Attorney General Cameron Announces $1.85 Billion Settlement with Student Loan Servicer Navient

Nation’s largest student loan servicers

FRANKFORT, Ky. (January 13, 2022) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron today announced a $1.85 billion settlement between 39 attorneys general and Navient Corporation (Navient) and its subsidiaries related to their servicing of student loans.

Navient, known as one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers, has agreed to pay $1.85 billion to 38 states and the District of Columbia. Kentucky will receive $1,419,027.64, including $1,241,950 in restitution to 4,659 Kentucky borrowers. 

The consent judgement resolves allegations of consumer protection law violations related to Navient’s allegedly deceptive student loan servicing practices. Under the terms of the settlement, Navient will cancel the remaining balance of over $1.6 billion in private student loan balances for 62,000 borrowers nationwide, including $43,042,898 million in balances for 2,155 Kentuckians.

“This settlement cancels over $43 million of debt and provides more than $1.2 million in restitution to Kentuckians and requires Navient to alter their business practices to protect future borrowers,” said Attorney General Cameron. “Our Office of Consumer Protection works diligently to protect Kentucky consumers and this settlement is one part of our efforts.”

Under the settlement, Navient is required to:

• Explain the benefits of income-driven repayment plans and offer to estimate income-driven payment amounts before placing borrowers into optional forbearances.
• Train specialists who will advise distressed borrowers concerning alternative repayment options and counsel public service workers concerning Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and related programs.
• Cease compensating customer service agents in a manner that incentivizes them to minimize time spent counseling borrowers. 
• Notify borrowers about the U.S. Department of Education’s recently announced PSLF limited waiver opportunity, which temporarily offers millions of qualifying public service workers the chance to have previously non-qualifying repayment periods counted toward loan forgiveness, under certain circumstances.

Borrowers with cancelled private loans, resulting from today’s settlement, will receive a notice from Navient and a refund for payments made after June 30, 2021. Federal loan borrowers who are eligible for a restitution payment should update or create a studentaid.gov account, including their current mailing address, as the settlement administrator will send a postcard with additional information later this spring.

For additional information about the settlement, visit www.NavientAGSettlement.com.

Due to a contract transfer by the U.S. Department of Education, some loans, under the Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, previously serviced by Navient were transferred to AidVantage, a division of Maximus Federal Services, Inc. Navient will continue to service federal student loans made under the FFEL Program that are owned by private lenders, as well as non-federal private student loans. For more information on the servicing transfer call AidVantage at 1-800-722-1300.

Attorney General Cameron was joined by attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin in the settlement.

Attorney General Cameron filed the settlement as a proposed Consent Judgement and Complaint today in Franklin Circuit Court. The settlement is pending court approval.