Retired grandma, 71, still owes $108,000 in student debt nearly 40 years after she completed psychology degree: Amount is three-times the original loan she took out

An Illinois grandmother talked about $108,000 in student debt — nearly triple the amount of a loan she took out 40 years ago — because the key loan forgiveness deadline is just five weeks away.

When she was 33 years old, Nancy Peter took out a $30,000 loan in 1986 to complete her studies in psychology at Mundelein College.

The single mother then took out another loan to study at Loyola University in Chicago and worked as a therapist for almost 40 years, reported WGN.

The retired grandmother of two, now 71 years old, owes $108,000 in interest on those loans and is enrolled in an income-driven payment plan.

‘It’s humiliating, it’s such a private thing. If anyone knew I owed this kind of money, they would look at me very differently,” Peter said.

Peter said she has worked to pay off her debts for the past forty years, but at some point she had to be patient because of her health problems.

‘Interest rates keep rising, so every cent I don’t pay goes sky high.’

Her current payment plan allows borrowers to make payments based on how much money they make, but sometimes the payments are so small that they don’t cover the accrued interest.

Peter said she has worked to pay off her debts for the past forty years, but at some point she had to be patient because of her health problems.

“This sounds horrible, but I have a document with different ways you can get your loan forgiven, and the only thing I fit into was that I would have to die,” Peter said.

“I needed help, and if I need help, there are many more people who need help. And if even one person comes out of this help, then it will be worth it to me.’

According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 43 million Americans collectively owe $1.3 trillion in student loan debt, while the average borrower owes $37,000.

President Joe Biden vowed last year to find alternative ways to tackle debt relief after a Supreme Court ruling in June blocked his sweeping plan to cancel $430 billion in student debt.

On March 21, he announced $6 million in student loan relief for teachers, nurses and firefighters who, due to previous failures with the system, did not receive the forgiveness they were promised for entering public service.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) was created in 2007 and aimed to forgive student debt for Americans who had gotten public sector jobs — but most never received the promised relief.

Thursday’s announcement brought the total of student loan forgiveness under President Biden to $150 billion.

President Joe Biden announced nearly $6 billion in student loans for 78,000 government employees on March 21

Biden pledged last year to find alternative paths to tackling debt relief after a Supreme Court ruling in June blocked his forgiveness plan

As part of the comprehensive student loan plans implemented in recent months, the Biden administration introduced a one-time adjustment to address any inaccuracies in payment counts by consolidating their loans.

For borrowers on an income-driven repayment plan (IDR), loans can be canceled after 20 to 25 years, and for borrowers on a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) plan, loans can be repaid after 10 years of repayment.

The one-time adjustment is intended to correct past administrative errors for borrowers on these plans, forgive their loans if they have enough time to repay, or at least give them an accurate picture of their progress going forward.

Many borrowers with federal loans don’t need to do anything and the adjustment will be made automatically.

But those with private loans must apply to consolidate their loans by April 30 to qualify for the payment number adjustment.