Millions of people resolve to improve their financial health at the beginning of each year.
Navient, the nation’s largest student loan servicer, praised its customers who started the new year on a path to financial success.
In 2016, more than 500,000 borrowers paid off their student loans. Elesea Russo of Fort Sumner, NM. was one of them. Her repayment strategy included sticking to a budget, making on-time payments and paying extra whenever possible.
“I started out slowly,” she said. “At first my husband and I were just managing to pay each month’s minimum required payment. We targeted the smallest student loan and paid it off as quickly as possible, moving to the next smallest and so on until we paid off all of our combined student loans.”
Navient offers free tools and resources to help borrowers improve their financial health. In 2016, Navient launched an additional 16 free resources online.
A record number of 766,000 loan customers enrolled in autopay in 2016, bringing the total rate to nearly one out of four borrowers in repayment.
Federal loan borrowers may choose the 10-year standard repayment plan or select from several other repayment plans, including income-driven repayment options, according to Navient.
As of yearend 2016, about one in four borrowers and 43 percent of dollars serviced by Navient are enrolled in income-driven repayment programs (excluding loan types not eligible for IDR.
More young adults reported better financial health in 2016 compared to the previous year, according to Money Under 35, an annual study conducted by Navient and the global research firm Ipsos.
The vast majority (83 percent)are in “good” or “excellent” financial health. The improvement in employment and financial health is concentrated in those who completed their college degree. Degree holders are more likely to be employed, earn higher wages, have a higher credit score, and are more likely to buy a home, than those without a degree.
“On behalf of our 7,000 team members at Navient, I congratulate all of our customers who successfully paid off their student loans and the many more who are making steady progress,” said Patricia Nash Christel, vice president, Navient. “It’s our commitment to continue to make it easier than ever to achieve this milestone in your financial life.”
Navient has been working to stem criticism of its loan practices that have come amid increasing concern over student loan burdens.
