SSDI And Student Loans

Recipients of Social Security Disability Benefits Could Be Qualified to Receive Forgiveness of Federal Student Loans 

An increasing number of Social Security beneficiaries have federal student loan debt, including those who are in St. Louis, St. Charles, Bridgeton, Clayton, and Creve Couer, MO. The Government Accountability Office just lately introduced a report indicating that “from 2002 through 2013, the number of individuals whose Social Security benefits were offset to pay student loan debt increased about five-fold from about 31,000 to 155,000.” Because the report notes that no more than 36,000 of those having benefits offset were aged sixty-five and older, many people with disabilities are getting their benefits garnished for student loan debt, and they might be eligible to have their debt forgiven, though they'll likely want to think about any tax consequences of discharged debt.

Certain kinds of federal student loans can be forgiven if the debtor is found to be “Totally and Permanently Disabled” (TPD). This is a different sort of standard than Social Security’s definition of disability. However, the Department of Education “will accept the specific SSA notice of award for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits as proof of a borrower’s TPD if the notice indicates that the SSA will review the borrower’s continuing eligibility for SSDI or SSI benefits once every five to seven years.” If a beneficiary has his or her Notice of Award (NOA) and it provides information about CDR schedules, obtaining a TPD is relatively simple.

If you'd like more info about receiving a Notice of Award or getting SSI or SSDI benefits, please contact Kassin and Carrow in St. Louis today to talk about your options.