Mayor Adams Expands Partnership With Student Loan Assistance Company Summer to Help New Yorkers Keep Up to $1 Billion in Their Pockets by Reducing Monthly Student Loan Payments and Identifying Ways to Save on College

August 7, 2025

Watch the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIWTWYTXvak

Builds on Adams Administration's Program to Help Wipe Out Estimated $360 Million in Student Loan Debt for 100,000 Public Servants

Builds on Mayor Adams' Efforts to Make New York City More Affordable, Best Place to Raise a Family

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga, and New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Louis Molina today announced a first-of-its-kind municipal student loan reduction and college savings assistance program now available to all New York City residents that will help them potentially keep $1 billion in their pockets. The program builds on the city's recent partnership with Summer — a leading company that helps borrowers navigate student loan repayment options — to help wipe out $360 million in student loan debt for 100,000 public servants through enrollment in the federal government's Income Driven Repayment Plans and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The city's program will now be expanded to also offer an estimated 1.4 million New Yorkers who have student loan debt or are enrolling in college with assistance on managing and paying down their existing loans with lower monthly payments, as well as specialized assistance for approximately 1.6 million parents and guardians of college-bound children in how to bring down the cost of a college education. The initiative is estimated to reduce annual student loan payments for New Yorkers by an average of $3,000 per year and an average of $7,000 per year for participants with advanced degrees. It will also help participants save up to $10,000 per child on total education expenses in an effort to help make New York City more affordable for families.

"Getting an education shouldn't lead to a lifetime of debt; yet, for far too many New Yorkers, getting a college degree and a higher education means more bills, more debt, more money out of their pockets. We're changing that by making higher education more affordable working-class families and helping put up to $1 billion back in their pockets," said Mayor Adams. "Working with Summer, we will expand our groundbreaking partnership and help millions of New Yorkers bring down their monthly student loan payments by thousands of dollars and save even more on the cost of a college degree. We are lowering costs for families, helping them connect to debt relief, and making our city the best place to find opportunity, raise a family, and live the American Dream. New Yorkers deserve their fair share, and our administration is delivering it to them every day."

"Leading a financially healthy life is a difficult task when you are tackling student loan debt — something I know firsthand," said DCWP Commissioner Mayuga. "With this new expansion, we are extending support to millions of New Yorkers who have or are thinking of taking on student loans. Thank you to Mayor Adams, Commissioner Molina, and our partners at Summer for sharing our commitment to financially empower all New Yorkers and make our city more affordable for working-class families."

"Student loan repayment and college cost planning are increasingly complex processes to navigate. Thankfully, the City of New York is stepping up to provide additional access to resources, tools, and programs to reduce that complexity," said Will Sealy, founder and CEO, Summer. "In just the first three months of the city employee program, the city has achieved $13.8 million in savings and a $3,800 average reduction in annual student loan payments. We're proud to extend that impact to residents while complementing the important work already being done by city and state agencies, and we thank Mayor Adams for taking this step to expand these life-changing opportunities to even more New Yorkers."

First announced in May, the city's pilot program with Summer to provide comprehensive assistance for city employees to take advantage of the federal government's Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is on track to already help wipe out more than $13.8 million in student loan debt for city employees. Since launching, the program has served more than 2,000 civil servants and helped over 380 civil servants apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Driven Repayment Plans at the three city agencies in the pilot program.

With the expansion of the program, city residents will have access to Summer's online portal where residents can verify their eligibility for programs that lower payments, compare repayment options, manage their paperwork for enrollment in federal programs, and stay on track for loan forgiveness, if eligible. Through the partnership, city residents will be able to identify the best repayment and forgiveness strategy for their individual situation thanks to fast, free, and easy tools and customized recommendations. Additionally, the program's college planning resources will help city residents across diverse financial and educational planning scenarios to help families navigate the challenges of preparing for higher education expenses. New Yorkers can use online tools to find out how much they need to save for college, identify ways to save, and other strategies for bridging financial gaps. These resources will supplement and coordinate with existing city resources, such as NYC Kids Rise, which helps New York City Public School students save for college.

Today's announcement builds on Mayor Adams' ongoing efforts to wipe out burdensome debt and put money back in New Yorkers' pockets, including ambitious initiatives to eliminate and cut city personal income taxes for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers through his "Axe the Tax for the Working Class" plan, wipe out more than $2 billion in medical debt for working-class New Yorkers, invest hundreds of millions of dollars in early childhood education, launch free universal after-school programming, and more. The Adams administration has already saved New Yorkers more than $30 billion by connecting local residents to city, state, and federal programs, including a historic expansion of the New York City Earned Income Tax Credit that returned over $345 million to New Yorkers in tax year 2023 alone. Since the start of the Adams administration, DCWP's Financial Empowerment Centers have helped tens of thousands of New Yorkers improve their credit, reduce their debt by more than $40 million, and increase their savings by $4.5 million through free one-on-one financial counseling services. DCWP's "NYC Free Tax Prep" program has also helped New Yorkers save $220 million in tax refunds and nearly $57 million in tax preparation fees by helping filers file approximately 257,000 tax returns for free. NYC Free Tax Prep providers also offer drop-off services and virtual tax preparation services.

"Mayor Eric Adams' new initiatives to reduce municipal student loan debt and expand college savings programs mark a critical step forward in making higher education more accessible and affordable for New Yorkers," said New York State Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny. "By easing the financial burden on working families and investing in our students' futures, the mayor is helping to build a stronger, more equitable city. I am proud to support these efforts and look forward to working together to ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed."

"We applaud New York City for stepping up and providing a service to help borrowers navigate the current uncertainty and chaos in the student loan system," said Winston Berkman-Breen, legal director, Student Borrower Protection Center. "New York continues to set the standard nationally for how cities can address the student loan crisis, especially by meeting borrowers where they are and offering individualized assistance."