This article aims to answer your questions about Student Loan PayDown and College SaveUp Contributions.
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What Payment Method Is Used to Send the SLP Contribution to My Loan Account?
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Will the Payment Be Applied to My Loan's Principal or Interest Portion?
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Can I Change the SLP/CSU Contribution Amount That Is Being Sent to My Loan?
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Can I Split My SLP Employer Contribution Across Multiple Loan Accounts?
What Payment Method Is Used to Send the SLP Contribution to My Loan Account?
Depending on your servicer, your SLP contribution is sent to your account via either check payment or ACH. (See FAQ How soon after a payment is sent to my loan servicer will I see it reflected on my student loan account? for more information on payment application timing).
Can I Set a Date for When My Gradifi Payment Goes Out?
Gradifi sends payments to loan providers monthly, so you cannot set when your payments are processed. Generally, we make payments during the last part of the month and will notify you when a payment has been made each month.
Gradif has a standard monthly processing cycle where all payments are sent to loan servicers on or around the 15th business day of each month. This typically happens around the 20th - 22nd calendar day. As such, we cannot customize any payment dates for our members.
You should continue making your regular payments as required by your loan servicer. Your employer’s contributions are to be considered supplemental to regular payments to pay down the loan early. Neither Gradifi nor your employer is responsible for any missed regular monthly payments.
How Soon After a Payment Is Sent to My Loan Servicer Will I See It Reflected on My Student Loan Account?
Gradifi sends payments to loan providers on a monthly schedule. You will receive a notification email each month we have sent a payment, and you will see it reflected in your Gradifi account under “Contribution History.” When it appears in your student loan account depends on how the payment is sent to the loan provider and how long it takes them to process it.
Generally, you should expect to see your Gradifi payments posted in your student loan account within 1-2 weeks, but please allow 30 days from when Gradifi sends the payment for it to be posted to your student account. If more than 30 days have passed since we notified you that we sent a payment to your designated student loan servicer, and you do not see it reflected when you log into the website associated with your student loan account, please email us at membersupport@gradifi.com.
Will the Payment Be Applied to My Loan's Principal or Interest Portion?
The way loan services apply payments can vary, but generally, payments get added to an account in the following order:
- Late fees
- Accrued interest
- Unpaid principal balance
The timing of when your Gradifi payment is received by your student loan servicer relative to your regular monthly payment can also impact how your Gradifi payments are applied and appear in your student loan account. Regardless of the relative timing, if you continue to make your standard monthly payments, the net result each month should result in a reduction of the total cost of your loans and result in you getting out of debt faster.
Can I Stop Making or Reducing My Monthly Payment Now That I Receive a Student Loan PayDown Plan Contribution?
We recommend that you continue to make your regular monthly student loan payment so that your Student Loan PayDown Plan contributions can help you get out of debt faster. Gradifi payments are sent roughly the same time every month, but we are not responsible for any individual's missed monthly payment, so you should consider this an additional payment.
Can I Change the SLP/CSU Contribution Amount That Is Being Sent to My Loan?
No, your eligible contribution amount is determined by your employer. The details of your employer’s SLP/CSU program (including contribution amounts, frequency, and program length) can be found within the “Employer Program(s)” section of your Dashboard and by clicking show.
If you have any questions regarding the SLP/CSU contribution amount you are eligible to receive, we recommend contacting your employer’s HR Benefits team.
Can I Split My SLP Employer Contribution Across Multiple Loan Accounts?
No, SLP contributions can only be directed to one monthly loan account. If you have multiple loan accounts across various loan servicers, you can add each of these to the “My Accounts” section of your Gradifi account. However, you must select only one loan account to receive the benefit. To update the loan account accepting SLP contributions, click Account Options within your loan account details and select Allocate Benefits Here.
How Do I Switch My Contributions to a CSU Plan (College SaveUp) if My Employer’s Plan Gives Me a Choice?
Under your current PayDown program, click the Switch to SaveUp option on the dashboard. If you have already entered a valid 529 plan account, you do not need to do anything further, and your contribution will now go toward your 529 plan account. If you have not entered a 529 plan account, you must add that under the “Accounts” section to receive your contribution.
It Has Been 30+ Days Since My SLP Contribution Was Sent to My Loan Servicer, and I Do Not See It Applied to My Loan Account.
Loan servicers have different payment application processes and timelines once the SLP payment is received. However, SLP contributions should be expected to be applied to your loan servicer within 30 days of being sent.
Tips:
- If you have multiple loan accounts registered in your Gradifi account, please review the loan account to which the SLP contribution was sent.
- If you have multiple individual loans under the main loan account number your payment was disbursed to, the total contribution amount is likely being applied across all of these loans. Several partial amounts that add to the total contribution amount are used across all your loans.
If you do not see the contribution in your loan account, feel free to contact our support team at membersupport@gradifi.com with the details of the contribution that you see outstanding, and we can assist with additional support.
I Received the Email Confirmation That My SLP Contribution Has Been Sent. However, My Loan Is No Longer Serviced by This Loan Servicer and Has Been Transferred to Another Loan Servicer. Will My Payment Still Be Applied to My Loan?
Please complete the steps listed under “My loan servicer has transferred my student loan to a different servicer; what action do I need to take?” as soon as possible to ensure all future contributions are sent to your up-to-date loan details.
However, suppose your loan account is transferred to a new loan servicer due to a portfolio transfer. In that case, loan servicers will typically forward any payments received to the new loan servicer for up to 6 months after the loan has been transferred. This is especially true for federal loan transfers, and on a case-by-case basis for private loan transfers. However, please keep in mind that the forwarding of this payment will cause a delay in the application for your loan. Please allow 2-3 weeks for any forwarded payments to be applied in addition to the standard 30 days.
In the event the loan servicer to which your SLP payment was sent is unable to apply or forward the payment, we expect that it will be returned to Gradifi, and you will be notified as such.
I Missed Contributions From My Employer Due to My Student Loan or 529 Not Being Active in My Gradifi Account. Can I Receive Backtracked Contributions That I Missed?
Gradifi will not generate backtracked contributions if any previous months’ contributions are missed due to missing a valid loan or 529 in your account.
If at any point your loan or 529 account is flagged as “Paid Off,” “Invalid,” “Transferred,” or “Refinanced,” or you delete it from your account, a new valid loan or 529 must be added to your account to continue receiving contributions.
Tip: Remember that any new or edited loan or 529 accounts can take 1-3 business days to be verified by our support team. Loans in a “Pending Verification” status are not eligible for contributions. You must have at least one loan account in an active state in your Gradifi profile as of the end of the month to qualify for a contribution the following month.