More than once over the years, Dubra struggled to afford her monthly loan payment but didn’t know she could enroll in a more flexible, income-based repayment plan. Instead, when she called her loan servicer for help, she said her loans were put into forbearance, pausing payments but allowing interest to keep accruing.
She wasn’t alone. According to federal data, nearly 12 million borrowers spent at least 12 straight months in forbearance in the decade before the pandemic payment pause. Nearly 5.5 million borrowers, including Dubra, spent at least three years in forbearance. Many, perhaps most, could have benefited from income-based repayment had they known about it.
In February, Dubra was told that, under changes to PSLF rules, her remaining loans had been canceled in return for her decade of service in schools and a stint in a public hospital.
“I immediately just burst into tears,” Dubra said. She had called her loan servicer, “and the [call center worker] was so nice, and she said, ‘This is the purpose of this.’ I’ll never forget her saying that. ‘This is why we do this, because you’ve worked so hard to help other people, and now is our time to help you.'”