STUDENT LOAN QUESTION: I was curious about whether you could be put in jail for defaulting on student loans?

Question

I have over $100,000 in student loans and am not making very much money at all. I'm barely able to pay my bills and there is no way that I can manage $1100 a month. I'm wondering what would happen if I just send in $100 a month until I start to make more money. I can't even afford HALF of what I'm supposed to pay! All of this college did not lead to a very high paying job. FYI: These are FEDERAL loans and have already been consolodated. I still have a year of unemployment deferment left and will use it if I have to. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF YOU CAN BE PUT IN JAIL FOR NON (OR SLOW) PAYMENT OF STUDENT LOANS? I know they can take tax returns, bank accounts, and even prevent you from getting certain kinds of government jobs. If I work as a public school teacher can they take my teaching certificate? I'm not trying to get out of paying these debts, it's just that I can't do it on their schedule!!!! I would be dying at $200 a month, and they want more than I can pay. Any REAL asnwers please!

Answer 1

You cannot be put in jail for defaulting on your loans because there is no debtor's prison in the U.S. Also, you cannot have your education revoked because of bad debt. However, your Alma Mater may withhold your educational records if you are in default, which could make getting a job in education difficult.

The minimum monthly payment allowable under the federal student loan program is $50.00. If you are making a payment of at least $50.00 per month, you are making payments and should not be reported to the credit bureaus for non-payment. Default means you have not made any payments and have not been in either forbearance or deferment status for 270 days.

The monthly payment you stated is probably for a Standard Repayment plan. U.S. Federal Student Loans have four possible payment plans: Standard, Extended, Graduated, and Income-Contingent.

The Standard Payment plan is for a repayment period of 10 years (or 120 months). The payment is the same for the entire repayment period of the loan. So, if you owe $100,000 at 7% interest and repay for 10 years, your monthly payment would be $1161.00. (Over the life of the loan, you will pay $40,000 in interest).

The Extended Payment plan is for a repayment period of up to 30 years (360 months). The payment is the same over the entire repayment period of the loan, but tends to be less than the standard because you are paying over a longer period of time. So, if you owe $100,000 at 7% interest and repay over 30 years, your monthly payment would be $665.00. (Over the life of the loan, you will pay $140,000 in interest).

The Graduated Payment plan is for a repayment period of 12 to 30 years. The payment starts low and increases at regular intervals. The initial payment is either the monthly accumulated interest or half of the standard payment, whichever is greater. The payment will never be greater than 1.5 times the standard payment. The initial payment in a Graduate Payment plan if you owe $100,000 at 7% interest is $583.00. (The total interest paid will be more than with a Standard Payment plan and will depend on how long you choose to repay the loan).

You may be eligible for an Income Contingent Repayment plan (ICR). This plan has a repayment period of up to 25 years. It is based on your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), family size, interest rate and total amount of student loans. The payment is calculated annually based on the above information. This payment may be less than the amount of accumulated monthly interest. So, with the above assumptions, your payment could be less than $580.00 per month. Hopefully, the payment could be less than $200/mo.

You need to call the servicer of your loans or at the very least go to their website. Look on the Promissory note you signed for your loan consolidation to determine who owns your loans.

If you are a public school teacher in a critical need area, you may qualify to have some of your debt paid by your state or school district. Talk to your school district's personnel office.

Answer 2

the Federal government will NOT put you in jail if you do not pay your student loans, but they will hound you until you do, and since you say you cannot get a job that pays for the loans you minds well get used to the idea you'll be paying on those forever because the interest will eat you alive. I'm curious though what degree(s) you got for that large an amount of money, email me and maybe I can make suggestions since usually for paying that kind of money there are jobs out there or you open your own business. The Federal government says they never refuse any money you send them, however if you go into a student loan website and check their calculator you'd be amazed how long you will have to pay on those loans at $100 a month. People with high bills take on 2-3 or more jobs to pay those off. And yes, surprisingly even though the government wants their money back they do dun your credit report to keep you from paying it back. Go figure. I think it's because they have created so many new collection positions who are now allowed by law to charge up to 15% more per year on top of your loans as their collection fee.

Answer 3

I don't beleive they will put you in jail as then they can't get any money. They will take what they can get from you, but it will definately ding your credit. Call them when the time comes for you to start making payments and see what you can work out. I would suggest you get a second job as you will be paying that forever on a teachers salary and you cannot get rid of that debt through bankruptcy.

Answer 4

Nope, there is only one debt you can be arrested for in America, and that's nonpayment of child support. You should contact your lender and apply for a forbearance on the loan, the payments will stop but the interest will still accrue.
Most lenders are just happy to receive SOMETHING rather than nothing.

Answer 5

There is no debtor prison, so no, you can't be put in jail. However, you should contact the lender and ask if you can put your loans in forebearance. You still pay interest on your loan, but you don't pay against the principal.

Answer 6

Get a deferral.