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2 weeks ago | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
FAFSA completion rates are consistently lower than college attendance rates among high school graduates. Filling out the FAFSA grants access federal financial aid and loans to help fund your higher education. There are still advantages to completing the FAFSA even if you don’t qualify for federal aid.
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1 month ago | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
On May 22, a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle the Department of Education by ordering the ED to reinstate recently-terminated staff members. The ruling coincides with a new study revealing the negative impact a reduced ED workforce has had on student loan borrowers. As the future of the department hangs in the balance, so does the federal student aid program as we know it today.
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1 month ago | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
The first of three monthly reports from the U.S. Department of Education suggests that processing for both income-driven repayment plans and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback program is off to a slow start. Borrowers who applied for either program should expect delays and continue making their regular payments to their current loan servicers. Nearly 200,000 of the 5.3 million federal student loan borrowers in default received a collections notice this month.
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1 month ago | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
Paying off student debt together with a partner may shave years off your repayment term and save you thousands of dollars. Risks of paying off debts together include resentment, financial sacrifice and potential divorce complications. Before teaming up to repay debt, ask yourself the tough questions about whether you can afford it and what stresses it could put on the relationship. In May 2019, my husband Mike and I stood across from each other in our kitchen waiting for the other to speak.
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2 months ago | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
The Department of Education will resume federal student loan collections in May, garnishing income from borrowers with defaulted student loans. Also, it has reopened income-driven repayment (IDR) plan applications with one noticeable change and said that it would begin fully processing applications in May. Additionally, the Department stated that spousal income would be taken into consideration when calculating monthly payments — even if the couple files their taxes separately.
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2 months ago | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Jennifer Lee
This is part 1 of 2 of Bankrate’s ’90s era lessons miniseries. Stay tuned later this month for another round of personal finance lessons elevated by Bankrate experts. Some personal finance issues are timeless, but smart money habits can also make them avoidable. You can learn personal finance lessons from TV, but even more from experts in the industry. Today’s technology makes it even easier to follow simple finance rules to succeed with your money.
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Mar 28, 2025 | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
There are more than 3 million federal student loan borrowers aged 60 and older. The government can garnish Social Security benefits and tax refunds to recoup defaulted-on student loan debt. Older student loan borrowers have options including switching repayment plans, consolidating loans or applying for loan forgiveness. At the age of 65, Lori Stone made her final student loan payment. After paying her student loan debt for 21 years, her loan balance was forgiven.
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Mar 28, 2025 | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
There are more than 3 million federal student loan borrowers aged 60 and older. The government can garnish Social Security benefits and tax refunds to recoup defaulted-on student loan debt. Older student loan borrowers have options including switching repayment plans, consolidating loans or applying for loan forgiveness. At the age of 65, Lori Stone made her final student loan payment. After paying her student loan debt for 21 years, her loan balance was forgiven.
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Mar 11, 2025 | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
On March 3, the Senate voted to confirm Linda McMahon as the 13th Secretary of Education, a position that oversees federal student aid programs. The same day, the new secretary set out on what she called a “historic final mission,” inviting all department employees to “perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students,” according to an email posted on the department’s website.
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Mar 3, 2025 | 
bankrate.com | Lauren Nowacki |Pippin Wilbers
The 8th Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s assertion that the SAVE plan, the most affordable federal student loan repayment plan, is unconstitutional. It also blocked forgiveness under the SAVE, ICR and PAYE plans. The U.S. Department of Education has removed applications for all income-driven repayment plans from its site.
