If you’re one of the nearly 43 million Americans with student loan debt, you might be struggling to wipe out your balance.
It takes the average borrower nearly 20 years to pay off their student loan debt, according to the Education Data Initiative. As of 2024, the average monthly payment was $500. That's a large amount that could be spent on housing, growing your savings and other money goals.
There are several ways to get help paying off your student loans. From government debt relief programs to employee benefits, here's a closer look at your options for student loan payment assistance.
1. Student loan forgiveness programs
The US Department of Education offers a handful of student loan forgiveness programs for federal student loans. Although the future of certain student loan forgiveness programs is unclear, we'll walk you through your current options.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
If you're a teacher, nurse or public service worker, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program can forgive your debt after 10 years of working a qualifying job.
Throughout that time, you’ll also have to make 120 payments on an income-driven repayment plan, such as SAVE or Income-Based Repayment. Only Direct loans are eligible for PSLF, but you can make other federal loan types, such as FFEL and Perkins loans, eligible by consolidating them into a Direct Consolidation Loan.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
The Teacher Loan Forgiveness program offers $5,000 to $17,500 in loan forgiveness to teachers working at a low-income school or educational service agency for five consecutive years.
To qualify, you must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and be fully certified as a teacher in your state. Only subsidized or unsubsidized Direct or Stafford loans are eligible for this program -- PLUS loans and Perkins loans don’t qualify.
Income-driven repayment plans
Income-driven repayment plans set your monthly student loan payments at a percentage of your discretionary income. They can also eventually lead to loan forgiveness. If you still owe a balance at the end of your repayment term, the rest will be canceled.
Repayment terms on IDRs typically are 20 or 25 years, depending on your loan type. The SAVE repayment plan may offer loan forgiveness after as little as 10 years in certain cases, but it’s currently under a stay due to legal challenges.
Perkins loan cancellation
The Perkins loan program ended in September 2017, but you might have a Perkins loan if you borrowed before that date. If so, you may be eligible to have part or all of your Perkins loans canceled if you work in a certain profession or volunteer.
Some professions that can qualify for Perkins loan cancellation include:
- Teachers, speech pathologists and librarians
- Law enforcement, first responders and firefighters
- Attorneys working at a federal public or community defender organization
- AmeriCorps VISTA and Peace Corps volunteers
- Military service members
- Nurses and medical technicians
- Providers of early intervention services for people with disabilities
To get your Perkins loan canceled, you’ll have to apply directly with the school that provided the loan or that school’s Perkins loan servicer.
2. Student loan discharge
In special circumstances, you may qualify to have your federal student loan balance discharged. Some circumstances include:
- School closure: This applies if your school closes while you’re enrolled or shortly after you left school. The US Department is currently accepting but not processing applications for this type of loan discharge due to a federal court ruling.
- Borrower defense to repayment: This program was also affected by the court’s ruling, but it typically discharges loans if a school engaged in misleading conduct.
- False certification: This could happen if your school falsely certified your eligibility to receive q loan.
- Failure to refund: You may qualify for loan discharge if your school failed to pay a required loan refund.
- Identity theft or fraud: You can get your loans discharged if an identity thief forged your signature and took the loans out in your name.
- Total and permanent disability: To qualify for TPD discharge, you’ll need to provide documentation of your disability from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration or an authorized medical professional.
- Death of the borrower: Federal student loans are also discharged in the event of death of the borrower or the student on whose behalf a PLUS loan was borrowed.
Discharging student loans through bankruptcy is possible, but it’s not an easy process. You’ll have to prove your loans cause an “undue hardship” and make it impossible to maintain a minimum standard of living.
You’ll also have to file an adversary proceeding, which is an additional lawsuit within your bankruptcy case. The process can be complex, so you may need to hire a student loan lawyer to guide you through it.
In 2022, the Department of Education and Department of Justice introduced updated bankruptcy guidelines to simplify the process for federal loan borrowers. If you have federal loans, you can now fill out a 15-page attestation form that details your financial difficulties.
Even with this reform, however, bankruptcy can be a difficult and expensive process that racks up legal fees. Bankruptcy can also damage your credit for seven to 10 years, so it’s typically only a last resort for borrowers in dire financial straits.
3. Student loan repayment assistance programs
Along with loan forgiveness programs, you can also find loan repayment assistance from various groups for both federal and private loans.
Federal agencies
Here are some loan repayment assistance programs from federal agencies (these are primarily geared toward healthcare professionals):
- National Health Services Corps Loan Repayment Program: This program offers $37,500 to $75,000 to doctors, dentists and other healthcare providers working in shortage areas.
- Nurse Corps Repayment Program: Qualifying nurses can get up to 60% of their student loan balance paid off after two years of service, plus another 25% for a third year.
- Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program: This program offers up to $50,000 to healthcare professionals who serve American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
- Students to Service Loan Repayment Program: If you’re a medical, dental or nursing student in your final year of school who goes on to work for three years at an approved site, you could receive up to $120,000 in loan assistance from this program.
- Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program: Veterinarians who owe at least $15,000 in student loans could receive up to $75,000 from this program offered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture).
State governments
Many states also offer loan repayment assistance programs, or LRAPs. Some examples include:
- California: The California State Loan Repayment Program is open to primary care physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, pharmacists and mental/behavioral health providers working in designated shortage areas.
- Maine: Maine’s programs include the Dental Education Loan Repayment Program, Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Pilot Program, Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program and Alfond Leaders Student Debt Reduction Program for STEM professionals.
- Minnesota: Minnesota offers LRAPs for both public-interest lawyers and healthcare professionals working in shortage areas. Some eligible health professionals are social workers, nurses and family therapists, among others.
Many of these state programs are reserved for healthcare professionals or lawyers, but you might find some for other occupations, such as Maine’s program for STEM professionals. Typically, loan repayment assistance programs require you to work in a shortage area or with an underserved population for at least two to three years.
Some states also have special student loan incentives to encourage people to move there. Kansas, for example, offers up to $15,000 over five years if you move to one of its Rural Opportunity Zones. And Maryland’s SmartBuy program helps homebuyers with student debt by offering 15% of the home’s purchase price to pay off student debt (up to $20,000).
Colleges and universities
Some colleges and universities offer loan repayment assistance to eligible graduates. The law schools at Boston University and Northeastern, for example, both offer thousands of dollars in student loan assistance to alumni who work in public interest law.
Tufts University provides loan assistance to undergraduate and graduate alumni who work full-time in a public sector or nonprofit organization. And Butler University will assist Butler alumni with their student loans if they earn less than $57,000 in their first job out of college.
4. Military grants
Military service members could qualify for grants to pay off their federal student loans. The Army loan repayment program, for instance, offers up to $65,000 in assistance. Other branches of the military, including the Navy, National Guard and Coast Guard, have similar programs.
Medical professionals in the military could also receive up to $40,000 per year for three years while on active duty or the Army Reserve.
5. Employer-provided student loan benefits
Some companies provide their employees with student loan assistance as part of their benefits packages. Companies can provide up to $5,250 in student loan assistance per year tax-free, according to IRS guidelines. Major companies offering this benefit include Google, Fidelity Investments, Carvana and Ally Bank. It's worth talking to your company to see if they offer a similar benefit or asking about this perk when applying for a new job.
Alternative options for managing student loans
If you need more help reducing your student loan debt, here are some options to consider:
- Income-driven repayment: Income-driven repayment plans can offer relief if your student loan bills are too expensive. They adjust your monthly payments according to your income while extending your loan terms. Depending on your income, you could get a monthly payment on an IDR plan as low as $0.
- Forbearance and deferment: Both forbearance and deferment let you postpone payments in qualifying circumstances, such as unemployment or going back to school. Keep in mind, though, that most types of student loans keep accruing interest during this time, which could make your debt burden even heavier when payments resume.
- Student loan consolidation: Consolidation lets you combine multiple loans into one and may help you access certain repayment plans, depending on your loan type. Borrowers with balances of $60,000 or more could qualify for repayment terms as long as 30 years. When you stretch out your repayment timeline, you may pay more in interest over the lifetime of your loan, but you'll often reduce your monthly payments. Consolidation is also one way to get student loans out of default.
- Student loan refinancing: If your student loan has a high interest rate, refinancing lets you exchange your current loan for a new one, potentially with a lower rate. This could help you save money each month and cut back on interest charges. However, it's not recommended to refinance a federal student loan into a private student loan. If you do, you’ll forfeit access to federal benefits, like income-driven repayment plans, forgiveness programs and other protections.
