By Ava Menkes and Ella Gletty-Syoen:
The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) Secretary Cheryll Olson-Collins said in a November webinar over 700,000 students are loan borrowers in Wisconsin, totaling $23.2 billion in overall debt.
The DFI and Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection developed an online service called Savi to couple with Biden’s income-driven repayment plan, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, to provide a free service to all Wisconsin residents striving to pay off their debt.
“The idea that somebody’s going to be a grandfather, and 60 years old, and still paying off their debt, that’s insanity. We have to find a better way,” Evers said.
Income-driven repayment plans adjust monthly payments on all federal student loans based on a borrower’s income and family size, with the promise of loan forgiveness after an extended period of time.
In Wisconsin, the amount of debt forgiven from an income-driven repayment plan is considered gross income and is taxed. But at a federal level, the amount of debt forgiven is not taxable as modified by the American Rescue Plan Act, according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.