HUG Your Student Debt, Inc.^™

Student advocates have for years complained about the complex set of options borrowers must navigate to repay their student loans. Student loan borrowers are faced with a dizzying nine repayment plans based on their income, in addition to a standard 10-year loan-repayment plan.

There's a growing consensus that Congress should reduce those options to one income-based option on top of the standard plan.

Parents are increasingly struggling to repay federal loans they’ve taken out to help cover their children’s college costs, according to newly released federal data.

The Parent Plus program allows parents to take out essentially uncapped amounts to cover college costs, regardless of the borrower’s income or ability to repay the loan. As the cost of college has risen, the program has become an increasingly critical workaround for families that max out on federal student loans and can’t pay the rest out of pocket.

Parents often try to do what’s bestfor their children, including helping with studentloans and college tuition — but at what

costto them?

About 47% of parent cosigners felttheir children’s student debt had affected their retirement, according to a survey of 850

parent cosigners. More than 62% said their credit scores were negatively affected by cosigning private studentloans, and

40% said their decision to cosign has hurttheir ability to qualify for other types ofloans, such as a mortgage or car. Still,

The experience of being crushed by student debt is no longer limited to the young. New federal data shows millions of Americans who are retired or nearing retirement face this burden, as well as the possibility of having their Social Security benefits garnished to make payments.

When it comes to helping Neela Hummel's mother-in-law repay the parent PLUS

(https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/student-

loan/articles/2010/08/17/parent-plus-loans-frequently-asked-questions) loans she borrowed years ago for