Meet a government worker who regrets refinancing her student debt because she didn't know it would block her from federal loan forgiveness: 'I never would have done that'

Most student-loan borrowers have probably been hit with advertisements that promise lower monthly payments and a lower interest rate.

It sounded like it was a good deal.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after ten years of paying it off. She was told that she had not been accepted into the program. She said she was given the option to take out a new loan with a lower monthly payment. She needed to take her federal loans to a private lender.

She signed off on the lower monthly payment, but didn't know she was also losing federal benefits.

The 57-year-old told Insider that he didn't know there was a problem. I liked the lower monthly payments. I wouldn't have done that if I'd known this would take me out of the federal. It wasn't worthwhile.

In August, President Joe Biden was going to announce up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness for federal borrowers making under $125,000 a year. She is missing out on federal loan forgiveness and can't qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program because she switched her balance to private loans.

She can't take advantage of Biden's debt relief because she refinanced. After Biden's announcement, some student-loan companies continued to offer refinancing as an option for borrowers, only revealing that they could lose federal relief in the fine print. Biden's administration is concerned that borrowers might belured by a lower monthly payment but lose out on debt cancellation.

They are doing it the same way they did with me years ago. People need to know that this has been going on for a long time.

'It's a slap in the face' for government workers

Biden has student-loan forgiveness. She said she's happy about it because it means other people can benefit from it. She can't use the federal program that was created for employees just like herself, which is frustrating.

I'm thankful, but I think about all the people who are struggling and serving the public. We are servants, and yet, we are being lied to. It's not right.

She can't consolidate her private student loans into a federal loan that would qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program because her loans are held by a company. She's disappointed that she didn't qualify for debt relief because she could have used the money to help her parents.

As she's chugging along with her monthly payments, lawmakers and Biden's administration have increased scrutiny over student-loan companies.

Following Biden's announcement of relief offering refinancing as an option, some companies were sending emails to borrowers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told Insider that it raises serious concerns about whether student lenders are representing the tradeoffs of refinancing to a private loan in a fair way.

In response to Insider's reporting, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley sent letters to the leaders of all nine student-loan companies requesting information on how they are communicating.

Pressley said they were putting the servicers on notice. Servicers need to give borrowers accurate and up-to-date information on their student loans. Thanks to President Biden's plan to cancel student debt, millions are now eligible and we need to ensure it is administered efficiently and felt by as many people as possible.

It is hoped that other borrowers don't fall into the same situation that she did.

She said she was happy for the people who were getting their loans written off. I think it was a slap in the face for me, because I work for the federal government.