{"id":20650,"date":"2025-09-13T03:55:57","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T03:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=20650"},"modified":"2025-09-13T03:55:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T03:55:57","slug":"understanding-student-loan-debt-surprising-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=20650","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Student Loan Debt: Surprising Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How much student loan debt is in the U.S.? The answer might surprise you. Outstanding student loan debt (including both federal and private student loans) currently stands at around $1.814 trillion<\/a>. This makes it even greater than the country\u2019s total credit card debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you have outstanding student loans, you\u2019re not alone. Managing student debt (or any kind of debt, for that matter) can be difficult, but it helps tremendously to be informed. With that in mind, take a look at these three surprising facts, which just might change your outlook on your situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your Social Security Payments Can Be Garnished\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Private debt collectors generally can\u2019t garnish disability or Social Security benefits. However, federal student loan debt collectors operate differently. If you default on your federal student loans and you receive Social Security benefits, the federal government may collect 15% of your benefits<\/a> above $750.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is known as a \u201cSocial Security offset.\u201d The government also uses tax refund offsets to seize the refunds of people who have defaulted on federal loans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bankruptcy Usually Can\u2019t Help\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Many people facing Social Security offsets think they can get their student loan debt discharged through Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Unfortunately, this is very rarely true.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy, most of your unsecured debts (like credit card and medical debts) will be discharged. However, this is almost never the case for student loans. To have your student loan debt discharged, you or your bankruptcy lawyer must convince the court that you\u2019re suffering extreme financial hardship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You Can Get Student Loans Forgiven\u00a0<\/h2>\n

How many Americans have student loan debt? Recent student loan debt statistics indicate that almost 43 million people<\/a> (about one in six adults in the U.S.) owe money on student loans. The next logical question is what is the current average student loan debt among those borrowers? Currently, it\u2019s about $40,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks to the power of compounding interest, even seemingly manageable student loans can snowball into balances greater than what you originally owed. However, if you\u2019re wondering how to get out of student loan debt, you\u2019ll be intrigued to learn that you may be able to have your loans forgiven.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who qualifies for student loan debt forgiveness, exactly? There are several different programs available, each with its own eligibility criteria.\u00a0<\/p>\n

National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program\u00a0<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re a doctor or other medical professional, you could have a significant portion of your student loan debt wiped out in exchange for working in a health professional shortage area (HPSA)<\/a> for two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Primary care physicians receive the greatest amount of assistance, but healthcare professionals from many different specialties are accepted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program\u00a0<\/h3>\n

This program will pay up to 85% of unpaid nursing education debt<\/a> for nurses who work in an underserved area for two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Teacher Loan Forgiveness\u00a0<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re a teacher who agrees to teach at an approved low-income school for five years, you could have up to $17,500<\/a> of your student loan debt forgiven.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)\u00a0<\/h3>\n

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program<\/a> is one of the most popular forms of student loan debt relief. If you work for an approved nonprofit or government agency for 10 years and make 10 years of student loan payments, the remainder of your balance may be forgiven.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Volunteer Program Loan Forgiveness\u00a0<\/h3>\n

If you volunteer for the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, you can get as much as 70% of your federal Perkins Loan debt canceled after four years of service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When It Comes to Student Loans, You Have Options\u00a0<\/h2>\n

If you have outstanding student loans, debt might start to feel like a permanent reality after a while. However, it\u2019s important to remember that you have options. When you take a proactive approach to student loan debt, look for helpful opportunities, and make your payments on time, you\u2019ll be well on your way to becoming debt-free.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\tContent Disclaimer: <\/span><\/p>\n

The content provided is intended for informational purposes only. Estimates or statements contained within may be based on prior results or from third parties. The views expressed in these materials are those of the author and may not reflect the view of SmartSpending. We make no guarantees that the information contained on this site will be accurate or applicable and results may vary depending on individual situations. Contact a financial and\/or tax professional regarding your specific financial and tax situation. Please visit our terms of service for full terms governing the use this site.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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How much student loan debt is in the U.S.? The answer might surprise you. Outstanding student loan debt (including both federal and private student loans) currently stands at around $1.814 trillion. This makes it even greater than the country\u2019s total credit card debt.\u00a0 If you have outstanding student loans, you\u2019re not alone. Managing student debt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[367,351,240,308,844,1442],"class_list":{"0":"post-20650","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-debt","8":"tag-debt","9":"tag-facts","10":"tag-loan","11":"tag-student","12":"tag-surprising","13":"tag-understanding"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}