Thanks for the update on this old thread, justajane.
I have the sneaking suspicion that they are just paying the minimum until they are forgiven
student loans?
What is the likelihood of this happening in your country?
In the US, student loan debt is forgiven after 25 years of repayment (20 in some cases, 10 for public service).
sorry if this is rambling :
one thing about this whole loan forgiveness thing that i wonder, esp in her case:
if they are federal, every year you have to send in paperwork proving you cant afford your loans. this program is for people who will never in those 25 years start earning 'decent' money
as she and her husband are both high potential earners, i would be concerned that at some point the government will decide you can afford the payments, at that point you are on the hook for normal payments.
i mean based on inflation and tiny raises alone , I assume that at some point she will be earning enough to afford her loans.
and from my understanding they look at what they think you should pay, not what you think you can afford to pay. ( so this may raises gradually every year any way)
since she is doing interest only payments this means the balance hasnt changed in oh lets say 10 years. so she now starts making interest and principal payments based on the original loan in the remaining 15 years. ( she wasted 10 making interest only payments in this scenario)
id be concerned i would end up paying for the loan and more. and maybe she actually reaches 25 years without paying it all off. now she owes the taxes on being 'forgiven' $200,000. im assuming this would be at the 34% tax rate. ( cause this is on top of what ever her and hubbers make for that year)
i did the math for the best case scenario based on the programs available for federal loans. i doutb this is the case for her.
taxes after forgiveness= 68k
interest only payments for 25 years= 199800 ( im giving her a 4% apr, which with grad loans i doubt she has. )