After operating in community assistance for complete a decade, Donald Knierim is motionless waiting for student-loan forgiveness.
Now he's participating in a lawsuit in hopes of getting alleviation for himself — and thousands of others.
Knierim first said to Business Insider before in October. In 2015, the 71-year-old started operating for Metra, Chicago's commuter railway. His goal was to remain on the job for a decade in command to acquire Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which forgives pupil debt for authorities and nonprofit workers following 10 years.
He idea he had succeeded in November 2025, whenever his Federal Student Aid dashboard read, "Congratulations! You've satisfied your obligation, and no additional payments are required for this loan."
So he former from Metra, alongside the condemnation that his student-loan payments were in the past. Months later, he received another notice: 15 payments that had earlier counted toward his forgiveness advancement were now rescinded, and his outstanding balance was reinstated.
On Friday, the American Federation of Teachers submitted a lawsuit that includes Knierim as a declarant, alleging that the Department of Education illegally clawed rear borrowers' PSLF payments and is stalling debt alleviation for thousands.
The stakes are elevated for Knierim; he cannot come back to activity since caring for his wife, who is dealing alongside grave health issues, is a full-time job.
"He lives on a fixed income, and diverting those finances to his pupil loans and distant from mounting family expenses and funds puts his spouse and him in a financially precarious situation," the lawsuit said.
Challenges alongside PSLF have mounted complete the former few months, alongside borrowers reporting inaccurate fee counts and stalled applications to the buyback process, which allows a borrower to "buy back" period spent in deferment or forbearance if it would put them at the alleviation threshold.
Ellen Keast, communications director for the Education Department's undersecretary, stated in a declaration that the PSLF buyback procedure requires "case-by-case reviews and extended paperwork."
"FSA has already begun transitioning this activity to debt servicers as part of a broader attempt to streamline operations, decrease administrative burden, and modernize the process," Keast said. "Rather than acknowledge these realities, the union has yet again chosen litigation and election-year theatrics."
Knierim stated he's grateful to be part of the lawsuit and to have "a strategic way forward."
"I have a flawless fee history," Knierim said. "I have never missed a payment, and I paid what they told me to pay."
The burden of stalled student-debt relief
Knierim has spent months seeking clarity on his account. He called and sent alphabet to Federal Student Aid and the ombudsman's office, and he equal offered to pay a lump-sum amount if it would meet requirements him for PSLF.
He stated no one always responded to that offer. Worried that any additional act on his document could jeopardize his debt forgiveness, he didn't create any payments during this time, so he was marked as delinquent and was set to default in November. The consequences of defaulting can be severe, including pay garnishment and the capture of national benefits akin Social Security, which Knierim relies on.
His forbearance petition was approved days before he was set to default, and a "reconsideration request" on his PSLF position is in progress.
The AFT's lawsuit stated that Knierim's dilemma is apt "widespread, affecting thousands, if not tens of thousands, of borrowers." One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Elizabeth Schoepflin, had 14 payments toward PSLF rescinded, extending her repayment timeline by nearly a twelvemonth and a half.
"Her servicer confirmed that there were no changes to her document that would explain the Department's clawback, and could not inform her why the Department took distant the qualifying months," the lawsuit said.
Knierim stated he's been industrious alongside his payments and that client assistance representatives often assured him he was on track for debt forgiveness. He's hopeful he'll get the alleviation he's paid years toward and can continue his withdrawal alongside his pupil loans officially rearward him.
"If I have to reconstruct that payment, it's going to put my spouse and me in a bad situation," Knierim said. "We're too tight in withdrawal to be shelling out prosperity for material that we can't afford."
Have a narrative to portion concerning pupil loans? Contact this newsman at [email protected].
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Business Insider tells the stories you desire to cognize concerning the earth of business, technology, and finance
Business Insider tells the stories you desire to cognize concerning the earth of business, technology, and finance
Business Insider tells the stories you desire to cognize concerning the earth of business, technology, and finance
Ayelet Sheffey is a elder newsman at Business Insider covering learning and pupil loans. She has appeared on shows including C-SPAN, CBS News, NPR, and SiriusXM to conversation her student-loan coverage, including her inquiry on personal student-loan lending.She graduated from American University in 2020 alongside a bachelor's flat in journalism. You can attain her via email at [email protected] or communication her securely on Signal at asheffey.97. You can additionally discover her on LinkedIn, and on Reddit at the username u/Ayelet_Sheffey_BI.
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