For discussion with the Office of Governor Lamont
Connecticut can act now on student debt — and deliver measurable relief
598,017 Connecticut residents owe $22.4 billion in student loans, and 91,000 are already in default. A statewide partnership with Summer, PBC could generate at least $20 million in savings for Connecticut residents by lowering monthly payments, avoiding default, and accessing eligible federal relief.
The federal government is preparing to resume wage garnishments and tax refund seizures, potentially after November.1 If collections resume, Connecticut could lose up to $294 million from its economy in 2027. There's still time to act.
1 The Education Department calls its pause on wage garnishment and Treasury offsets temporary but has announced no restart date. Based on Treasury’s collection-vendor procurement, Summer expects garnishment orders could resume this winter, after November. That timing is Summer’s assessment, not an announced federal schedule. The $294 million is modeled 2027 exposure.
A statewide program from November 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, with projected lifetime borrower savings measured under an agreed contractual methodology.
Proposed terms, subject to agreement. Read the basis.
01 / Connecticut’s borrower challenge
Connecticut's borrowers are under immense financial stress. They seek better guidance.
Centiment's July 2026 survey of student loan borrowers in Connecticut identified widespread financial strain—and a clear appetite for better guidance from the state.
Who faces the greatest pressure
Borrowers of color face a higher risk of default.
In the Connecticut survey, Black and Hispanic or Latino borrowers reported greater risk of default this year than White borrowers.
Likelihood of defaulting in 2026
71%of borrowers are ages 25–44, in their prime working years.
of Connecticut borrowers said they want a state-offered service to help them apply for student loan assistance programs.
The domino effect of student debt and it's drag on the state's economy
Source: Centiment Connecticut borrower survey, July 15–20, 2026 (519 borrower respondents). Survey responses describe reported effects; they do not establish causation.
Explore more borrower findings
If their debt were reduced, 49% said they would prioritize saving for a home and 16% said they would increase local spending.
These responses came from 519 current borrowers among 914 Connecticut residents surveyed. Centiment reports a 95% confidence level and ±4.30% margin of error.
National context / Federal Student Aid data through June 30, 2026
The federal repayment system is entering a more difficult phase
Federal Student Aid reports rising default, deepening delinquency, and millions of borrowers still navigating the transition out of SAVE Plan-related forbearance.
FSA also reports that many borrowers leaving SAVE are enrolling in other income-driven repayment plans. A statewide service can help Connecticut residents evaluate their options and act before delinquency turns into default.
National figures; not Connecticut-specific counts. Source: Federal Student Aid quarterly reports through June 30, 2026
The statewide opportunity
5 reasons why this program is right for Connecticut
With Summer, PBC, the State of Connecticut can provide immediate, measurable affordability relief for working families. Summer’s program leverages federal funds to reduce monthly loan payments—while protecting wages and tax refunds that would otherwise be seized by the federal government—and strengthens the state’s local economy without raising taxes.
The $294 million figure is a modeled 2027 exposure for borrowers already in default plus an at-risk delinquent cohort. It is not a forecast of savings from this program. The 28,217 delinquent-borrower count is a working Summer estimate; individual IDR eligibility and federal collections timing vary.
02 / What Summer does
A clearer path for borrowers through a complicated system
Summer helps borrowers understand their options, apply and recertify for state and federal programs they qualify for, and stay on track as their circumstances change.
Identify options
Review loan, income, and employment information to surface relevant repayment and forgiveness pathways.
Get through the forms
Guide borrowers through applications for eligible federal and state programs, with support at difficult steps.
Follow through
Help borrowers manage next steps, including options to resolve default when applicable.
Inside the borrower experience
A guided path from uncertainty to action
A resident gets a clear starting point, personalized options, and help completing the steps required by federal or state programs.
- 01Create a secure account
Enter basic information to begin the free, guided experience.
- 02Tell Summer about the loans
Add loan, income, and employment information so Summer can identify relevant paths.
- 03Compare personalized options
See the current plan alongside eligible programs, monthly payments, and potential forgiveness.
- 04Complete the application
Move through forms and next steps with built-in guidance and access to Summer’s support team, including certified student loan experts.
Borrower proof
The impact becomes real one borrower at a time.
Summer has assisted over one million borrowers. Each have their own unique story of why they are struggling with student loans, but all of them share the belief that there must be a better way. With Summer, they are now on the path to becoming debt free.
03 / Anticipated resident and economic impact
Relief residents can feel. Guaranteed outcomes the state can rely on.
The first phase is designed to connect borrowers with lower payments and forgiveness pathways, prevent avoidable default, and document the savings unlocked.
in minimum projected lifetime savings for participating residents, measured under a contractual methodology.
- Residents reached and enrolled
- Applications completed and approved
- Changes in monthly payments
- Projected lifetime savings and forgiveness
- Default resolution and prevention outcomes
Projected lifetime savings are not cash paid to the state or residents in Phase 1. Eligibility and approvals depend on applicable programs. The proposal describes the guarantee and its calculation in more detail below.
04 / Why Summer
Built in Connecticut by borrowers and former public servants
Summer, PBC was founded in Connecticut in partnership with Yale University in 2017 by student loan experts from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Department of Education. Several members of Summer's leadership team are from Connecticut and benefited from being educated at Connecticut's world-class institutions of higher education.
Summer cumulative platform results as of September 2026
A working model for scale and measurable relief
Summer began serving New York City employees in 2025 and expanded access to residents later that year. The partnership combined a digital path through repayment and forgiveness programs with expert support, agency outreach, and regular reporting.
in total projected lifetime savings and forgiveness for New Yorkers across the employee and resident programs since launch in 2025.
Summer-reported combined result · September 2026Access is only the beginning.
- Give residents one clear entry point and show relevant options.
- Pair self-service tools with experts who help complete applications.
- Use agency and community outreach, then report actions and projected outcomes with agreed definitions.
05 / Implementation path
An eight-month first phase with clear checkpoints
Proposed service period: November 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The state and Summer would finalize scope, outreach channels, and reporting before launch.
Agree and prepare
Finalize eligibility, referral routes, privacy and reporting arrangements, outreach materials, and baseline measures.
Open access statewide
Reach residents through state and community channels; guide each borrower through relevant options and applications.
Report results
Track engagement, completed actions, payment changes, and projected lifetime savings; use evidence to decide on a next phase.
Eight-month program from November 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
Nonprofit foundation funds included in the total. Implementation must begin in 2026 to access funds.
Net Phase 1 cost to the state after applying the foundation match.
Cooperative contract 031623-SMR, which includes a 24% discount to Summer’s standard rate. Connecticut’s procurement office is familiar with Sourcewell and has leveraged Sourcewell for prior vendor contracts with the state.
View the Summer × Sourcewell overview (PDF)Read the working implementation plan
- Confirm launch date and state funding. Launch before 2027 to access nonprofit foundation partial matching funds, ahead of potential wage garnishments and tax refund seizures this winter1.
- Procurement. State procurement and counsel to assess Sourcewell contract 031623-SMR to ensure expedited timeline to launch.
- Contracting. Sign contract with detailed statement of work and agreed-upon implementation plan.
- Coordinated launch prep to maximize reach. Parallel process the press release (see sample release below), activate state and local partner communications, and launch an accessible resident entry point online (webpage mockup available by request).
- Impact Data Review. Report reach, applications, payment reductions, default actions, and projected lifetime savings.
Read the mock Connecticut press release
MOCK RELEASE · INTERNAL USE ONLY · NOT ISSUED
This is a proposed announcement supplied by Summer for discussion. The attributed remarks, program launch, claims, dates, and resident URL require state approval and verification before distribution. This draft describes a broader debt-and-college program than the eight-month Phase 1 proposal; the scope and figures need to be reconciled.
Governor Lamont Announces Program to Help Connecticut Families Keep Up to $1.3 Billion in Their Pockets by Reducing Monthly Student Loan Payments and Finding Ways to Save on College
91,000 Connecticut borrowers are currently in default and face wage garnishment and tax refund seizure; program aims to cut monthly debt payments for up to 515,400 residents.
[Date] · HARTFORD, CT — Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Student Loan Ombudsperson Michelle Jarvis-Littman today announced a new initiative with Summer, a Certified B Corporation that helps people navigate student loan repayment and save for college, giving every Connecticut resident free access to student loan experts and college planning tools. The program covers both residents paying off student loans and families preparing to pay for college, an estimated 515,400 residents with debt and 568,800 college-bound children. Connecticut residents can create a free account at meetsummer.com/connecticut.
Connecticut’s student loan borrowers are navigating a federal system that has changed repeatedly over the past two years, and it’s not slowing down. Many in Connecticut are paying more each month than the rules require. At the sharpest end, 91,000 residents have fallen significantly behind on their payments and are in default. Research shows almost no one defaults on a student loan to get out of paying it. Most people who fall behind are working parents, retirees and everyday workers trying to make ends meet for rent, groceries or a medical bill, and the system punishes them for it instead of helping them catch up. That’s not a borrower shirking responsibility. It’s a policy failure when someone doesn’t know how to navigate options that can help them afford their monthly payments.
Defaulting has serious consequences. Starting this winter, the federal government will garnish wages and seize tax refunds to collect. Whether a resident is trying to get out of default or simply lower a monthly payment, the programs that could help require them to navigate existing federal benefits and paperwork on their own.
“Connecticut is putting a student loan expert in the corner of every resident who wants one, and the state is picking up the cost. People here borrowed money to train for jobs this state needs filled, and the federal rules have changed on them more than once since. Most of them qualify for something better than what they are on right now and have no way of knowing it. That is what we are fixing, for people paying off loans today and for parents looking at college bills coming.”
Proposed quote attributed to Governor Lamont — not approved
Summer is a digital platform backed by real student loan experts, many of whom came from the U.S. Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Through the proposed partnership, residents carrying student loans could get help with:
- Applying for income-driven repayment plans, which set federal loan payments according to income and family size and can substantially lower what a borrower pays each month;
- Applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), if they work for an eligible employer;
- Getting out of default and stopping wage garnishment and tax refund seizures; and
- Identifying state benefits, like the Connecticut Student Loan Reimbursement Program, which reimburses eligible residents up to $5,000 per year and up to $20,000 over four years for payments already made.
Families preparing for college could use the same platform to:
- Estimate what a particular college will actually cost after financial aid, and how much they would need to set aside each month;
- Compare 529 college savings plans, including the Connecticut Higher Education Trust, which offers a Connecticut income tax deduction on contributions of up to $5,000 for single filers and $10,000 for joint filers, alongside plans offered by other states; and
- Understand how borrowing decisions made now affect what a student owes after graduation.
Residents who enroll in a new repayment plan through the program lower their student loan payments by an average of $3,000 per year. Families using the college planning tools save an average of $10,000 per child on total education costs.
“There are thousands of dollars on the table for people who qualify for these programs, and most of it goes unclaimed because the system is too complicated to get through. Connecticut is helping residents at both ends of that, before they borrow and after. Student debt is one of the biggest financial pressures people carry right now, and Connecticut is taking it on to make life here more affordable.”
Proposed quote attributed to Will Sealy, founder and CEO of Summer
The program builds on existing state efforts. Connecticut created the Student Loan Reimbursement Program in 2024, and since its first grant round opened in January 2025 the program has awarded more than $2.2 million in reimbursements to borrowers statewide.
Connecticut residents can get started at meetsummer.com/connecticut.
About Summer
Summer is the nationwide leader in student loan and college savings support. Its platform helps borrowers identify the best path to payoff, saving the average Summer member $45K. That’s money in members’ pockets, economic growth in their communities, and real financial impact on their teams. Summer has helped members free up billions to put toward other goals like homeownership, because student debt shouldn’t stand in the way of a good life. Summer partners with brokers, consultants, and channel partners nationwide. Learn more at meetsummer.com.
A working conversation
Let's get Connecticut on the path to becoming debt free
Summer can walk through the borrower need, the service model, the proposed guarantee, foundation support, and a workable launch sequence with the governor’s team.
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Sources and points to confirm
Source materials
Centiment Survey, Student Loan Impact on Connecticut Borrowers, July 2026. The survey included 519 current student loan borrowers. CT Short-Term Phase 1 Program Proposal, September 2026 draft. Mock Release — Connecticut, supplied draft for internal review. Connecticut Economic Update, Office of the State Comptroller, April 1, 2026. Federal Student Aid quarterly reports through June 30, 2026. “Student loan borrowers exiting SAVE may face sharply higher payments,” CNBC, September 19, 2026.
Method and decisions
The proposed $20M guarantee is for projected lifetime savings attributed to residents served in Phase 1, primarily from lower IDR payments and potential PSLF forgiveness. It is calculated against prior payment plans and outstanding balance at forgiveness, subject to federal program rules and approvals.