Singletary: Class of ’17 has more to learn about loans

But the answers to other questions suggest an incomplete understanding both of their borrowing situations and of repayment plans that could give these budding professionals some financial relief.

When federal student loan borrowers were asked when their first payment is due, only a little more than half knew the grace period was six months after graduation. Why is this important?

Borrowers shouldn’t wait until the first due date to make sure they can handle the monthly payments. A good first step is to contact the company servicing their loan to discuss all their repayment options and to make sure their email and mailing addresses are up to date. More than a third of graduates do not know the name of the company that is servicing their federal student loans.

Forty-three percent didn’t know that their federal loans had a fixed interest rate. Sixty-five percent couldn’t say how many years it would take under the standard plan to pay off their loans. It’s 10 years. This is key because the payments under the standard option might be too high for their budget. If this is the case, they should consider an income-based repayment plan.

The poll also found that 40 percent of borrowers did not have a good grasp of income-driven plans offered for federal loans. There are four such options. You can learn about the differences in the plans by going to StudentLoans.gov.

A report last month from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that borrowers in income-based plans have much lower default rates than those enrolled in other types of payment arrangements. The CFPB said that nine in 10 of the highest-risk borrowers were not enrolled in affordable federal repayment plans that allow them to pay based on how much they earn. According to the report, the Department of Education estimates that more than 8 million federal student loan borrowers have gone at least 12 months without making a required monthly payment.

Here’s a sobering finding for co-signers: 20 percent of borrowers did not understand that their payment history could negatively impact their co-signers’ credit. Late payments do show up on the credit history of a co-signer. The New York Fed reported that 11 percent of student loans were at least 90 days delinquent or in default.

The survey found that 27 percent of 2017 graduates believe the Education Department will forgive all, or part of, their student loan balance.

“Only a very small portion of borrowers will qualify for loan forgiveness,” said Drew Cloud, the Student Loan Report’s founder. “And there could be a serious problem brewing if borrowers are budgeting with the assumption that their student loans will be forgiven.”

Finally, here’s something that didn’t surprise me: Nearly 55 percent of borrowers regret the amount of debt they took out.

Michelle Singletary welcomes comments and column ideas. Reach her in care of The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20071; or singletarym@washpost.com.