In June, Steady, a platform solely focused on advising and advocating for American workers to increase their incomes, and Summer, the leading resource for borrowers to simplify and save on their student debt, teamed up to help Steady members improve their financial health in 2020. Today, Steady and Summer reported that more than 1,000 members participating in the initiative have reduced their average monthly student loan payments by $151, driving the projected individual lifetime savings up to an average of $24,000. The initiative’s top 10 savers are reducing their student debt between $40,000 and $150,000 annually and, together, the Steady community is projected to save over $27 million over the course of repayment.
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When it comes to Steady’s members:
- They carry an average student loan burden of $33,100, including federal and private student loans. Yet, during the COVID-19 crisis Steady members will make on average $13,900 in income in 2020
- 92% report difficulty when making their monthly student loan payments
- Summer reports only 25% are fully covered and eligible for the student loan protections and benefits provided by the Federal Government’s CARES Act
The Summer partnership
While Steady recognized the importance of the initial student loan payment pause signed into law by the CARES Act, the legislation had two major flaws: First, millions of borrowers were required to continue making payments on private student loans and commercially-held FFEL and Perkins loans that were excluded by the bill, and second, the payment freeze was only extended for several months while millions of borrowers’ financial struggles will continue well into the future.
“I feel a great sense of responsibility to our 2 million+ members, to ensure they’re able to navigate the challenging times we’re in,” says Steady CEO Adam Roseman. “As economic data points to the potential for financial disaster for even the best prepared Americans, our members included, we at Steady began to think creatively about how best to support them. Steady is akin to an association advocating for American workers, so when it comes to expanding member income we control precious few levers. Where we see we can make a difference for our members, we will, which is why we launched Steady Together earlier this year. One of the first discussions we had was with our friends at Summer and their CEO, Will Sealy. Today Steady members who are taking advantage of Summer’s benefit are saving an average of $24,000 over the life of their student loans.”
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How does Summer work?
Summer provides student loan borrowers with access to cutting-edge tools and a dedicated team of advisors to help them find, compare and enroll in loan assistance and forgiveness programs. For example, by applying for an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan, borrowers who are either unemployed or have experienced a significant salary reduction could be eligible for a $0 or significantly lower monthly payment. Borrowers like Kaleigh from Florida, the unemployed mother of 2 who, because of her loss of income is able to lower her typical $141 a month payment on her $13K loan, down to $0 for the upcoming 12 months. Each year Kaleigh’s ability to begin repaying her student loans will be re-assessed by the Department of Education, tying her payments to her income level. This program has been incredibly helpful in setting up people like Kaleigh for success as they navigate the economic crisis for themselves and their families.
“The economic downturn continues to pour gasoline on the fire for millions of student loan borrowers who have long struggled to cover high monthly payments,” said Will Sealy, Summer’s CEO “Steady understands that anything that can create financial stability in a time of turbulence will have a long term impact.”
More about Steady Together:
“Steady is grateful for partners like Summer, who help make possible initiatives like Steady Together,” said Steady CEO Adam Roseman. “With the U.S. continuing to add an additional one million first-time unemployment filers each week, Steady intends to press forward with Steady Together which has provided members with over $2M in emergency cash grants and growing. We’ll look for ways to complement the free medical support we are providing all 2M of our members through free telemedicine subscriptions and we will absolutely explore a myriad of new and different ways to support our members as they navigate this economic crisis and protect and rebuild their financial futures.”
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