Inceptia can help with Return to Repayment Outreach, proactive outreach to borrowers to remind them of resuming repayments and determining if there are any additional challenges will put them on the right track to for successfully fulfilling their repayment obligations without falling behind.

How do we help student borrowers successfully reenter student loan repayment?
Once the CARES Act expires, students and the financial aid office will have a new set of challenges to work through. Students will have had so much time to get out of the habit of paying attention to their student loans as their costs continue to rise. Let’s take a look at how students can be helped with reentering repayment for the best possible outcome.

Offer student borrowers resources. When borrowers do have questions, make resources easy to find. Inceptia has student advocate counselors ready to answer student borrower questions through our Knowl website, chat and a simple telephone call. We will be there to help them prepare for the next step, so their student loans are one less concern.

Stay in touch throughout this process. It will be far easier for student borrowers to work through issues they have during this slower time than when everyone starts back after the expiration date. If borrowers can make payments now, the zero interest rate can help reduce their principle. If they can’t make payments, this is a great time to renew or enroll for an Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. These plans can be changed when income changes significantly.M/p>

We are all in this together and patience and empathy will be key. Many times with personal hardship, financial hardship follows so even the simplest of questions might be the first question. An empathetically fresh ear to each borrower’s concerns will help get to the root of the information you need to determine next steps in counseling and recommendations.

Let us know how we can help. Use our resources mentioned earlier in this article or give us a call to learn more about Return to Repayment Outreach offering proactive outreach to student borrowers by counselors that are well-versed in repayment and managing student support.

The CARES Act was a necessary and positive action to help students and families through this unprecedented time. When student loan repayment suspension ends, it will set up an unusual set of challenges for students and the Financial Aid Office. This article outlines five overlying potential challenges as they relate to students and financial aid offices. As a reminder, FFEL Loans and private loans held by lenders are not included in these changes.

1. All delinquent borrowers as of March 13, 2020 were brought current and will be kept current until the suspension expires. Everyone not making payments before March 13 were brought current without having to do anything. Some of these borrowers may have been on the verge of default and may not even know their loans are now current. On the suspension expires, they will all reenter repayment at roughly the same time. For those that were on the edge of default, it will have been more than a year since they have done anything on their student loans.
2. Some borrowers were in a suspended status such as a deferment or forbearance. These borrowers started that suspension before March 13, 2020, and should have come out of that status before the end of the suspension. Since the servicers are ensuring that no borrower goes beyond 31 days delinquent, these borrowers may forget that they had payments coming due. With the provisions of the CARES Act, these borrowers may not be engaged until after the suspension expires.
3. Massive job loss for both student borrowers and parents. It is likely there will be more borrowers unable to start repayment. The CARES Act is providing temporary relief, but borrowers will need to determine a repayment plan option that fits within their budget once the Act expires.
4. Increased number of borrowers renewing IDRs at the same time. Under guidance from the United Stated Department of Education, IDR plans that expire after March 13, 2020, but before the Act expiration will automatically have their renewal deadline extended. This could be for up to six months after the original expiration or only through the Act expiration.
5. Based on previous experience with natural disasters, it is predicted that when repayment resumes, there will be an influx of delinquent borrowers. These borrowers will be more challenging to resolve because all borrowers who could not, or chose not to, make payments, will reenter repayment at the same time. Restarting all at once will likely result in a large number of borrowers becoming 60 days delinquent at the same time creating a larger number of borrowers requiring repayment guidance at once.

In early 2020, COVID-19 awakened us to a massive change for students, parents, and schools. Changes that have been different from anything we’ve seen before and frightening because of not only the size, but also the pace with which it took place. Then there’s student loan debt.

When President Trump signed the $2 trillion stimulus CARES Act. Unprecedented change came with unparalleled relief efforts which was in part, was designed to help students. Payments on Federally held student loans were halted and zero interest rate placed on these loans starting on March 13 through September 30, 2020, further extended to December 31, 2020, and again to September 30, 2021.

Relief for students is necessary and positive. We share a responsibility with you to ensure that while our student borrowers are social distancing from friends and others, they stay connected to their student loan responsibility as we ease back into the new normal including repayment.

Inceptia can help with Return to Repayment, proactive outreach to borrowers to remind them of resuming repayments. Determining if there are any additional challenges now will help them make the adjustments necessary to put them on the right track to for successfully fulfilling their repayment obligations without falling behind.