Defaulting on a Parent PLUS Loan can lead to serious consequences, including wage garnishment, credit score damage, and the loss of federal benefits. But you can recover through loan rehabilitation or consolidation with the U.S. Department of Education.
Parent PLUS loans are loans taken out by the parent and the responsibility for repayment falls entirely on the parent. Even though the loan is helping pay for the child's education, the loan is fully in the parent's name. The child does not have to cosign a parent PLUS loan or share responsibility for making payments.
The Double Consolidation Loophole for Parent PLUS Loans is a strategy that reduces your monthly payments through better income-driven repayment plans (such as PAYE, IBR, or SAVE) achieved by consolidating your loans twice.
If you're a parent who's taken out a Parent PLUS loan to support your child's higher education expenses, you have a chance to reduce your tax bill for the tax year through this specific deduction, potentially saving up to $2,500 per year.
You, the parent borrower, are legally responsible for repaying the loan.
A Direct PLUS Loan made to you as a parent cannot be transferred to your child. You are responsible for repaying the loan.
Parent PLUS loans can be forgiven under the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Parents can become eligible for these forgiveness programs only if they consolidate their PLUS loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan.
What Are Some Reasons to Avoid PLUS Loans? First, PLUS loans have no automatic grace period. Then there's the fact they aren't eligible for most IDR plans. Then, borrowing too much is easy to do, and finally, they're nearly impossible to get out of, even in bankruptcy.
Your parent PLUS loan may be discharged if you (not the child) become totally and permanently disabled, die, or (in some cases) file for bankruptcy. Your parent PLUS loan also may be discharged if the student for whom you borrowed dies.
Your parent's PLUS loan will be discharged if your parent dies or if you (the student on whose behalf your parent obtained the loan) die.
Refinancing. If you have good credit and enough household income to qualify, you may also be able to refinance your Parent PLUS loan to a lower interest rate through a private lender, which can potentially save you money.
If approved, the student can pay off the Parent PLUS loan with their new loan and begin making payments on the new loan. Transferring a Parent PLUS loan to a student involves refinancing through a private lender. The student must apply for a new loan to pay off the Parent PLUS loan.
Parent PLUS Loans are eligible for total and permanent disability discharge if the parent borrower, not the student for whom you borrowed, is totally and permanently disabled. For more information on TPD eligibility: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/disability-discharge.
The parent's only legal recourse would be to sue the child for breaking the contract between the parent and child. In short, both the law and the loan terms are clear that the repayment of a Parent PLUS loan is the parent's obligation.
You will lose repayment plan options and restart the clock on PSLF and other forgiveness programs. You can learn more about the consolidation process here . Act quickly to avoid default. Default can result in consequences like garnishment of your wages, federal tax return, or Social Security.
Similar to other federal student loans, parent PLUS loans are nearly impossible to discharge in bankruptcy. Parent PLUS loan borrowers in default face the full range of draconian government collection powers, including wage garnishment, Social Security offsets and tax refund offsets.
Generally, you'll have from 10 to 25 years to repay your loan, depending on the repayment plan that you choose. Your required monthly payment amount will vary depending on how much you borrowed, the interest rates on your loans, and your repayment plan. Choose a repayment plan that best meets your needs.
The double consolidation loophole is a way of making your Parent PLUS Loans eligible for the generous repayment terms of the SAVE program. You can do this by changing the source of your loan through multiple consolidations, changing it from an ineligible Parent PLUS Loan to an eligible Direct Consolidation Loan.
The Education Department doesn't forgive loan balances for parents when they retire. It will keep sending bills and adding interest until you pay off the debt, die or become totally and permanently disabled, or qualify for one of the department's student loan forgiveness programs.
Based on the information from Federal Student Aid, as of 2022, the average Parent PLUS Loan debt is $29,528. Although that might not sound like a huge amount, it depends on the parent's income.
You, the parent borrower, are legally responsible for repaying the loan.
Key Takeaways. Parent PLUS loans can potentially be forgiven after 10 years under specific conditions, such as through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program after consolidation into a direct consolidation loan. Parent borrowers must enroll in the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan to qualify for PSLF.