I am interested in hearing a professional’s point of view about whether I should refinance or wait to see if I qualify under a loan forgiveness program.

I took out over $65k in federal and private loans for law school. I graduated in 1993, and have paid off my private loans. I consolidated my federal loans in 1994, and have been paying off that loan for the past 20+ years. It has a fixed 9% rate. Citizen’s Bank in Mass is now offering cheap refinance options (as low as 5% for fixed or 3% for variable). I did not think I could refinance a consolidation loan, but it looks like Citizen’s Bank is jumping into this market.

My only hesitation is that I don’t know if I can qualify for some type of loan forgiveness program since I have been paying for over 20+ years. I heard about Obama changing the rules recently about loan forgiveness but that they won’t go into effect until later this year.. I have been trying to find out information, but I am getting more confused every time I read something on the internet. I would love a straight answer from a professional. Is there a chance I could qualify for some form of loan forgiveness?

So I can’t advise you about your personal circumstances, right? http://askheatherjarvis.com/blog/lawyers-representing-student-loan-borrowers

The general rules you want to know are this:

Loan forgiveness takes a long time and specific actions.  It isn’t automatic.  Most people who benefit owe more on their federal loans than they earn in a year.  That isn’t the case for most people who have been making payments a long time and/or who borrowed when federal borrowing limits were low (pre-2006).  Forgiveness tends to benefit recent grads the most.

But, refinancing federal debt into private debt means the borrower gives up federal borrower protections and flexible repayment options.  OK for some folks, not so much for others.