Student Loan forgiveness for people with disabilities

How to determine if you may get help with your loan

By Allison Donald
Many people with disabilities may be able to have student loans discharged.  However, most eligible borrowers with disabilities don’t know that they can qualify for this benefit.  If you receive a discharge, you will no longer be required to repay your loans or complete your TEACH Grant service obligation.

According to the Department of Education about 365,000 borrowers qualify to have their student loans discharged, of those, nearly a quarter of a million are in default.  In order to address this problem the Department of Education began sending out letters to eligible borrowers informing them that they could apply to have their student loan debt discharged. 

Since the inception of the program only one-third of eligible borrowers have applied.  More people who have total and permanent disability should be able to take advantage of this benefit, but it is important that the persons are aware of how to apply and complete the process for the loan dismissal program.

If you would like to apply for there are steps to follow to insure that you qualify for the program. Make sure that the Department of Education has your correct address on file.  After borrowers are approved you must provide three years of income verification. 

The program is called “Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge.”

• There are specific requirements for each type of supporting documentation that you can submit to show your eligibility. Veterans may qualify for a TPD discharge by providing documentation from the VA that shows you have received a VA disability determination because you (1) have a service-connected disability that is 100 percent disabling; or (2) are totally disabled based on an individual employability rating.
  
  
• If you’re eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income, you can qualify for a TPD discharge if you provide a copy of your SSA notice of award or Benefits Planning Query showing that your next scheduled disability review will be five to seven years or more from the date of your last SSA disability determination.
   
• If you are unable to complete the forms due to your disability you may appoint a representative to apply on your behalf.  The representative may assist throughout the TPD discharge process. To designate a representative, you and your representative must complete an Applicant Representative Designation form. The Department must receive and process this form before working with your representative. You must submit this form even if your representative already has a power of attorney to act on your behalf in other matters.  To download the Applicant Representative Designation form, visit the TPD Discharge website at disabilitydischarge.com and select “Forms.”

Student loan debt stops so many people from continuing their education, but the TPD program allows that window to remain open for students like Stephen Tennial.  

“This program will afford me the opportunity to not incur even more debt while I pursue a Master’s in Business Administration,” said Mr. Tennial.  “Additionally, I feel that a program such as this will not only encourage, but enable people living with disabilities to pursue higher education which leads them to more fruitful endeavors.”

There are conditions that must be met in order for a person to return to school without disturbing the status of their TPD process.  If you received a TPD discharge based on VA documentation, SSA documentation, or a physician’s certification, you must:

• Give your school a letter from a physician stating that you are once again able to engage in substantial gainful activity, and
  
  
• sign a statement acknowledging that you can't get a TPD discharge of the new loan or TEACH Grant based on a disabling condition that already exists when you receive the new loan or TEACH Grant, unless that condition substantially deteriorates in the future.

If you received a TPD discharge based on SSA documentation or a physician’s certification and your three-year post discharge period hasn’t ended, you must also resume repayment on your previously discharged loans or acknowledge that you are once again responsible for meeting the terms and conditions of your TEACH Grant service obligation.

The TPD program is a way out of debt for many people living with disabilities who are pursing higher education. For more detailed information about TPD discharge, visit the TPD discharge website at: disabilitydischarge.com.