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Department of Education provides new tools for students to manage student loan debt
July 01, 2020
Some recent improvements to the StudentAid.gov website will help students manage their student loan debt and determine their eligibility for student loan forgiveness.
The U.S. Department of Education released enhancements on June 28 to the Loan Simulator tool and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Tool.
Loan Simulator enhancements
The enhancements to the Loan Simulator Tool, which was initially launched earlier this year, include enabling borrowers to receive more specific recommendations, such as repayment options for their loans, even if the student has different types of loans. This would include Direct Loans and Federal Family Education (FFEL) Loans. Just a note: only students who took out loans ten or more years ago would have FFEL loans in their loan portfolio.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool enhancements
The PSLF Help Tool now has a feature that enables borrowers to enter their employer's Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN or EIN) and their dates of employment to search a new employer database for specific eligibility information about the employer. Previously, the tool only helped borrowers self-assess whether their employer likely qualified by selecting one of five employer types.
Future enhancements
The Department of Education has said it is planning more features and additional tools on the StudentAid.gov website in 2020 to help students manage and repay student loan debt.