Governor Pritzker Announces Expansion
of Payment Relief for Student Loan Borrowers
Borrowers Who Need Relief Should
Immediately Reach Out to Their Loan Servicer
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[July 07, 2020]
Building on measures to address the
unprecedented economic challenges facing Illinois as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Pritzker and Secretary Hagan of the
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)
announced that Illinois has secured relief options with twenty
private student loan servicers to expand on the protections the
federal government granted to federal student loan borrowers. These
new options stand to benefit over 138,000 Illinoisans with privately
held student loans.
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“I’m happy to announce that, as of today, more
student loan borrowers in Illinois will now get relief,” said
Governor JB Pritzker. “IDFPR has worked tirelessly to secure loan
relief options with twenty student loan servicers. Impacted
borrowers can immediately contact their loan provider to get relief
with these new options.”
“At this unprecedented time of financial hardship, it was essential
to find a way to provide relief to all student loan borrowers who
are struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m pleased
that we were able to work with several states and servicers to get
this done for our Illinois students,” said Secretary Deborah Hagan,
Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation.
The federal CARES Act provided much needed relief for students with
federal loans, including the suspension of monthly payments,
interest, and involuntary collection activity until September 30,
2020. However, the CARES Act left out millions of student loan
borrowers with federal loans that are not owned by the US Government
as well as loans made by private lenders.
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Under this new initiative, Illinoisans with commercially-owned
Federal Family Education Program Loans or privately held student
loans who are struggling to make their payments due to the COVID-19
pandemic will be eligible for expanded relief. Borrowers in need of
assistance must immediately contact their student loan servicer to
identify the options that are appropriate to their circumstances.
Relief options include:
Providing a minimum of 90 days of forbearance
Waiving late payment fees
Ensuring that no borrower is subject to negative credit reporting
Ceasing debt collection lawsuits for 90 days
Working with borrower to enroll them in other borrower assistance
programs, such as income based repayment.
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Additionally, if regulated student loan servicers are
limited in their ability to take these actions due to investor
restrictions or contractual obligations, servicers should instead
proactively work with loan holders whenever possible to relax those
restrictions or obligations. Prudent and reasonable actions taken to
support relief for borrowers during the pandemic will not be subject
to examiner criticism from IDFPR.
To determine the types of federal loans they have and
who their servicers are, borrowers can visit the Department of
Education’s National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) at
nslds.ed.gov or call the Department of Education’s Federal Student
Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 or 1-800-730-8913 (TDD).
Borrowers with private student loans can check the contact
information on their monthly billing statements.
If a borrower is experiencing trouble with their student loan
servicer, they are encouraged to contact the following and file a
complaint:
IDPFR Division of Banking
217-785-2900 for information or to file a complaint with IDFPR
https://www.idfpr. com/ admin/ banks/DoBcomplaints.asp
Attorney General’s Student Loan Helpline
at 1-800-455-2456 or file a complaint with the Office of the
Illinois Attorney Generalhttps://illinoisattorneygeneral.
gov/consumers/filecomplaint.html
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
https://www.consumerfinance. gov/ complaint/
Governor Pritzker and Secretary Hagan’s actions to work
cooperatively with other states to secure these accommodations with
twenty private student loan servicers will provide relief to
thousands of Illinois students. States joining the initiative
include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
[Office of the Governor JB Pritzker] |