3월 27에 최종 발효된 미국의 코로나 19사태로 인한 경제적 지원 방안의 하나로, 연방정부 학생론 상환이 4월부터 9월까지 6개월 동안 일체 유예된다. 즉, 원금과 이자 모두 이 기간동안 상환하지 않고 10월 부터 다시 상환을 시작하면 된다.

보다 상세한 내용은 Forbes에서 정리해서 발표한 아래 내용을 참조하면 보다 정확하게 이해할 수 있으며, 핵심 내용은 하단에 간략하게 한글로 정리해 놓았다.

The stimulus package enacted by Congress gives most federal student loan borrowers a six-month break from payments. It comes after a series of announcements by the U.S. Department of Education meant to alleviate student loan stress. The new law takes that relief even further. Note: The U.S. Department of Education’s website has not yet been updated to reflect the programs enacted below.

The biggest break: You can stop making payments on most federal student loans for six months — from April through September — and no new interest will accrue. That means, at the end of those six months, you’ll owe exactly what you did at the start.

Put another way, Congress didn’t wipe out any of your student debt, as some Democrats wanted. But it gave everyone a six-month payment holiday, regardless of how much they have or haven’t been hurt by the current wave of layoffs and closings designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (It’s possible that yet another stimulus package will be needed, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said. So there’s a chance some sort of loan forgiveness could eventually take place.) 

Congress’ stimulus package expands on and supersedes earlier relief programs that you might have heard of, but which are now out of date. Here’s how the new stimulus affects your student loans, and what to do if you’re in each of the situations below.

1. If You’re Current But Likely To Fall Behind

Perhaps you’re able to pay your bill right now, but you’re concerned about losing income or affording payments in the next few months. If so, take advantage of automatic student loan forbearance starting now, and use it to build an emergency fund so that you can put it toward other essentials like food and housing in the future if necessary.

론 상환이 조금이라도 부담스러운 상황이라면, 자동 유예기간을 잘 활용하고 그 돈을 다른 긴급한 곳에 활용할 수 있다.

2. If You’re Working Toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The stimulus bill updates guidance previously offered to those seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Now, if you don’t make payments until Sept. 30, those months will still count toward your Public Service Loan Forgiveness timeline. That means you won’t have to make payments for extra months, past the time you planned to get forgiveness. For these borrowers, it doesn’t make much sense to keep paying loans, even if you can. If and when you do qualify for PSLF, you’ll receive forgiveness on the outstanding balance without needing to pay income tax on the amount forgiven.

만일, 현재 론 면제 프로그램을 진행하고 있다면, 이번 유예되는 6개월은  론을 상환하지 않고도 면제기간에 포함되어, 면제 일자는 동일하게 되는 큰 혜택을 받게 된다.

3. If You’re Current On Student Loan Payments And Your Income Is Secure

You don’t have to make payments right now, but since new interest won’t accrue, any payments you do make will be turbocharged. That’s because more of your payment will go toward your principal balance, helping you pay off the loan faster. If you’re not concerned about your income or shoring up savings at the moment, your best bet is to continue making payments while you can.

지금 상황에서 론을 상환하는 것이 경제적으로 부담이 되지 않으면, 유예기간동안 상환화는 금액은 전액 원금 상환이 되므로 상환기간을 단축할 수 있다.

4. If You’re Behind On Student Loan Payments

From President Trump’s first announcement on federal student loan payment suspension, borrowers who were more than 31 days behind on their loans received automatic forbearance. Under the stimulus bill, that’s still true — and now, your payments are automatically postponed until Sept. 30. You don’t need to ask for forbearance from your student loan servicer, but it’s a smart idea to check your online account soon to make sure they’ve updated their records. Interest won’t accrue during this period. 

이미 유예를 신청하여 31일 후 발효되는 사람은 자동으로 9월 30일 까지 유예된다.

The U.S. Department of Education has also announced that:

• Collections activities will be paused, meaning you shouldn’t receive calls or letters about a federal loan in default that a private company is now collecting on.
• The government will not withhold your pay, your tax refund or your Social Security payment — known as Treasury offsets — for at least 60 days if you’re in default, starting from March 13. Additionally, the Department of Education said on Wednesday that it will refund $1.8 billion in offsets to more than 830,000 borrowers whose offsets were in the process of being withheld on March 13, when President Trump declared a national emergency due to COVID-19. So far it’s unclear when those refunds will be granted, and how.
• If you’re in a rehabilitation program to get out of default, which requires you to make nine on-time student loan payments in 10 months, the clock doesn’t stop on your payment arrangement. Even if you don’t make payments for the next six months, those months will still be counted toward your rehabilitation timeline.

If you’re worried you’ll need help after the government’s pause on payments has ended, you can sign up for an income-driven repayment plan to limit your monthly bill to a percentage of your income for as long as you need to. You’ll also get forgiveness after 20 or 25 years of payments, and you’ll pay income tax on the forgiven balance. 

5. If You’re A Parent With Student Loans On Behalf Of A Child

If you took out federal direct PLUS loans to help your child pay for college, these are included as part of the stimulus package’s relief offerings. That means your payments will be suspended automatically until Sept. 30. 

If you can continue to make payments, though, and you want to make progress on the loan, you’ll benefit from the fact that new interest isn’t being charged during this six month period. That means all payments you make during this period go directly toward your principal balance, potentially helping you pay off your loan quicker. 

연방정부로 부터 학생을 대신해서 부모 론을 받은 분들도 동일한 혜택을 받게 된다.

6. If You Have Commercially-Held FFEL Or School-Held Perkins Loans

Only loans held by the U.S. Department of Education qualify for relief in the stimulus package, including the interest waiver and payment suspension. Loans from the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program that are owned by private entities, and Perkins loans owned by colleges, don’t qualify. 

You can, however, consolidate these loans into a direct consolidation loan in order to access stimulus benefits. Consolidating also lets you take advantage of income-driven repayment if you need it in the future. But if you have Perkins loans, that means giving up access to certain forgiveness programs for public service workers and other benefits. Weigh the pros and cons before consolidating.

연방 정부가 후원하지만 Private lender 와 학교가 주관하는 론은 이 혜택을 받지 못한다.(예, Perkins loans)

7. If You Have Private Student Loans

None of the federal relief programs apply to borrowers with private student loans. That means it’s up to you to call your lender and ask about loan modification programs, which many offer. Take a look at this list of banks sharing information about coronavirus relief for customers.

If you’re at risk of falling behind on loan payments, request help from your lender as soon as possible. Some items to ask about include options for reducing or pausing payments and waiving late fees. The sooner you call, the better.

Private loans을 받은 분들은 이번 혜택을 받지 못 하지만, 론 상환에 어려움이 있는 분들은 개별적으로 Lender 에게 직접 연락해서 필요한 도움을 요청해야 한다.

8. If You Don’t Know Where To Start

The most important piece of information to know is what type of student loans you have. That affects whether you can confidently stop making payments or not. Most student loans are federally held, so if you’re unsure, start by signing in to StudentAid.gov with your Federal Student Aid ID, or create an account. 

From there, you can log in to see a list of your federal student loans and the company that services them, or helps you manage payments. You can also view there whether your FFEL or Perkins loans are held by the U.S. Department of Education, making them eligible for federal relief.

If you know you have student loans but they’re not listed there, the loans may be private. All your loans will be listed on your credit report, and any that aren’t also listed on StudentAid.gov are likely private. You can check your credit report for free once a year from each of the three main credit bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com.

본인의 론의 성격과 혜택 여부를 확인하기 위해서는StudentAid.gov (with your Federal Student Aid ID)  로긴하여 본인의 어카운트를 살펴 보면 된다.  

(Source: Forbes written by Brianna McGurran)