19% - 9.75%

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View Details

on NaviRefi's website

Overview

Variable APR:

5.84% - 9.75%

Fixed APR:

5.19% - 9.74%

Minimum Credit Score:

680

Minimum Income:

None

Fees:

None

Minimum Loan Amount:

$5,001 ($10,001 in CA)

Details

Eligible Loans:

Private & Federal

Eligible Degrees:

Undergraduate & Graduate

Loan Terms:

5-20 years

Borrower Residency:

All States except NV

Hardship Deferment:

Yes

Co-signer Option:

No

Review:

NaviRefi Student Loan Refinancing Review

5.48% - 8.69%

5.28% - 8.99%

5.28% - 8.99%

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View Details

on ELFI's website

Overview

Variable APR:

5.28% - 8.99%

Fixed APR:

5.48% - 8.69%

Minimum Credit Score:

680

Minimum Income:

$35,000

Fees:

None

Minimum Loan Amount:

$10,000

Details

Eligible Loans:

Private & Federal

Eligible Degrees:

Undergraduate & Graduate

Loan Terms:

5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years

Borrower Residency:

All States

Hardship Deferment:

Yes

Co-signer Option:

Yes

Review:

ELFI Student Loan Refinancing Review

3.99% - 9.99%

5.99% - 9.99%

3.99% - 9.99%

Get My Rate

View Details

on Splash's website

Overview

Variable APR:

5.99% - 9.99%

Fixed APR:

3.99% - 9.99%

Minimum Credit Score:

640

Minimum Income:

None

Fees:

None

Minimum Loan Amount:

$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:

Private & Federal

Eligible Degrees:

Undergraduate & Graduate

Loan Terms:

5 – 20 years

Borrower Residency:

All states

Hardship Deferment:

Varies

Co-signer Option:

No

Review:

Splash Financial Student Loan Refinancing Review

6.99% - 10.99%

7.29% - 12.44%

6.99% - 12.44%

Get My Rate

View Details

on Citizens' website

Overview

Variable APR:

7.29% - 12.44%

Fixed APR:

6.99% - 10.99%

Minimum Credit Score:

Not disclosed

Minimum Income:

$24,000

Fees:

No prepayment or origination fees

Minimum Loan Amount:

$10,000

Details

Eligible Loans:

Private & Federal

Eligible Degrees:

Undergraduate & Graduate

Loan Terms:

5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years

Borrower Residency:

All states

Hardship Deferment:

Yes

Co-signer Option:

Yes

Review:

Citizens Student Loan Refinancing Review

5.44% - 9.75%

5.49% - 9.95%

5.44% - 9.95%

Get My Rate

View Details

on Laurel Road's website

Overview

Variable APR:

5.49% - 9.95%

Fixed APR:

5.44% - 9.75%

Minimum Credit Score:

660

Minimum Income:

None

Fees:

None

Minimum Loan Amount:

$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:

Private & Federal

Eligible Degrees:

Undergraduate & Graduate

Loan Terms:

5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years

Borrower Residency:

All States

Hardship Deferment:

Yes

Co-signer Option:

Yes

Review:

Laurel Road Student Loan Refinancing Review

5.24% - 12.18%

5.55% - 12.18%

5.24% - 12.18%

Get My Rate

View Details

on LendKey's website

Overview

Variable APR:

5.55% - 12.18%

Fixed APR:

5.24% - 12.18%

Minimum Credit Score:

680

Minimum Income:

$24,000

Fees:

None

Minimum Loan Amount:

$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:

Private & Federal

Eligible Degrees:

Undergraduate & Graduate

Loan Terms:

5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years

Borrower Residency:

All states, except ME, ND, NV, RI, WV

Hardship Deferment:

Yes

Co-signer Option:

Yes

Review:

LendKey Student Loan Refinancing Review

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Disclosures: SoFi | Earnest | NaviRefi | ELFI | Splash Financial | Citizens | Laurel Road | LendKey

Biden dropped student loan forgiveness

You won’t find any student loan forgiveness included in Biden’s new $5.8 trillion annual budget. Biden submitted his annual budget to Congress this week. While many hoped for a detailed plan on wide-scale student loan cancellation, Biden opted not to include this student loan relief for borrowers.

While only Congress approves the federal budget, the president can submit a proposed budget that reflect his policy priorities and legislative agenda. Biden’s decision may come as a major disappointment for Democrats in Congress and student loan borrowers alike.

Several Democrats in Congress have been lobbying the president to cancel up to $50,000 of student loans for borrowers. However, as Biden has done in previous years, he decided not to include any wide-scale student loan cancellation in his budget.

(Learn more: How To Pay Off $70,000 of Student Loans)

Democrats want $50,000 of student loan cancellation

Some Democrats in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), want the president to act now to cancel student loans. They’re calling on the president to cancel up to $50,000 of student loans through an executive order.

However, Biden has said he doesn’t have legal authority to cancel student loans for every borrower. Therefore, Biden has asked Congress to pass legislation to enact wide-scale student loan forgiveness.

That said, Biden didn’t include $10,000 of student loan forgiveness in his budget either. Importantly, Congress isn’t required to accept the president’s proposed budget. Congress can amend the budget accordingly, which means that Congress could vote to include wide-scale student loan forgiveness.

Democrats in Congress also want Biden to extend the student loan payment pause for a fourth time. However, Biden did not include any federal spending on the student loan payment pause in his budget. (Here are 3 reasons why Biden could extend the student loan payment pause).

(Read: The Ultimate Guide To Student Loan Forgiveness)

Student loan cancellation is still possible

Since becoming president, Biden has cancelled $17 billion of student loans. Last week, for example, Biden announced plans to cancel $6.2 billion of student loans. Therefore, student loan borrowers shouldn’t think that there won’t be any student loan cancellation. It’s expected that Biden will continue to cancel student loans for specific student loan borrowers, rather than for every student loan borrower.

There is good news for student loan borrowers inside Biden’s proposed budget.

• First, Biden proposed that income-driven repayment plans be simplified. Income-driven repayment plans such as IBR, PAYE, REPAYE and ICR set a monthly student loan payment based on a borrower’s discretionary income and family size.
• Second, Biden said he wants to double the amount of Pell Grants to make college more affordable. Increased Pell Grants would help student loan borrowers get grants that don’t have to be repaid.
• Third, Biden called for more investment into Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
• Fourth, Biden wants to improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which helps public servants get total federal student loan forgiveness after meeting certain requirements. (How to get student loan forgiveness for teachers). This program, which Congress passed in 2007, has at times rejected up to 99% of applicants. In October, Biden made major changes to student loan forgiveness, which should help more student loan borrowers get access to student loan cancellation. For example, student loan borrowers can complete a limited waiver for student loan forgiveness to count previously ineligible student loan payments toward the required 120 monthly student loan payments.

(Learn more: The Ultimate Guide To Lower Student Loan Payments)

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