Debt Service Uk

Posts Tagged ‘Debt Management Plans’

There have been a lot of changes in the way student loan interest can be handled for tax purposes.  For example, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Government have now included student loan interest as a tax deductible item on personal tax returns.  In addition, the previous cap on maximum loan interest rates was repealed and new rates when into effect.  So, what does all of this mean?  Well when the new rates were announced lenders immediately began advertising campaigns to have students consolidate existing loans in order to lock in the older lower interest rates.  The belief was that the newer rates would impact tax returns as the students (or their parents) began to repay educational loans.

In order to understand how a change in interest rates can have a huge effect on student loans and student taxes, one needs to have a basic understanding of debt management.  For example, interest rates on the unsubsidized or privately issued loans will begin accruing from the date the loan is issued and continues to compound upon itself.  Thus, deferred payment loans that also defer interest payments can generate an extremely large amount of additional debt for any student.  This impact is lessoned on the federally subsidized loans as subsidized loans to not generate interest in this way.

In an attempt to promote the advancement of higher education, the government has allowed interest paid on student loans to be noted as a deduction on individual tax returns.  Meanwhile, the deferred payment options allow a student to attend the university and defer payment of the student loans until completion of the degree.  The loans come in both subsidized and unsubsidized forms.  Subsidized as reserved for those students able to show a financial need and the government pays the interest accrued until the student completes their degree or leaves school.  Unsubsidized student loans are not based upon need and the student is responsible for paying interest as it accrues on the loan. There are lenders who will offer deferred payment loans simply because of their income generating power for the underwriting financial institution.  And in fact, there are lenders who have made a complete business out of providing deferred payment student loans which are targeted toward students who either do not realize or perhaps do not understand the concept of the interest charge incurred on interest accrued.

Student loans, and more specifically deferred payment student loans, that are offered within the boundaries of the federally subsidized or unsubsidized guidelines, are extremely helpful to students and parents who are trying to scrape together enough money to meet college funding needs.  However, both parents and students need to be better educated in the terms of the debts they are incurring.  Short of taking part in credit counseling to gain that understanding, however, both should take the time to read carefully the loan papers and the terms and conditions attached to them.  They should also try, if possible, to pay the unsubsidized interest payments as it accrues.  The money they saved would be a great start to a retirement fund upon graduation.

Solutions such as a Debt management plan, Individual Voluntary arrangement, Debt consolidation, or even as a final straw, bankruptcy are all viable solutions when looking for ways to resolve a debt problem.

Below is a summary of these solutions and what they entail.

Debt Management

A Debt management plan enables you to repay your debt in a way that is affordable. This is achieved by offering creditors a reduced monthly repayment which is manageable.

Generally you would need a minimum of 100 a month to realistically offer the creditors an amount which they would be willing to accept.

The main thing is to offer creditors a fair percentage of your available income. Therefore, if you have 3 creditors, you would need to fairly split the 100 to each creditor; this generally works out on a pro-rata basis.

Below is an example of how to divide your available income between your creditors.

If your total debt is 5000 owed to 3 creditors and you have 200 a month available, you would divide the amount you owe to a creditor by your total debt and multiply it by your available surplus, i.e.:

Total Debt 5000

Creditor 1 2400
Creditor 2 1200
Creditor 3 1400

Surplus available 200

Creditor 1 - 2400 / 5000 x 200 = 96
Creditor 2 - 1200 / 5000 x 200 = 48
Creditor 3 - 1400 / 5000 x 200 = 56

As long as you can show the creditors you are offering a fair percentage of the debt, more often than not, they will accept the offer of payment.

As well as offering a reduced payment, more often than not, the creditor will freeze the interest on the account to allow you to repay the debt without increasing the amount of debt by adding interest.

Debt management plans are not legally binding, but may prove to be a suitable option.

Individual Voluntary Arrangement

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a legally binding agreement between you and your creditors. IVAs work differently to Debt management plans as they are repaid over 5 years whereas a debt management plan runs until the debt is repaid.

You may be required to include any equity you may have in your property, however, this will be discussed when setting up your proposals of repayment to your creditors.

The idea behind an IVA is to offer your creditors a reduced lump sum which is generally repaid over 5 years. Any assets you have may be included in the arrangement. An insolvency practitioner will discuss with you whether or not an IVA is suitable, and if so, they will work out the best way to repay your debts.

The IP will set up the repayment proposals agreed by you and send them over to your creditors for your creditors to vote on whether they find the proposals acceptable or not. Creditors who represent 75% or more of the total outstanding debt must accept the repayment proposals in order for the IVA to be accepted.

Once the IVA is accepted, you and your creditors are then tied into a legally binding agreement. This means the creditors can no longer write or phone requesting monies from you.

Debt consolidation Loans

Debt consolidation Loans are not for everyone. Sometimes it is all too easy to borrow money to pay money off, yet in the end, you can find yourself in a worse situation than before. It can sometimes help as a quick fix, but in the long run, you end up struggling more with debt and still looking for solutions.

On the flip side, if you know you are a good money manager, make sure you work out the figures, including how much interest you will be paying on top of the money you borrow and youre not tempted to buy something else with the money which lands into your bank account, then debt consolidation may be a solution.

Consider whether or not an alternative option is available which may better solve the situation rather than taking out another loan.

Regardless of your financial situation, it is always advisable to look into all options to find out which is the best solution to repay debts, if no option is suitable and you find you have no realistic amount to offer creditors, then maybe bankruptcy is the only solution.

There is no shame in bankruptcy, although that is what some may like you to believe. Bankruptcy is there because it is needed, and if it the only viable solution, then you can make a petition, but always get as much information as possible so that you are 100% sure bankruptcy is right for you and you are not restricting yourself in anyway.

The one major benefit to be had from a free debt management plan is that you start to own your debt and you are put firmly in the driving seat when it comes to debt management.  Now what other reason do you need for implementing a debt management plan?

Many people think that debt management plans are just something that can help only people who are slightly in debt or people who owe only a little bit of money.

But in fact a good debt management plan (whether free or not) will help to analyse your finances, look at how you spend, what your outgoings are, where you can make savings and then help to draw up a repayment programme that is realistic but will help you to regain a sense that you are indeed managing your debts.

But apart from the obvious ‘taking control’ benefit of a debt management plan, there is a real psychological boost that can be had from a debt management plan.  People who are in debt often get very depressed, anxious, they can suffer with insomnia or they drink too much and try to block out the pain of their debts.  They often complain that ‘Life feels a mess’.  But these feelings and emotions/actions are normal when you are faced with a really difficult problem such as debt.

When you are in debt and don’t do anything about it, the debt usually just escalates and gets worse and worse.  But when you seize control and actively take positive action to handle and manage your debts, then you can rid yourself of all the worries, fears and anxieties.  Debt management plans help people get back to normal and start living their lives to the full again: they can even help people to sleep better at night.  So there is no good reason not to have a debt management plan: debt management plans really do make sense.