When you get a federal student loan, you're assigned a servicer. This loan servicer manages various aspects of your federal student loans, including what repayment plan you end up on. Unfortunately, working with a federal loan servicer doesn't always result in the best outcome for borrowers. It's worth researching the loan repayment options available to you so that you can be certain any recommendations from your servicer are in your best interests.

What Is a Federal Student Loan Servicer?

Through its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Direct Loan Program, the United States Department of Education provides student loans to borrowers who want to use the money to pay for their higher education. Rather than managing the terms of your student loan repayment, the government assigns a company to handle various aspects of billing and repayment. The companies that manage your federal loan repayment are known as servicers.

After your first loan amount is disbursed to your school, the government assigns you a servicer. You can find out who your student loan servicer is by visiting your Federal Student Aid (FSA) dashboard. You should have created an FSA ID when you applied for your student loans through the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖🦄结果体彩网:Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can use your FSA dashboard to get student loans and servicer information.

How Federal Sꦗtudent Loan Servicers Are Supposed to Help

There are many federal student loan servicers. A borrower's loan often starts under one loan servicer and then moves to a second or third new servicer as time goes on. This was the case for borrowers who previously had 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Navient as a servicer since they n💮o longer handle federal student loans.

Your loan servicer is supposed to help you manage your student debt after you get through school—including the payment plans you're eligible for. If you can't afford your monthly payments, your servicer is supposed to help you determine which income-driven repayment (IDR) plan is right for you.

Additionally, your servicer is supposed to help you keep track of your student loan payments and interest. This information can be used later to help you obtain Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or provide you with interest payment information that can be used to claim a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:deduction on your taxes. Student loan interest payments are reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and to you on IRS Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement.

Recently, some federal loan servicers have ended their contracts with the government. If this is the case for your servicer, you will be assigned a new one and notified of how to set up an account with them. Pay attention to your mail and email to find out how to contact your new servicer. You can also check the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) to find out who your servicer is and how to contact them.

Complaints Against Student Loan Servicers

Unfortunately, there has been some controversy regarding how federal loan servicers have handled borrowers. For example, a 2022 National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) review found that student loan servicers haven't always implemented IDR appropriately. The NCLC discovered that only 32 borrowers had their loans canceled—even though at least 4.4 million had been repaying for at least 20 years.

That same year, an exclusive investigation by NPR found that some servicers have historically put borrowers into the wrong repayment plans or favored putting borrowers into 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:forbearance instead of an income-driven plan that would have benefited them more.

Finally, a 2021 report from the 澳洲ꦑ幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Consumer Fไinancial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that approximately 3,400 of the 5,300 student loan complaints lodged between Sept. 1, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2021, were against federal loan servicers.

What to Do if You🍒 Need Help Payiඣng Your Student Loans

You can contact your federal loan servicer for help with student loans, but it's important to be prepared before you do so.

First, review the information on the IDR plan provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Determine which plan you're eligible for and make sure you understand the terms. That way, when you speak with a customer service representative for your loan servicer, you know what to ask for.

Next, if you plan to apply for PSLF, make sure you've filled out an employment certification form each year. That way, you have a record of the qualifying payments you've made, and it will be easier to obtain forgiveness.

Finally, regularly review your information on the NSLDS to make sure everything matches both your records and your account information with your servicer. If you feel like the information is inaccurate or improperly applied, contact your servicer. You can also contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group for help resolving issues with your servicer.

The Bottom Line

Federal loan servicers handle your student loan repayment plan, including billing you and collecting interest. However, in the past, they haven't always provided satisfactory customer service. As a result, you need to diligently monitor your own records and consider filing a complaint if you don't think your servicer is providing you with the help you're entitled to.