Biden's latest student-loan forgiveness plan brings questions for borrowers: What to know

Some student loan borrowers may not take advantage of President Joe Biden's final plan to eliminate debt for millions because they don't know if they're eligible, don't understand the process or think it is a scam.

On Monday, Biden promised student loan relief by the fall with his final proposal. This plan comes less than a year after the Supreme Court blocked his initial attempt.

Under the proposed plan, more than 4 million borrowers who have been paying down their student loans for 20 years or more could have their debt completely canceled, according to the White House. The plan would also help more than 10 million borrowers by giving them $5,000 or more in relief, Biden's administration said.

Biden also aims to help 23 million borrowers by eliminating interest past the original loan amounts.

How to apply for student loan forgiveness?

If eligible for debt relief, borrowers should periodically check their emails for updates from their student loan servicers and Federal Student Aid.

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While Biden works on his final proposal, eligible borrowers can apply on the Federal Student Aid website for other kinds of relief, including if they have a disability, work for a nonprofit, or are a teacher, government employee or medical professional.

Borrowers repaying their loans for 20 to 25 years can apply for income-driven repayment (IDR) loan forgiveness.

Several other loan forgiveness options are available on the Federal Student Aid website, but borrowers should check if they're eligible by looking closely at each selection. Victims of forgery, borrowers who declared bankruptcy and Perkins loan borrowers are examples of individuals eligible for forgiveness.

What document explains your rights and responsibilities as a federal student loan borrower?

A Master Promissory Note (MPN) is a binding legal document borrowers must sign before they receive a federal student loan promising they'll repay the loans and any accrued interest and fees to the U.S. Department of Education, according to Federal Student Aid.

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There is one MPN for direct subsidized/unsubsidized loans and a different MPN for direct PLUS loans. All MPNs can be signed electronically.

"You may receive more than one loan under an MPN over a period of up to 10 years to pay for your or your child’s educational costs, as long as the school is authorized to use the MPN in this way and chooses to do so," the Federal Student Aid website says.

Am I eligible for student loan relief?

By checking their emails, borrowers typically receive messages explaining whether they're eligible for relief and what type they can apply for.

If not signed up for emails, borrowers can visit the Federal Student Aid website and check their eligibility by hovering over the "loan forgiveness" tab and clicking "types of loan forgiveness."

Once the borrower clicks "types of loan forgiveness," they will be taken to a page showing the available relief options. Borrowers then can check their eligibility.

Be aware of student loan scams

Federal Student Aid warns borrowers to be aware of scams because they "might be contacted by a company saying they will help you get loan discharge, forgiveness, cancellation, or debt relief for a fee."

"You never have to pay for help with your federal student aid," the office's website says. "Make sure you work only with the U.S. Department of Education, the office of Federal Student Aid, and our loan servicers, and never reveal your personal information or account password to anyone."

The emails to borrowers come from noreply@studentaid.gov, noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov and ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com.

Borrowers can report scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-382-4357 or by visiting reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Student loan scam involving 'Mission Hills Federal'

The Federal Trade Commission announced March 13 that it is sending more than $4.1 million in refunds to 27,584 borrowers who "lost money to student loan debt relief scammers who lured consumers with fake loan forgiveness claims and pocketed their money," according to a news release.

The scheme, which "tricked students into paying hundreds to thousands of dollars" since 2014, went by many names including Mission Hills Federal, Federal Direct Group, National Secure Processing and The Student Loan Group.

The group made the borrowers pay "illegal upfront fees and pretended to lower consumers’ monthly student loan payments," according to the FTC. The operators also deceived borrowers into sending their monthly student loan payments directly to them by "falsely claiming to take over the servicing of the consumers’ loans," the agency said.

"In reality, few payments were actually applied to consumers’ student loans and in many cases, none at all," the FTC said. "Instead, the defendants kept consumers’ money for themselves."