Unexpected student loan forgiveness at 67 - FAFSA loans suddenly showing ZERO balance

Congratulations! This sounds like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program with the recent Biden administration changes. As an educator for 30+ years, you likely qualified under the temporary waiver that counted past payments that wouldn't normally qualify. Many educators are seeing this happen right now! Regarding your credit score - yes, it should improve significantly. The loan forgiveness should be reported to credit bureaus within 30-60 days, and you'll likely see a substantial boost to your score once the zero balances are reflected. Your debt-to-income ratio will dramatically improve, potentially opening new financial opportunities for you. If you want to verify exactly which program approved your forgiveness, you can request a detailed account statement from StudentAid.gov that should specify the forgiveness program applied.

OMG THIS HAPPENED TO MY AUNT TOO!! She was a librarian for like 25 years and suddenly got an email about her loans being forgiven. She thought it was a scam to!!! I think its that public service thing Biden did where they went back and counted all your payments even if they were late or whatever. CONGRATS!!!!

wait you were paying for over 25 years as a teacher??? and still had $280k+ left??? holy crap the system is broken. congrats on finally getting free. i'm early in my teaching career with about $45k in loans and this gives me hope but also terrifies me that i could end up like you, paying forever with the balance growing.

I had a similar experience but with Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) forgiveness. Did your loans ever get transferred between servicers? Mine bounced between 4 different companies over 20+ years, and none of them kept accurate records of my payment history. The recent account adjustment fixed that. Whatever you do, SAVE ALL DOCUMENTATION from StudentAid.gov and Navient. Take screenshots of your zero balances and download any forgiveness letters. The forgiveness can sometimes get "reversed" by mistake - happened to a colleague of mine and she had to fight for months to get it fixed.

This is likely due to the IDR Waiver and Account Adjustment. The Education Department is reviewing accounts and giving credit for time that should have counted toward forgiveness. Many older borrowers are discovering they've actually met the requirements for forgiveness without even knowing it. Have you tried using claimyr.com to reach someone at Federal Student Aid who can explain exactly which program you qualified for? They helped me skip the 3+ hour wait times when I needed to speak with an agent about my own loan forgiveness. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Much better than constantly getting disconnected after waiting forever.

DONT BELIEV IT!! Seriously check your mail for the next few months. My dad got the same email, thought his loans were forgiven, turned out it was a MISTAKE and 3 months later they sent him a bill for the "corrected" amount. He was DEVASTATED. The whole system is a scam to keep us paying forever.

has your credit report updated yet? curious how long it takes for that change to show up

Based on your situation, you most likely benefited from the IDR Account Adjustment that was implemented in 2023. For borrowers who had been in repayment for many years (especially 20+ years), the Department of Education reviewed payment histories and gave credit for periods that should have counted toward forgiveness but didn't due to servicer errors, forbearances, or administrative issues. The fact that you were an educator for 25+ years and had been making payments consistently means you almost certainly qualified for this adjustment. This is separate from PSLF and didn't require an application - they're applying it automatically to eligible accounts. Your experience of having the original balance multiply several times over was unfortunately common for borrowers from your era. The good news is that future borrowers have better protections now, including the new SAVE plan that prevents interest accumulation in certain circumstances.

Wow, congratulations Ethan! Your story gives me so much hope. I'm also an educator (high school math teacher for 15 years) and I've been watching my loans grow despite making payments every month. It's incredibly frustrating to see the balance increase even when you're doing everything "right." I had no idea about this IDR Account Adjustment that others are mentioning. I've been so focused on trying to qualify for PSLF that I didn't realize there might be other forgiveness options happening automatically. Your experience makes me want to check my own StudentAid.gov account more carefully. The fact that you went from nearly $300k back to zero at 67 is absolutely incredible. I can only imagine the relief and emotional weight lifted off your shoulders. Thank you for sharing this - it's exactly the kind of success story that keeps those of us still dealing with these loans motivated to keep pushing forward.

This is such an inspiring story, Ethan! As someone new to this community, I'm amazed by how many educators are finally getting the relief they deserve after decades of struggle. Your experience really highlights how broken the old system was - paying back the original amount and still owing $287k is absolutely insane. I'm curious - did you receive any specific documentation explaining which forgiveness program was applied? It sounds like it could be the IDR Account Adjustment that others mentioned, but getting clarity on that might help other community members understand what to look for in their own situations. Also, for your credit score question - from what I've read, loan forgiveness can actually cause a temporary small dip initially (since you lose the "active payment history"), but then it should improve significantly once your debt-to-income ratio reflects the zero balances. The long-term benefit should far outweigh any short-term fluctuation. Congratulations on finally being free of this burden! Your story gives hope to so many others still fighting these battles.

Ethan, congratulations on this incredible news! As someone relatively new to this community, your story is both inspiring and eye-opening. The fact that you paid back your original $28,000 multiple times over and still owed nearly $300k really shows how predatory the old loan system was for borrowers. From reading through the comments, it sounds like you likely benefited from the IDR Account Adjustment that's been automatically applied to many long-term borrowers. The Department of Education has been reviewing decades of payment records and giving credit for time that should have counted toward forgiveness all along. Your experience as an educator for 30+ years definitely played a role - both PSLF and IDR forgiveness have special provisions for public service workers. Even if you didn't formally apply, the recent policy changes have made the government much more proactive about identifying eligible borrowers. I'd echo what others have said about documenting everything. Screenshot your zero balances, download all letters from StudentAid.gov, and keep records of your calls with servicers. While errors are rare, having that paper trail will give you peace of mind. At 67, you deserve to enjoy retirement without this financial burden. Your story gives hope to so many educators and public servants who are still struggling with these loans. Thank you for sharing!

Ethan, this is absolutely incredible news! Congratulations on finally getting the relief you deserve after three decades of service as an educator. Your story perfectly illustrates why these recent policy changes were so desperately needed. As someone new to this community, I'm learning so much from posts like yours about how the student loan system has evolved. The fact that you paid back your original $28,000 borrowed amount years ago but still owed nearly $300k shows just how broken the old system was for long-term borrowers. Based on what others have shared, it sounds like you likely benefited from the IDR Account Adjustment that's been automatically applied to eligible borrowers. The Department of Education has been conducting massive reviews of payment histories and giving credit for periods that should have counted toward forgiveness all along - especially for public service workers like educators. Your experience gives me hope that the system is finally working to correct decades of administrative failures. At 67, you should be enjoying retirement without the stress of student loans hanging over your head. I'd definitely recommend following the advice others have given about documenting everything - screenshots, downloaded letters, call records - just to have that paper trail for peace of mind. While reversals are rare, it's always better to be prepared. Thank you for sharing your story with the community. It's exactly the kind of success story that gives hope to other educators and public servants still fighting these battles!

Ethan, congratulations on this amazing breakthrough! As someone new to this community, your story is both heartbreaking and inspiring - heartbreaking that you had to endure decades of watching your balance grow despite faithful payments, but inspiring that the system is finally working to correct these injustices. Your experience as an educator paying back $28k multiple times over while still owing nearly $300k really demonstrates why these recent policy changes were so crucial. It sounds like you likely benefited from the IDR Account Adjustment that others have mentioned - the Department of Education has been automatically reviewing long-term borrowers' accounts and giving credit for payments that should have counted toward forgiveness all along. At 67, after 30+ years of public service, you absolutely deserve this relief. I can't imagine the emotional weight that's been lifted from your shoulders. Your story gives so much hope to other educators and public servants in similar situations. I'd definitely echo what others have said about documenting everything thoroughly - screenshots, downloaded letters, call records. After decades of servicer transfers and record-keeping issues, having that paper trail will give you complete peace of mind. Thank you for sharing your experience with the community. Stories like yours help newcomers like me understand both how broken the old system was and how much better things are becoming for borrowers who've been fighting these battles for years. Enjoy your well-deserved freedom from this burden!

Ethan, this is absolutely incredible and such wonderful news! As someone new to this community, your story really highlights both the struggles of the old student loan system and the hope that recent policy changes are bringing to borrowers who've been trapped for decades. The fact that you faithfully made payments for over 25 years as an educator, paid back your original $28k multiple times over, and still owed nearly $300k shows just how broken the compound interest system was for long-term borrowers. What you experienced was unfortunately far too common for borrowers from that era. From what I'm learning in this community, it sounds like you likely benefited from the IDR Account Adjustment that's been automatically applied to eligible long-term borrowers. The Department of Education has been conducting massive reviews of payment histories and finally giving credit for all those years that should have counted toward forgiveness but didn't due to servicer errors and administrative issues. At 67, after three decades of public service as an educator, you absolutely deserve this relief. I can only imagine the incredible weight that's been lifted from your shoulders. Your story gives so much hope to other educators and public servants still fighting these battles. I'd definitely follow the advice others have shared about documenting everything thoroughly - take screenshots, download all official letters, and keep records of your calls with servicers. After dealing with multiple servicer transfers over the years, having that comprehensive paper trail will give you complete peace of mind. Thank you for sharing your experience with this community. Stories like yours help newcomers understand how much progress has been made in fixing this broken system. Enjoy your well-deserved freedom from this financial burden!