The one issue, and this is anecdotal based on conversations with other borrowers in the same boat I am (defaulted student loans), most people do not know about the income based programs available to help. It is an issue that NPR addresses in their piece concerning the President's announcement concerning this expansion of the Pay As You Earn program:
It seems people don't enroll in Pay As You Earn for two reasons. I hear from struggling borrowers all the time who are either a) unaware of the program or b) have had serious trouble signing up for it. When it comes to awareness, the government simply hasn't promoted the program the way it did, say, the rollout of the Affordable Care Act.__
And, anecdotally, borrowers who do hear about the program and try to sign up often run into obstacles and obfuscation from the companies that service their loans.
[,,,]
But these lenders turned federal contractors still have a lot of control over borrowers. And it's not in their short-term business interests to lower monthly payments. Even if borrowers fall behind on those payments — or go into default — servicers still get paid handsomely.
President Obama on Monday will take executive actions to ease the burden of college loan debt for potentially millions of Americans, in a White House event coinciding with Senate Democrats’ plans for legislation to address a concern of many voters in this midterm election year.
Before an East Room audience, Mr. Obama is scheduled to announce “new steps to further lift the burden of crushing student loan debt,” said a White House official, who declined to be identified describing the actions in advance of the president’s event. Despite past actions by the administration, borrowers’ debt load is growing and retarding the ability to buy homes, start businesses or otherwise spend to spur the economy, economists say.
Mr. Obama’s main action will be to expand on a 2010 law that capped borrowers’ repayments at 10 percent of their monthly income. The intent is to extend such relief to an estimated five million people with older loans who are currently ineligible — those who got loans before October 2007 or stopped borrowing by October 2011. But the relief would not be available until December 2015, officials said, given the time needed for the Education Department to propose and put new regulations into effect.
Also, Mr. Obama will announce that the department will renegotiate contracts with companies that service federal loans to give them additional financial incentives to help borrowers avoid delinquency or default. The Education and Treasury Departments are to work with the nation’s largest tax-preparation firms, H&R Block and Intuit Inc., to ensure that borrowers are aware of repayment options and tax credits for college tuition.
Obama Plans Steps to Ease Student Debt - NYTimes.com
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