AG Shapiro Announces Partnership Aimed To Unlock $100M in Student Loan Savings for All Pennsylvanians During By COVID-19 Pandemic

June 30, 2020 | Topic: Consumers

HARRISBURG – Today, Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced a partnership with Summer, a social enterprise, to provide free student loan assistance for all residents during the COVID-19 crisis.

As a certified B Corp, Summer helps borrowers to simplify and save on their student debt. Their cutting-edge tools and team of student loan experts help borrowers find, compare, and enroll in loan assistance and forgiveness programs. Pennsylvania residents can now access Summer’s digital platform free of charge to receive customized loan savings recommendations here.

While the U.S. federal government has taken the important step of pausing payments on all Federal Direct loans, millions of borrowers are still required to make payments on private student loans and commercially-held FFEL and Perkins loans that were excluded from the CARES Act.

“With 1 in 3 Pennsylvanians out of work, every dollar counts,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “My office is dedicated to doing everything we can to reduce the immense burden that student debt places on Pennsylvanians. This partnership is a critical step to help thousands of borrowers in need. We are proud to partner with an organization that has their best interest at heart to save real money today and over the long term.”

The Attorney General’s partnership with Summer is directed at all borrowers and especially those financially impacted by COVID-19. Borrowers who have filed for unemployment or who have hours cut due to COVID-19 can use Summer to enroll in savings and forgiveness programs that reduce loan payments based on a status of financial hardship.

Borrowers who have experienced a significant reduction in income could be eligible payments as low as $0 by enrolling in a federal Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. With the average borrower paying approximately $300/month on student loans, an IDR plan can result in an annual savings of $3,600––3x the amount of the $1,200 stimulus checks that arrived for most already months ago. Similar to online tax software, Summer’s digital platform can help Pennsylvania residents check their eligibility across IDR plans and facilitates the entire application process if they qualify.

“We applaud Attorney General Shapiro for providing borrowers in Pennsylvania with the support they need to tackle their student debt. In these challenging times, we know every dollar counts for critical needs such as food and medical supplies,” said Will Sealy, CEO of Summer. “With our digital platform and team of student loan experts, we’re working to ensure borrowers have a clear plan for managing their debt and reducing their stress.”

Pennsylvania joins Rhode Island and Connecticut as the third state to launch a partnership with Summer as part of The $84 Billion Project, which represents the total amount of student debt still owed by U.S. borrowers across the United States in 2020 that hasn’t already been paused by the CARES Act.

ABOUT SUMMER

Summer is a student loan advisory service that specializes in enrolling borrowers into federal and state loan assistance programs to minimize their debt load. Summer’s digital platform is supplemented by a dedicated team of student loan experts that ensure each borrower receives the best possible guidance to become debt free. Summer is partnered with hundreds of employers, associations, and institutions to provide its financial wellness tools and resources to 3 million borrowers.

Summer was founded in 2017 by Will Sealy, a former student loan policy expert at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with Paul Joo and Vincent Tran, in partnership with Yale University. Based in New York, Summer is a mission-driven Public Benefit Corporation and is a certified B Corporation​​®.

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