Understand and Manage Your Student Loans
COVID-19 and Student Loan Management
NASW’s student loan technology partner, Savi, has teamed up with Student Debt Crisis, the nation’s leading nonprofit student loan advocacy organization, to offer free assistance to student loan borrowers to apply for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans if they or their spouses get laid off or their income is reduced as a result of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 Student Loan Aid Tool automates applying for IDR plans, potentially reducing or eliminating student loan payments for up to 12 months at a time for those whose income has gone down. As a result of the pandemic, the Trump administration has begun waiving interest on federal student loans—but not reducing monthly payments. Reducing or eliminating payments will not rack up extra interest during the crisis.
IDR is an existing option for borrowers, and loan servicers can usually implement the new payment level in about two weeks—but the application process can be confusing, time-consuming, and prone to delays due to data entry and filing errors. This tool leads borrowers through a simple process and files the application for them.
Manage Your Student Loan Debt with Savi
Student loan debt is a burden for social workers. More than 80% of BSW and MSW graduates carry loan debt, according to the Council on Social Work Education.
Managing your student loans as a social worker comes with
unique challenges. Many social workers have both undergraduate and post-graduate
education, leading to more debt than for many other professionals. And a high percentage of
social workers are employed in the public sector or in non-profit agencies.
While this can often mean lower salaries than in the private sector, it also
means potential benefits from the federal government for student loan
repayment.
NASW advocates for loan
forgiveness for social workers as part of our ongoing work to improve working
conditions and salaries, to support social work professionals and to ensure
that consumers have continued access to qualified professionals.
NASW has now partnered with Savi, a student loan technology company, to provide our members with access to resources and expertise to better understand, manage, and repay student loan debt. The Savi Student Loan Tool analyzes repayment and forgiveness programs to help borrowers make better decisions and determine the best solution, and can also provide digital enrollment and re-enrollment each year.
Members can select a free account to explore options at no cost, or choose a member-discounted premium account to get help enrolling and submitting application paperwork directly to loan servicers, and access one-on-one support with student loan experts. According to Savi, users have a projected average savings of $2,064 a year, and save hours in paperwork and anxiety.