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Debt consolidation is a form of debt refinancing that entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This commonly refers to a personal finance process of individuals addressing high consumer debt, but occasionally it can also refer to a country's fiscal approach to consolidate corporate debt or government debt. The process can secure a lower overall interest rate to the entire debt load and provide the convenience of servicing only one loan or debt.
A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in school. It also differs in many countries in the strict laws regulating renegotiating and bankruptcy. This article highlights the differences of the student loan system in several major countries.
A Federal Perkins Loan, also referred to as a Perkins Loan, was a need-based student loan offered by U.S. Department of Education from 1958 until 2017. Created as part of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, the Perkins Loan served to assist American college students fund their post-secondary education. The program was named after Carl D. Perkins, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky.
The term flexible mortgage refers to a residential mortgage loan that offers flexibility in the requirements to make monthly repayments. The flexible mortgage first appeared in Australia in the early 1990s, however it did not gain popularity until the late 1990s. This technique gained popularity in the US and UK recently due to the United States housing bubble.
A Stafford Loan was a student loan offered from the United States Department of Education to eligible students enrolled in accredited American institutions of higher education to help finance their education. The terms of the loans are described in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which guarantees repayment to the lender if a student defaults. As of July 1, 2010, Stafford Loans are no longer being offered, having been replaced with the William D. Ford Federal Direct Student Loan Program.
A PLUS Loan is a student loan, which is part of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, offered to parents of students enrolled at least half time, or graduate and professional students, at participating and eligible post-secondary institutions. The original, now obsolete, meaning of the acronym was "Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students".
The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program was a system of private student loans which were subsidized and guaranteed by the United States federal government. The program issued loans from 1965 until it was ended in 2010. Similar loans are now provided under the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, which are federal loans issued directly by the United States Department of Education.
The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program provides "low-interest loans for students and parents to help pay for the cost of a student's education after high school. The lender is the U.S. Department of Education ... rather than a bank or other financial institution." It is the largest single source of federal financial aid for students and their parents pursuing post-secondary education and for many it is the first financial obligation they incur, leaving them with debt to be paid over a period of time that can be a decade or more as the average student takes 19.4 years. The program is named after William D. Ford, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan.
Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest provider of student financial aid in the United States. Federal Student Aid provides student financial assistance in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. FSA is a Performance-Based Organization, and was the first PBO to be established in the US government.
Graduate PLUS is a type of federal student aid, in the form of student loans, which is available to graduate and professional students. Similar to the Parent PLUS loan for parents of dependent undergraduate students, the Graduate PLUS loan is an unsubsidized federally guaranteed education loan with no annual or aggregate limits. It has no grace period and it goes into repayment as soon as the funds are disbursed to the borrower. It has the same deferment and forbearance options as the federal Stafford loan program. As such, graduate and professional students can postpone repayment using in-school deferment while enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program of study.
In the United States, the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDLP) includes consolidation loans that allow students to consolidate Stafford Loans, Graduate PLUS Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans into one single debt.
Government sponsored Student Loans in Canada was designed to help post-secondary students pay for their education in Canada. The federal government funds the Canada Student Loan Program (CSLP) and the provinces may fund their own programs or be integrated with the CSLP. In addition, Canadian banks offer commercial loans targeted for students in professional programs.
Student loans and grants in the United Kingdom are primarily provided by the government through the Student Loans Company (SLC), an executive non-departmental public body. The SLC is responsible for Student Finance England and Student Finance Wales, and is a delivery partner of Student Finance NI and the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. Most undergraduate university students resident in the United Kingdom are eligible for student loans, and some students on teacher training courses may also apply for loans. Student loans also became available from the 2016/17 academic year to postgraduate students who study a taught Masters, research or Doctoral course.
In the United States, student loans are a form of financial aid intended to help students access higher education. In 2018, 70 percent of higher education graduates had used loans to cover some or all of their expenses. With notable exceptions, student loans must be repaid, in contrast to other forms of financial aid such as scholarships, which are not repaid, and grants, which rarely have to be repaid. Student loans may be discharged through bankruptcy, but this is difficult. Research shows that access to student loans increases credit-constrained students' degree completion, later-life earnings, and student loan repayment while having no impact on overall debt.
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was introduced in the United States Congress on September 25, 2007, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2007. This act offers relief to homeowners who would have owed taxes on forgiven mortgage debt after facing foreclosure. The act extends such relief for three years, applying to debts discharged in calendar years 2007 through 2009. With the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, this tax relief was extended another three years, covering debts discharged through calendar year 2012. The relief was further extended until January 1, 2014, at Section 202 of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a law that was enacted by the 111th United States Congress, by means of the reconciliation process, in order to amend the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The law includes the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which was attached as a rider.
Income-based repayment or income-driven-repayment (IDR) is a student loan repayment program in the United States that regulates the amount that one needs to pay each month based on one's current income and family size.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program is a United States government program that was created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 signed into law by President George W. Bush to provide indebted professionals a way out of their federal student loan debt burden by working full-time in public service.
The Teacher Loan Forgiveness program is a student loan forgiveness program by the United States Department of Education. This program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. Under this program, teachers who provide direct classroom teaching, or classroom-type teaching in a nonclassroom setting full-time for five complete and consecutive academic years in a Title 1 eligible school or school district may be eligible to receive loan forgiveness for their federal student loans.
The Student Borrower Protection Center is a nonprofit organization aimed at protecting borrowers of student loans and improving the student loan system.
References
- ↑ A New Student-Loan Program Launches Rachel Louise Ensign, Wall Street Journal , November 5, 2012
- ↑ Pay as You Earn studentaid.ed.gov
- ↑ U.S. Dep't of Education | Student Loans Overview - Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Proposal
- ↑ White House Factsheet | Whitehouse.gov
- ↑ Eligible Direct Loans studentaid.ed.gov
- ↑ Loans That Are Not Eligible studentaid.ed.gov