American Financial Benefits Center: Moving Beyond That First Job by Keeping Up With Student Loan Debt

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Faced with a mountain of student loan debt and unstable career options, many borrowers take the first job they can find. This jump toward underemployment has long-lasting consequences, especially for women who are already among those hardest hit by the student loan crisis, resulting in — among other outcomes — significantly less ability to become appropriately employed five or even 10 years down the road. Millions of Americans face this and similar dilemmas as they struggle to pay back their student loan debt. American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC), a document preparation company that helps its clients apply for federal income-driven repayment plans (IDRs), encourages borrowers to look into repayment options that can possibly relieve some pressure from this downward spiral of high debt and low income.

"Millions of Americans are working as hard as they can every day and are still unable to keep up with their student loan debt," said Sara Molina, manager at AFBC. "And our clients know how hard we are working to help them apply for programs that may provide an opportunity for them to rise up out of this vicious cycle."

According to an Occidental College study, when graduates do not get jobs requiring the skills they acquired in college, they are forced to take unqualified work in order to pay off their student loans. This, in turn, creates an "incessant struggle to afford payments" which may result in unwanted outcomes such as borrowers (1) moving back home because they can't afford rent or (2) postponing their pursuit of advanced degrees because they don't want to accumulate more debt.

This initial underemployment has long-lasting consequences, states a more recent report by Burning Glass Technologies. Eighty-seven percent of workers who were appropriately employed in their first job continued to hold positions matching their education after five years and at the 10-year mark, 91 percent were appropriately employed. Of the four in 10 college graduates underemployed in their first jobs, 66 percent remained underemployed five years later and 75 percent of those were still underemployed at the 10-year mark. Women are 10 percent more likely to be underemployed in their first job. And since this initial underemployment can prove so challenging to escape, this gender gap persists over time, making student loan repayment increasingly difficult.

Federal IDRs are alternative repayment options for federal student loan borrowers whose payments are high relative to their income and family size. Such plans calculate payments based on discretionary income and can potentially end in forgiveness after 20 to 25 years in the program.

"Based on this study, the first job out of college is a highly impactful choice with long-term implications, particularly for women," said Molina. "And though it's not always possible to get your dream job right away, federal income-driven repayment plans make it possible to keep looking and not worry so much about potentially lower income."

About American Financial Benefits Center

American Financial Benefits Center is a document preparation company that helps clients apply for federal student loan repayment plans that fit their personal financial and student loan situation. Through its strict customer service guidelines, the company strives for the highest levels of honesty and integrity.

Each AFBC telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA).

American Financial Benefits Center Newsroom

Contact

To learn more about American Financial Benefits Center, please contact:

American Financial Benefits Center
1900 Powell Street #600
Emeryville, CA 94608
1-800-488-1490
[email protected]

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SOURCE American Financial Benefits Center