17 October 2023- As many student loan borrowers are considering how repayment will fit into their budget now that the federal payment pause has ended, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) is offering a PA Forward Refinance Loan to manage student loan debt, especially for private student loans. Many private student loans have high or variable interest rates while PA Forward’s Refinance product offers competitive fixed rates to help keep payments manageable.
PHEAA’s refinance option also allows student loan borrowers who are in repayment to take the multiple loans they acquired to obtain their education and consolidate them into one loan, with one lender, giving them one payment each month. Refinance is a great option for those who are looking for a possible lower payment, possible lower fixed interest rate, and flexible repayment options to fit their personal situation. With no pre-payment penalties and no application or origination fees, refinancing makes paying your loans simple with one budget friendly bill.
“It’s been 3 years since student loan borrowers have had to pay on all their loans – both federal and private,” Senator Wayne D. Fontana, PHEAA Board Chairman. “We wanted to offer a solution to help manage that debt in the easiest way possible while keeping interest rates competitive. The PA Forward Refinance Loan does that and provides fixed rates so that payments won’t increase over time.”
PHEAA is the lender and servicer for the program, with a line of credit provided by the PA Treasury and a tax-exempt allocation from the PA Department of Economic Development (DCED). The Refinance Loan is one of the options in PA Forward’s suite of borrower-centric loan products, meant specifically for borrowers who have completed their postsecondary studies and are in repayment. Not only does it offer rates that are competitive in the industry, PA Forward also offers a 0.25% interest rate reduction when approved for Direct Debit, their automatic payment service, and offers a loyalty benefit for current PA Forward borrowers of an additional 0.35% interest rate reduction when they consolidate at least one of their PA Forward Student Loans into a PA Forward Refinance Loan.
“The student loan journey doesn’t end once you’re done with school,” explained James H. Steeley, PHEAA President and CEO. “It’s actually just beginning. Once the bills arrive to repay that educational debt, it can be daunting. We want to make sure PA residents know PHEAA is still here to help them with repayment solutions and PA Forward is an excellent program to consider.”
More than 14,000 borrowers have taken advantage of the PA Forward Student Loan Program and its benefits since the program’s launch 4 years ago.
The PA Forward Refinance loan is available to any PA resident or resident of an approved state (DE, MD, NJ, NY, OH, VA, and WV) who is the borrower or co-signer for the student loans.
The money earned through the program supports PHEAA’s public service mission. This includes more than $1 billion that has been allocated to fund student aid programs and services for Pennsylvania residents over the last 10+ years.
