Premier Student Loan Center Loan Forgiveness

The number of American students enrolling for post secondary education is increasing each year. Bearing in mind the economic uncertainty of the country, college and university degrees are seen by many as a valuable investment for a secure future.

However, as important as a post secondary education has become, the cost of it has also risen at a very steep gradient. This means that not many Americans are able to pay for the tuition costs out of their own pockets.

Student loans issued by the government enable those Americans to pursue a post secondary education who would not have been able to do so otherwise. As a result of this, an elevated number of indebted students graduates each year. Premier student loan center is a company that claims to be the solution for all the problems related to student loan debt. It offers services such as debt consolidation, and most importantly it offers loan forgiveness. In this article we will go through a complete guide to the premier student loan center loan forgiveness and other schemes related to loan forgiveness.

Premier Student Loan Center Shut Down

The premier student loan center became a successful company at an accelerated rate due to a very large number of customers. Because who would not like to have their students’ debt be lowered and taken care of?

However, Premier student loan center has come up with a rather unexpected decision of not accepting any new clients. The company has stated that they would be working with their existing clients until any further change in the decision. It is highly unlikely that the company would change its decision.

The reason behind this is that the company places a high emphasis on its customer services and client relations. Premier student loan center choose to rather entertain their existing customer base and help them get financial freedom, than to take on board new customers.

Premier Loan Center

Premier Student Loan Center is a corporate that was established in 2014, and it has been in business for about 6 years now. Students are highly indebted even before they step out into the professional world and this does throw many of them into chaos.

Here, the Premier Student Loan Center comes to the rescue of such students by helping them through various services such as debt consolidation process, as well as loan forgiveness, debt analysis, and one-on-one budgetary consultation. In case you are wondering what debt consolidation is, it is the process whereby a person takes out a new loan in order to pay their existing loans and liabilities. This in turn is likely to raise your credit scores over the long term if you use it to pay off debt.

Premier student loan center claims to be extremely client friendly and all of its services are just one consultation away. However, it is worth keeping in mind that all of its services cost a fee. Premier student loan center loan forgiveness is a scheme that is increasing in popularity day by day. But is paying a fee for availing loan forgiveness a rightful decision? Well, there are some mixed views on this particular subject. To a layperson, the idea of loan forgiveness through a third-party would sound very exciting. Most of the reviews found online suggest that Premier student loan center is not a legitimate company. Anyhow, there are some positive reviews about the company out there as well.

Premier Loan Center BBB

The Better Business Bureau (bbb), founded in 1912, is on a mission to promote “marketplace trust,” which it does, most notably, by grading companies based on their trustworthiness and performance and by serving as an intermediary when customers have complaints.

According to the Better Business Bureau (bbb), Premier Student Loan Center is located at 173 Technology Dr Ste 202, Irvine, CA 92618-2489. The business was started by Mr. Albert Kim, on 8/5/2014 with the entity of a corporation. The alternate name for the corporation is Consumer Advocacy Center Inc. Please note that the Premier Student Loan Center is not BBB accredited as yet.

Premier student loan center does not enjoy the privilege of being a well thought of company according to the Better Business Bureau (bbb).  As of now, the Better Business Bureau (bbb) showcases 80 complaints that have been lodged against the company. Many reviewers have gone as far as referring to the company as a fraud. We cannot give any further judgements on the validity of the premier student loan center until it starts to accept new clients once again. Fair enough? But why not operate the smarter way and refrain from wasting dollar bills on the services that can be availed even without involving a third-party.

Do Teachers get Loan Forgiveness?

Teaching is a highly reputable profession but it is not a very fruitful one when it comes to the monetary payback. To pursue teaching as a profession requires the chaser to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree and for more advanced levels, even a Master’s degree is required. The required post secondary education and also the fact that teachers’ pay is meagre, leaves them with a greater amount of student debt as compared to some other professions.

Fortunately, there are some options available to teachers that can help lower their debt amount or all together grant them loan forgiveness. The Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) program is one of the most sought after programs by teachers who are eager to get helped out in their loan repayments.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness, TLF program was brought up by the Federal Government in order to help teachers combat the burdening amount of student loans, hence encouraging more teachers to teach at educational institutes aimed at serving low-income families. You must be wondering whether you qualify to receive a loan forgiveness or not. There is an eligibility criterion that one needs to meet in order to avail  the Teacher Loan Forgiveness. The following text would clearly answer all of your questions.

First of all, you should have earned at least a bachelor’s degree and also received full state certification as a teacher. Secondly, you need to have taught full-time for at least five consecutive years at a qualifying low income elementary or secondary school. You can look up the eligibility of your school at the Directory of Teacher Cancellation Low Income (TCLI), on the website of Federal Student Aid.

As far as the eligibility of the kinds of loans is concerned, subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans from the Federal Family Education Loan (FFELP), and the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program is eligible. The portion of consolidation loan that paid off an eligible Stafford loan may also be eligible for forgiveness. It is also noteworthy that in order to avail loan forgiveness, you must be considered a new borrower. You are considered a new borrower if you got your loan after October 1st, 1998, and did not have an outstanding balance on a Stafford or Direct Loan when you got your loan.

The amount that one is forgiven is decided upon many factors. The maximum amount that can be forgiven sums up to $17,500 and is only applicable to teachers who have taught secondary mathematics, science, and special education. All other elementary and secondary school teachers can be forgiven upto $5,000 only. The procedure to receive the loan requires you to complete the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application and submit it to your loan servicer at the end of your fifth consecutive teaching year.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is another popular option for teachers indebted with student loans. The PSLF is better than TLF due to many reasons, one of them being its terms and conditions. Fortunately, PSLF is not just for teachers, anyone who has worked full-time for a government or a non-profit agency in a specific public service can avail it. You must be wondering why PSLF is particularly important for teachers. This is because as a teacher it is very easy to qualify for it since your job is in the public sector. Also, the requirements do not include you to work in a low-income or public school. However, one must have worked full-time for at least 10 consecutive years.

Now, how the PSLF program operates is that it forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. Also, they don’t have to be consecutive payments, periods of forbearance do not disqualify you. Similarly to the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program (TLF), the Public Service Loan Forgiveness also applies only to Direct Federal loans you can calculate through the public service loan forgiveness calculator. Other federal loans can be made eligible through debt consolidation.

Interestingly, If you meet the requirements of both the PSLF and TLF programs, you are not restricted to any one of them. You can take advantage of both of them!

Does Forbearance Affect Student Loan Forgiveness?

If you are wondering what forbearance is, it is basically an agreement where your lender allows you to temporarily stop making payments or to make a smaller payment than the actual periodic amount that you owe. You will have to pay the reduced amount back later. So, forbearance acts as a temporary relief and mounts up the payments that have to be paid back later, so, there is no progress towards loan forgiveness.

The applicable interest during forbearance can be either paid off while it is accumulating or it can be allowed to be added up in the principal amount so that you can pay it at the end of the forbearance period, also known as capitalization. Hence, capitalizing can result in the amount of loan repayment becoming higher.

Interestingly, following the Coronavirus, in March 2020, the office of Federal Student Aid automatically gave temporary relief and suspension of payments to all of its borrowers. A 0% interest rate was also applied. However in normal circumstances, forbearance does not happen automatically, you need to submit an application to your loan provider.

There are two main types of forbearances, general and mandatory. You can request a general forbearance if you are temporarily unable to make your scheduled monthly loan payments for the following reasons:

• Financial difficulties,
• Medical expenses, and
• Change in employment.

You are eligible for a mandatory forbearance if:

• You are serving in a medical or dental internship or residency program.
• Payments on your federal student loans are greater than 20% of your total monthly gross income.
• You are serving in an AmeriCorps position for which you received a national service award.
• You are in a teaching position that would qualify you for teacher loan forgiveness.
• You qualify for partial repayments of your loans under the U.S. Department of Defense Student Loan Repayment Program.
• You are an active member of the National Guard, but you are not eligible for a military deferment.

In short, forbearance does not affect student loan forgiveness in a positive way. For example, if  you are interested in availing a Public Services Loan Forgiveness, periods of forbearance would not count towards the 120 monthly payments that are required to be made. Forbearance would not let you make progress towards loan forgiveness.

What Repayment Plans Qualify for Student Loan Forgiveness?

Repayment is the act of paying back money that was previously borrowed from a lender. The amount you need to pay back includes the interest rate and also the actual amount that was borrowed. A repayment plan is a way to pay back a loan over an extended period of time, generally by making fixed monthly payments. Repayment plans work differently according to the type of loan. The 10-year standard repayment divides the amount you owe into 120 level payments so you are required to pay the same amount every month for 10 years. Under this plan, payments can’t be less than $50.

Federal student loans, for instance, come with multiple repayment plans to choose from, some of which tie your monthly payment amount to your income. you can also choose the 10-year graduated repayment plan, which starts with lower payments and increases every two years; the 25-year extended repayment plan; or one of four income-driven plans, which limit payments to a percentage of your income and provide forgiveness on the remaining balance after 20 or 25 years. However, a repayment plan should be chosen very carefully after measuring its pros and cons. If you are interested in student loan forgiveness, the following text will provide you with a list of the best repayment plans that you should consider.

To qualify for the PSLF benefit, repay your loans on the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan, the Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan, or the Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan, which are three repayment plans that qualify for PSLF.

The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan sets the monthly student loan payment at an amount that is calculated to be affordable based on your income and family size. The Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan sets monthly payments that are generally equal to 10% of your discretionary income, divided by 12, but never more than the 10-year Standard Repayment amount. The Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan has monthly payments that are the lesser of  what you would pay on a repayment plan with a fixed monthly payment over 12 years, adjusted based on your income or 20% of your discretionary income, divided by 12.

Other PSLF-qualifying repayment plans are the 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan or any other repayment plan where your monthly payment amount equals or exceeds what you would pay under a 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan. Before deciding on a repayment plan to repay your Direct Loans, it is important that you understand the implications and costs of that decision. The longer you make PSLF-qualifying payments under a 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan, the lower the remaining balance on your loans will be when you meet all of the PSLF eligibility requirements. In fact, if you make all of the required 120 qualifying payments under the 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan, there will be no remaining balance on your loans to be forgiven. Under the IBR, Pay As You Earn, and ICR plans, your monthly payment amount will likely be lower than under any of the other PSLF-qualifying repayment plans and your repayment period will likely be longer. Because of the longer repayment period, additional interest that will build up on your loan, and the smaller monthly payment amount, you will be left with a higher loan balance that could be forgiven. However, if you ultimately do not meet the eligibility requirements for PSLF, you will be responsible for repaying the entire balance of your loan, including all accumulated interest, unless you qualify for forgiveness under the terms of the IBR, Pay As You Earn, or ICR repayment plan.

Conclusion

Premier student loan center loan forgiveness claims to be a legitimate company. While the complaints lodged at the Better Business Bureau (bbb) pertray a rather bad side of the Premier student loan center, there are also some positive reviews about the company. Nonetheless, it is always better not to pay hundreds and thousands of dollars on the services that you can get free of cost as well.

There are many legitimate schemes out there as well that would help you in student loan repayment. This article takes you through a complete guide to the different types of student loan repayment plans and their terms and conditions.