Education Department Announces Relief for Student Loan Borrowers with Total and Permanent Disabilities During the COVID-19 Emergency
Jenny
March 30, 2021
Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov
The Department of Education (Department) today announced relief for certain borrowers who have received student loan discharges due to total and permanent disability. These changes will ensure no borrowers are at risk of having their loans reinstated, meaning they would have to repay their debt—for failure to provide earnings information during the COVID-19 emergency.
This action will help more than 230,000 borrowers. More than 41,000 of these borrowers who had $1.3 billion in loans reinstated will now get their discharges back, have any payments made during the COVID-19 emergency refunded, and will not be asked to submit earnings documentation. The other 190,000 borrowers who remain in their monitoring period will not be asked to submit earnings documentation. These income monitoring requirements will be waived for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.
“Borrowers with total and permanent disabilities should focus on their well-being, not put their health on the line to submit earnings information during the COVID-19 emergency,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “Waiving these requirements will ensure no borrower who is totally and permanently disabled risks having to repay their loans simply because they could not submit paperwork.”
