Oakland County Residents with Student Loan Debt Can Access Savi Service
(Oakland County, Dec. 13, 2024)
Oakland County, MI – More than 172,000 Oakland County residents have student loan debt, totaling about $6 billion. Through a partnership with Savi, a social impact technology startup, the Oakland County aims to help provide guidance on loan repayment and loan forgiveness. The service is free for one year to any Oakland County resident or Oakland County Government employee seeking assistance to manage college debt and get on a path to loan forgiveness. Oakland County is the first government agency in America to work with Savi to offer this benefit to all its residents.
Using the Savi portal is simple. It automatically creates digital forms and tailors’ recommendations for debt consolidation by scanning more than 150 federal, state and private eligibility programs, showing borrowers what their payments should be. Savi users save on average $187 month, or $2,244 a year.
Oakland County itself is not relieving student debt. Rather, the Board of Commissioners is paying a flat fee of $500K to waive the Savi registration fee for any Oakland County resident or Oakland County government employee who signs up for debt help before the enrollment deadline. Online registration takes 10 minutes to complete. Participants would have to renew membership on their own in subsequent years. Savi works with more than 50 income-driven repayment plans, including some focused-on loan forgiveness. For more information, see the printable flyer.