You can’t beat death or taxes. But you can avoid having to pay off federal student loans — if the borrower kicks the bucket, according to the New York Times.
The Gray Lady gave the morbid advice on the heels of Friday’s Supreme Court decision striking down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.
In a financial advice column titled “Ways You Can Still Cancel Your Federal Student Loan Debt,” writer Ron Lieber lists “plenty of ways to get your student debt wiped away.”
Under a subheading titled “Death,” Lieber wrote: “If you’re a young adult wondering about the federal PLUS loans your relatives took out to pay for your education, you may be wondering whether the debt dies with the person or people who take it on.”
“It does.”
“The federal government will not make a claim on their estate, and you will not inherit the balance.”
A screenshot of the subheading was posted to Twitter by commentator Parker Molloy.
The Times later changed the subheading to “Debt Won’t Carry On.”
The Post has sought comment from the Times.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority effectively killed Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of Americans.
The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, said the Biden administration overstepped its authority with the plan, and it leaves borrowers on the hook for repayments that are expected to resume in the fall.
The court held that the administration needed Congress’ endorsement before undertaking so costly a program.
The majority rejected arguments that a bipartisan 2003 law dealing with national emergencies, known as the HEROES Act, gave Biden the power he claimed.
“Six States sued, arguing that the HEROES Act does not authorize the loan cancellation plan. We agree,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.
Justice Elena Kagan, joined by the court’s two other liberals, wrote in a dissent that the majority of the court “overrides the combined judgment of the Legislative and Executive Branches, with the consequence of eliminating loan forgiveness for 43 million Americans.”
Biden was to announce a new set of actions to protect student loan borrowers later Friday, a White House official told the Associated Press.
With Post wires
