Does everybody have to pay student loans?
I have heard that if you go abroad for a while, then you don’t have to pay off student loans?
Is this true?
I am currently unemployed, so what are the ways around not paying for student loans?
Ok, cheers
If you are teacher, there are programs for you.
Cancellation/Deferment Options for Teachers
If you’re a teacher serving in a low-income or subject-matter shortage area, it might be possible for you to cancel or defer your student loans.
Canceling a Perkins Loan
If you have a loan from the Federal Perkins Loan Program, you might be eligible for loan cancellation for full-time teaching at a low-income school or teaching in certain subject areas. Find out more here. You can also qualify for deferment for these qualifying teaching services. Check with the school that made your Perkins Loan for more information.
Stafford Loan Forgiveness for Teachers
If you received a Stafford Loan on or after October 1, 1998, and you teach full time for five consecutive years in a low-income school, you might be eligible to have a portion of the loan cancelled. This applies to FFEL Stafford Loans, Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, and in some cases, Consolidation Loans.
Stafford Loan Deferment/Forbearance Provisions
If you have a FFEL or Direct Stafford Loan and you’re teaching full time in a teacher shortage area, you might be eligible for deferment (postponement of repayment) if you borrowed before July 1, 1993. For more information, click here. If you borrowed on or after July 1, 1993, you might be eligible for forbearance (a temporary postponement or reduction). For more information, click here.
Douglas Scholarship Reduced Service
If you have a Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship, you might be eligible for reduced service obligations. (Note: These scholarships were last awarded in 1995-96.) Recipients of the Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship may reduce the years of service they must perform by teaching in a shortage area.
or
Income Based Repayment (IBR) – Effective July 1, 2009
Income Based Repayment is a new repayment plan for the major types of federal loans made to students. Under IBR, the required monthly payment is capped at an amount that is intended to be affordable based on income and family size. You are eligible for IBR if the monthly repayment amount under IBR will be less than the monthly amount calculated under a 10-year standard repayment plan. If you repay under the IBR plan for 25 years and meet other requirements you may have any remaining balance of your loan(s) cancelled. Additionally, if you work in public service and have reduced loan payments through IBR, the remaining balance after ten years in a public service job could be cancelled. For more important information about IBR go to IBR Plan Information. Or, to download an IBR Fact Sheet in PDF format, click here.
