NYC Offers Free Help to New Yorkers Navigating Student Loan Debt Changes

New York City is helping local borrowers navigate the new student loan landscape, offering free, one-one-one financial counseling sessions at 40 sites across the five boroughs, as well as through a series of outreach events organized by the City Council.

Starting this month, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers enrolled in a Biden administration-era student loan repayment plan will need to switch to another option, while many more will face additional changes taking effect this year under federal legislation passed as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

New York City is helping local borrowers navigate the new student loan landscape, offering free, one-one-one financial counseling sessions at 40 Financial Empowerment Centers across the five boroughs, as well as through a series of outreach events organized by City Council members.

“Counselors assist borrowers in reviewing repayment and forgiveness options, understanding the federal changes, assisting with required paperwork and connecting people with trusted legal resources when needed,” Samuel A.A. Levine, commissioner of the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, write in a City Limits op-ed last week urging residents to take advantage of the assistance.

Action is especially important for people enrolled in the federal government’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, which was launched by former President Joe Biden to offer more affordable repayment options and a path to future loan forgiveness to millions of Americans struggling with school debt.

The Trump administration is now dismantling SAVE, and as of July 1, those signed up for it have 90 days to select another repayment plan; if they don’t, they risk being automatically enrolled in one with potentially higher monthly payments than they can afford, according to DCWP.

“Many borrowers may be unaware that they need to take action to maintain affordable payments or protect their path to forgiveness,” Commissioner Levine wrote. “Without guidance, borrowers risk higher costs, increased delinquency, depleted savings, and greater long-term financial strain.”

Some 375,000 New Yorkers are enrolled in SAVE, according to DCWP. A 2023 survey from the nonprofit Community Service Society (a City Limits funder) found that one out of every four New York City residents had student loan debt, and residents of color were more likely to have unpaid loans than white residents.

As of early 2026, around 11 percent of the city’s borrowers were behind on their student loan payments, according to DCWP.

In addition to booking a counseling session at one of the city’s Financial Empowerment Centers, residents can get assistance at one of eight outreach events planned by members of the City Council this summer and fall, where DCWP and other staff will be on hand to provide information and resources. You can RSVP for one of those upcoming sessions, which kick off July 14, here.

“We are in the midst of an affordability crisis in which far too many New Yorkers are crushed by student loan debt, and lack the resources necessary to navigate a confusing and often predatory industry,” said Councilmember Harvey Epstein, who chairs the Council’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection and sponsored legislation last year that created the help sessions.

To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post NYC Offers Free Help to New Yorkers Navigating Student Loan Debt Changes appeared first on City Limits.