Navient Student Loan Forgiveness: Who Qualifies in 2024?

Navient student loans can be forgiven, but specific conditions apply. Here’s what you need to know:

• Eligible Loans: This applies to Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and Stafford Loans.

• Loan Age: You should have had these loans for over 20 years.

• Loan Status: You’ve been in forbearance or deferment periods for several months.

Ahead, we’ll review the qualifications to get your Navient student loans forgiven, starting with the latest debt cancellation opportunity from the U.S. Department of Education.

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Navient’s federal student loan borrowers can get their debt forgiven through the IDR Waiver because the Biden administration is addressing mistakes student loan servicers made over the years. These errors include:

• Steering borrowers towards forbearance and deferment instead of payment.

• Not offering borrowers repayment options where monthly payments are based on their income and family size.

• Adding significant interest to borrowers’ loan balances through interest capitalization.

• Not informing borrowers working in government or nonprofits about consolidating for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

The Education Department is rectifying these errors by crediting borrowers toward income-driven repayment plan forgiveness for any time spent on any repayment plan and for months in long-term forbearances and deferments.

This initiative is distinct from President Biden’s debt relief plan to forgive $10,000 to $20,000 per federal student loan borrower, which faced legal challenges and was ultimately stopped by the Supreme Court.

But the IDR Waiver has not faced similar obstacles.

At our firm, we’ve successfully leveraged the IDR Waiver, aiding many clients with Navient federal student loans in resolving their debt.

To get your Navient FFEL loans forgiven, follow these steps:

• Combine Your Loans: Merge your commercially held FFEL loans into one Direct Consolidation Loan. This is needed because the IDR Waiver program mainly helps with Direct Loans and federally held FFEL loans, not commercial ones. You can consolidate federal student loan debt for free on the Federal Student Aid website, StudentAid.gov.

• Don’t Miss the Deadline: Apply for loan consolidation by April 30, 2024. You can do this for free at StudentAid.gov.

• No Separate Application Needed: After combining your loans, the IDR Waiver automatically updates your account. They’ll keep doing this every two months for a year, and you need not apply separately.

• Be Patient: The time to get forgiveness varies – it could be months or years, depending on your situation.

• Tax Benefits: Good news! Loans forgiven through the IDR from December 31, 2020, to January 1, 2026, won’t be taxed, thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Related: How Do I Consolidate My FFEL Loans to Direct Loans

Along with the payment account adjustment-IDR loan forgiveness, you can also get your federal student loans forgiven through these programs:

• PSLF Program: This program forgives remaining balances on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying payments for full-time government or nonprofit employees. If you consolidate before April 30, 2024, you can get PSLF credit because you’ve already held qualifying employment.

• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: Full-time teachers at low-income schools can get up to $17,500 in forgiveness through the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program.

• Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Loan Discharge: The federal government writes off the remaining balance for borrowers who suffer a physical or mental disability that prevents them from working. Disability discharge is the fastest student loan forgiveness program.

• Borrower Defense to Repayment: If your school engaged in misconduct or misled you about your earning potential, career opportunities, or your ability to transfer credits, you can apply for cancellation through the Borrower Defense to Repayment Program.

Related: FFELP Loan Forgiveness

Navient, a company established in 2014 as a spin-off from Sallie Mae, has managed high-risk loans for students at for-profit schools and those with FFEL Program loans.

Despite its short history, Navient has faced several legal challenges related to its loan management and forgiveness practices, leading to significant settlements. These lawsuits ultimately contributed to Navient moving the loans it serviced for the Education Department to Aidvantage and other student loan servicers.

These settlements have created unique opportunities for forgiveness for some borrowers with private student loans serviced by Navient.

Key Settlement Details

• Nearly $2 Billion in Loan Cancellation: As part of two significant settlements during the COVID-19 pandemic, Navient agreed to cancel nearly $2 billion in private student loans.

• First Settlement (39 States Attorney General’s’ Lawsuit): In this case, led by state Attorney General’s from California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, Navient agreed to cancel loans for borrowers who went to certain for-profit schools and were behind on their payments. You were eligible for this settlement if your private loans were at least 7 months delinquent on student loan payments and were charged off. Here’s how to check the Navient settlement list.

• Second Settlement (Bankruptcy-Related): This settlement provides relief to borrowers (and cosigners) whose loans exceeded their college tuition costs and were eligible but not discharged in bankruptcy cases.

Notification and Eligibility

Settlement administrators have contacted nearly all eligible borrowers in both settlements. If you haven’t received this notification, you will likely not qualify for this cancellation and are still responsible for repaying your private student loans.

Related: Is My Navient Loan a Federal Loan?

You’re not alone if you’re looking for a way to get your Navient loans forgiven or canceled. My team and I have helped hundreds of people like you find a way out. Schedule a phone call to discuss your options to eliminate your FFELP Loans.