ST. LOUIS — Elizabeth Francisco isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but since she has more than $150,000 in student loan debt, she isn't that optimistic.
"While I appreciate the effort, it feels really out of touch and kind of insulting to an extent," said Francisco.
Francisco attended graduate school in order to work as a professor, but she says that ended up being a challenging investment given what she was paid. She now works in a museum, and even though she's making "decent" money, it's hard for her to get ahead.
As someone who graduated school during the 2008 recession and who is also a single mother working in a challenging economy, Francisco is wondering if she'll ever make headway with her loan, which now carries a $30,000 bill in interest.
"You're not even making a dent in the base payments," Francisco said.
That's just one problem student loan borrowers have faced over the years, sometimes well into retirement.
"It takes forever to pay your loan back," said Jeff Sachs of Sachs Financial. "Depending on your income, it might take you 20 years or 30 years to pay your loans off."
Sachs said seniors who still have student loan debt are more likely to be behind on their payments as many are on fixed incomes.
"There is a large portion of seniors that are in student debt," said Sachs.
While there is a lot of national attention to the amount that's being forgiven — $10,000 for most federal student loan borrowers or up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients — there are a number of items often overlooked that could be game changers for borrowers.
One part of the plan would cap monthly payments on undergraduate debt to just 5 percent of discretionary income. Currently, a borrower can pay up to 15 percent of the debt.
Another portion of the plan would also forgive loans after 10 years, instead of 20, for those with original balances of $12,000 or less.
The plan would also keep loans from growing just because of the interest being charged. Sachs said that essentially means it turns a student loan into a zero percent loan as long as it gets paid.
"So it's really targeted to those that may need some help," said Sachs. "Especially in today's economy."
It could not only help seniors who are closer to the end of their repayment plan, but it would also like help people Francisco more than they realize.
"With the overhead cost of living like with what I make, I shouldn't live paycheck to paycheck," said Francisco. "Granted, I'm a single parent and I don't collect child support, but at the same time, I should be doing much better."
She said bigger solutions need to be on the horizon. It's not about what to do with today's student debt, for students, it's how to avoid the debt altogether.
"Even if they don't cancel student debt, should people really be paying that much interest on a basic education?" Francisco asked.
Sachs reminds people the final plan could come down in a few weeks, likely October. He said do not wait to submit your paperwork because many people will have to start paying back their loans in January.