Student loan debt is threatening the financial security of an increasing number of older Americans. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the number of consumers age 60 and older with student loan debt has quadrupled over the last decade. Tragically, a large portion of older student loan borrowers struggle to afford basic needs.…
Junk fees jeopardize access to future housing and financial stability by contributing to rental debt that leads to negative marks on credit reports.
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Stimulus-Funded Program Shines but Storm Clouds are on the Horizon In 2009, as part of the Stimulus bill passed in response to the Great Recession, the U.S. government appropriated $5 billion for the federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) to weatherize low-income homes in 50 states over 3 years. States delivered energy improvements to 775,000 homes…
BY: SARAH BOLLING MANCINI WITH: COLIN WEIDIG, CAMILLE DESIERTO, MARYANN FLANAGAN, RACHEL SCOTT There are roughly 480,000 reverse mortgages currently outstanding in the United States. This number is expected to grow as baby boomers age. The program was designed to allow older homeowners to borrow against their home equity without the risk of displacement, but…
A Call for Reform By: Andrea Bopp Stark, Alys Cohen, Steve Sharpe, Geoff Walsh Congress has charged the housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government-sponsored enterprises or GSEs) with the goals of supporting and expanding homeownership. Yet, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie and Freddie have undercut—and continue…
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Authors: Nancy Ryan, Partner, eMobility Advisors; Alissa Burger, Regional Policy Director, CALSTART; Jenifer Bosco & John Howat National Consumer Law Center; Miles Muller, Natural Resources Defense Council The report, Best Practices for Sustainable Commercial EV Rates and PURPA 111(d) Implementation, summarizes commercial EV rate design solutions put forth so far by utilities across the country and…
Key Points In 2015, more employees are expected to receive wages on payroll cards than by paycheck. By 2019, an estimated 12.2 million workers will receive their wages via payroll cards, compared to only 2.2 million who will get paper paychecks, according to Aite Group. With this fast-growing trend, states can be leaders in setting…
UPDATE – July 2025 Since this report was published in January 2023, a number of states have passed legislation prohibiting credit reporting of medical debts. The CFPB also issued a Fair Credit Reporting Act regulation to prohibit medical credit reporting nationwide that was subsequently overturned by a court decision. These developments are discussed in…
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Many states as well as the National Conference of Commissions on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) have attempted to regulate debt settlement through laws that mainly target debt management practices. In fact, debt management and debt settlement are very different businesses. By including debt settlement in laws that focus on debt management, policymakers are helping to…
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The U.S. Department of Education refers every eligible defaulted debt to one of 22 private collection agencies. Despite the history of consumer abuses by the collection industry, the United States government hires collectors not only to collect money, but also to communicate with borrowers about options to address student loan debt and to help borrowers…
In 2013, our nation stands at a crossroads. We are still in the midst of the worst foreclosure crisis we have ever experienced. The successes, failures, and missed opportunities of HAMP provide a roadmap for a way out of the current crisis as well as a way to prevent its repetition. With up to 10…
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Vigorous enforcement of HUD’s loss mitigation rules would preserve homeownership and stabilize communities better than essentially unrestricted sales of the loans, often to financial speculators. To date, however, HUD has not held its major servicers accountable for their non-compliance with HUD’s own servicing rules. The note sale program should continue only if it can be…
