Loan Forgiveness Program For Government Employees

Final Thoughts On Managing Your Student Loans

If youre struggling to repay your student loans and work for a government agency, student loan forgiveness for federal employees might sound too good to be true. However, this repayment program is real, so ask your employer today if youre eligible to receive the funds for your loans. Speaking up could save you money.

Want more ideas for student loan forgiveness? Check out this complete list to find even more options.

Rebecca Safier and Anne Bouleanu contributed to this report.

Sign up for weekly digest to receive the latest rate updates and refinance news!

Thank you! Keep an

Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The federal government created the TEPSLF to provide relief for borrowers who were making their payments on Direct Loans, but were doing so under the wrong repayment plan. If you are part of those who made proper payments under the wrong repayment plan, then you may be in luck.

In March 2018, as part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, Congress set aside $350 million for students like you who made payments under the wrong repayment plan. If you havent applied already, you need to apply for the TEPSLF immediately because the loan forgiveness is on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the $350 million runs out, youll not get the chance again.

To apply, youll have to email [email protected] with your name, date of birth, and a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Application request. The request has to state that the Education Department has to reconsider your application because you made the payments under the wrong repayment plan.

A Perform Volunteer Work

These volunteer groups offer loan forgiveness:

• AmeriCorps. Serve for 12 months and get up to $7,400 in stipends plus $4,725 to be used towards your loan.
• Peace Corps. Volunteers may apply for deferment of Stafford, Perkins and Consolidation loans and partial repeal of Perkins Loans . Volunteers help real people with two years of service in more than 70 developing countries.
• Volunteers in Service to America . Volunteer with private, non-profit groups that help wipe out hunger, homelessness, poverty and illiteracy. Provide 1700 hours of service and receive $4,725.

Read Also: What Is The Return On Government Bonds

How Do I Get Loans Forgiven

Getting student loans forgiven has two basic parts: consolidating all your loans into one debt, then applying for forgiveness by filing a special application: Federal Student Aids Public Service Loan Forgiveness & Temporary Expanded PSLF Certification & Application. Remember, if you wish to apply or reapply under the temporarily looser restrictions, you must request loan consolidation and submit the application by Oct. 31, 2022.

How Does The Student Loan Payment Pause Affect My Pslf Eligibility

Federal student loan payments have been on pause for over two years, and were just extended to resume after . Under the PSLF, each of those paused payments counts as a qualifying loan payment during this time. So, if your payments were paused for 26 months, that counts as 26 on-time payments, bringing you closer to your goal of 120.

Also Check: How To Apply For A Free Government Cell Phone

Remaining Loan Balances Will Be Re

The Education Department confirmed that borrowers who have a remaining balance following the student loan forgiveness award and are repaying their loans under a Standard, Extended, or Graduated repayment plan will have their balances re-amortized. That means that the department will recalculate your monthly payment based on your new balance, potentially reducing your monthly payment. Your loan servicer will communicate your new payment amount to you.

Education Department officials told borrower advocates during a call last month that many borrowers may see resulting reductions in their monthly payments by potentially hundreds of dollars per month as a result of the re-amortization.

What Loans Are Eligible For The Government Employee Student Loan Forgiveness

The loan forgiveness program can forgive loans under the Direct Loan Program. Private loans are excluded. Also, other Education Department Loans such as Perkins, FFEL, etc. are not qualified.

If youre able to consolidate your non-Direct Loan Program into a Direct Consolidation Loan, the consolidated loan that resulted will be eligible for the government employee student loan forgiveness. But you have to remember that the forgiveness resulted is contingent on making the 120 payments.

You can find out the types of loans you have by finding out from the National Student Loan Data System. Visit the studentloans.gov to know more about the consolidation of your loans.

Read Also: Government And Nonprofit Accounting Textbook

Make Your Loans Eligible Through Consolidation

In almost all cases, if you consolidate your loans, only the qualifying payment you make on the new Direct Consolidation Loan can be counted toward the 120 payments required for PSLF.

However, if you consolidate those loans in a Direct Loan before Oct. 31, 2022, you may be eligible for qualifying credit payments made on those loans through the limited PSLF waiver.

To get help with a direct consolidation loan, student loan consolidation and refinancing, call today.

Do Student Loan Forgiveness Programs Call You

Student loan forgiveness programs typically donât call. If youâre receiving phone calls promising you loan forgiveness, chances are that itâs a scam. During the pandemic, financial scams have been on the rise. People are financially vulnerable and looking for debt relief wherever they can find it. Before you respond to a call, email, or letter with your personal information, confirm who the communication is coming from. If itâs not the Department of Education or your student loan servicer, you donât have to respond.

Recommended Reading: Government Jobs Fort Worth Tx

Are There Any Other Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

For those interested in student loan forgiveness, you may want to review the other programs available.

• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: Check the American Federation of Teachersâ website to get a list of loan forgiveness and other financial assistance opportunities. Generally, you need to be a full-time teacher who has worked five complete and consecutive years in certain low-income schools. You may also receive extra credits with this limited-time waiver available until the end of October.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness : You can qualify for a PSLF loan if youâre a full-time employee of a federal, state, local or tribal government or a non-profit organization that has Direct Loans, repay using a certain income-driven repayment plan and youâve made 120 qualifying payments.
• Income-Driven Repayment Plans: The Department of Education is creating new rules involving income-driven repayment plans, which allow borrowers to set loan payments based on what they can afford . After a certain time or number of payments, loans may be forgiven .
• Military Service: There are forgiveness opportunities for active military members and veterans. Military.com lists the different financial aid opportunities and assistance available.
• Volunteer Work: Volunteer organizations such as AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps may have forgiveness offerings.

State Employees Must Have Eligible Loans

State employees must have student loans that are eligible for PSLF.

Eligible student loans include:

Direct Loans are student loans made by the U.S. Department of Education. They are available to students who attend qualifying schools and meet other eligibility requirements. Direct Loans can be used to pay for college expenses, such as tuition and room and board.

There are two types of Direct Loans:

Subsidized Loans: These loans are offered to students who demonstrate financial need. The government pays the interest on the loan while the student is in school and during the six-month grace period after the student graduates or leaves school.

Unsubsidized Loans: Students who do not demonstrate financial need are offered these loans. The student is responsible for paying the interest on the loan, even while they are in

Stafford Loans are student loans made by private lenders, such as banks or credit unions. They are available to students who attend qualifying schools and meet other eligibility requirements. Stafford Loans can be used to pay for college expenses, such as tuition and room and board.

PLUS loans are student loans offered by the U.S. Department of Education to parents of dependent undergraduate students and graduate or professional students.

Parents can borrow up to the total cost of their childs education minus any other financial aid their child receives. PLUS loans have a fixed interest rate of 7.9% for the 2018-2019 school year.

Recommended Reading: Government Jobs In Dc No Experience

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Could Cancel All Of Your Student Loan Debt

Even if you’re receiving some loan forgiveness, public servants can apply for full loan cancellation through this loan program.

Alix Langone

Reporter

Alix is a staff writer for CNET Money where she focuses on real estate, housing and the mortgage industry. She previously reported on retirement and investing for Money.com and was a staff writer at Time magazine. She has written for various publications, such as Fortune, InStyle and Travel + Leisure, and she also worked in social media and digital production at NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and NY1. She graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and Villanova University. When not checking Twitter, Alix likes to hike, play tennis and watch her neighbors’ dogs. Now based out of Los Angeles, Alix doesn’t miss the New York City subway one bit.

This week, President Joe Biden announced widespread federal student loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 per borrower for those who made under $125,000 in 2020 or 2021 . While additional changes were proposed for future student loan payment plans, Biden did not extend the deadline to apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness expanded benefits waiver, which is set to expire on Oct. 31.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Employees of Kent State University may qualify for participation in the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Under this program, full-time employees can apply for forgiveness from certain types of student loans possibly reducing or eliminating your debt. For additional information and forms, access the loan forgiveness website at .

Please contact your loan servicer to determine your eligibility under this program. Once you have your paperwork completed, please forward the documents for employment verification to HR Records OR Academic Personnel . Both offices are located in Heer Hall.

uConfirm provides secure employment information for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program on behalf of Kent State University.

The process is as follows:

The U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday announced sweeping changes to a student loan forgiveness program, an overhaul officials said could mean financial relief for more than half a million borrowers working for government entities or nonprofits.

Welcome News for Borrowers

Kate Elizabeth Queram is a senior reporter for Route Fifty and is based in Washington, D.C.

Don’t Miss: How To Get Free Government Money To Start A Business

Who’s Gotten Pslf So Far

Public Service Loan Forgiveness began in 2007, meaning the first batch of borrowers became eligible for relief in 2017. A total of $10 billion has been erased for 175,000 borrowers so far.

The approval rate is low, but improving. Among all 1,299,286 combined applications for PSLF and TEPSLF submitted from November 9, 2020 onward, only 130,728 have been deemed eligible for forgiveness, according to April 2022 data from the Department of Education. That means only 10.1% of all applications have been approved. However, this is still an improvement: From November 2020 through October 2021, only 2.4% of combined applications had been approved.

Borrowers get nearly six figure debt erased, on average. The average balance of borrowers whose loans were discharged under PSLF was $67,592.

IDR forgiveness fixes are here. Millions of borrowers are will benefit from one-time fixes that count past payments toward the 240 or 300 needed to qualify for income driven repayment forgiveness, the Department of Education announced on April 19. The fixes are also expected to cancel debt for at least 40,000 borrowers through Public Service Loan Forgiveness. So far more than 128,000 borrowers have had their debt discharged by the waiver and collectively had $8 billion in debt erased.

What Loans Qualify For Government Employee Forgiveness

ONLY Federal Direct Loans qualify for the PSLF, so youll have to have one of the following types of loans to pursue Government Employee forgiveness benefits under the Public Service program.

Qualifying Loans

• Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans
• Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans
• Direct Consolidation Loans

Any other types of loans, including Private Student Loans and Federal Loans made under the old Federal Family Education Loan Program will not count for PSLF, so you wont be able to get rid of those for Government work.

HOWEVER, If you can turn your other loans into a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, then that new Direct Consolidation Loan WILL BE eligible for PSLF, and your Government Work WILL qualify you for having it discharged.

Also Check: Right To Petition The Government

Am I Eligible For Biden’s Loan Forgiveness And Pslf Forgiveness

Anyone with qualifying federal student loans from the Department of Education who earned less than $125,000 in 2020 or 2021 is eligible for up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness. If you received a Pell Grant, you’re eligible for up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness. This includes anyone eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Since PSLF borrowers are on income-driven repayment plans, Biden’s loan forgiveness should be applied automatically, according to Federal Student Aid. This is separate from applying for the expanded PSLF waiver, which offers full loan forgiveness for more public service borrowers.

The Potential Impact Of Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness In The Fifth District

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program offers government and nonprofit workers relief from outstanding federal loans after 10 years of employment. In October 2021, the Department of Education temporarily waived certain requirements, making many public service workers retroactively eligible for loan relief. This waiver expires on Oct. 31, 2022, creating a risk that many eligible beneficiaries will not access benefits. The program may be especially important in the Fifth District, which has a higher share of public service workers than the U.S. as a whole.

Student loans are the second largest source of consumer debt in the U.S., with more than 43 million individuals holding over a total of $1.6 trillion in student debt. In the Fifth Federal Reserve District, there are about 4.3 million borrowers with balances totaling more than $169 billion.1

For student loan borrowers working for governments and nonprofit organizations, the Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program offers relief from outstanding federal loans after 10 years of employment. This program may be especially important in the Fifth District, where the proportion of workers employed in these sectors is greater than in the U.S. overall.

Read Also: Rent To Own Government Program

What Are The Eligibility Requirements For Federal Employee Student Loan Forgiveness

Unlike some forgiveness programs, the rules do not require you to have completed your degree to qualify. However, some agencies do ask for a degree to be eligible for the program, so ask your employer if you qualify based on its unique requirements.

Any federal employee is eligible unless your role is confidential or involves policy-making duties. You must be in good standing with your employer and show acceptable performance at all times.

Schedule C employees, such as lobbyists, do not qualify. Members of Congress are also not eligible, but their staff members could qualify.

Also, the money you receive from your employer is included in your gross income and is subject to employment taxes. For example, you could receive a $10,000 benefit, but if you owe $3,000 in taxes, the agency will only make a $7,000 payment to your servicer.

How To Fill Out And Submit The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Form

You can fill out the public service loan forgiveness form in one of two ways:

• You can use the PSLF Help Tool to assist you in starting the PSLF form. Once you enter your information, youll be able to print the partially completed form for you and your employer to sign.

• Or, you can and complete all sections on your own before submitting it.

Once filled out, submit to BHR:

• Email to the BHR employee verification inbox at

Note: PSLF forms must be physically signed by authorized personnel. Due to this federal requirement, requests will be processed within 7-10 business days of submission.

Don’t Miss: Modernizing Government Technology Act Of 2017

Loan Forgiveness For Military

Each branch of the military has programs that help qualified members pay off their student loans, but the loan amounts forgiven and the requirements that must be met vary dramatically.

Visit the Complete Guide to Military Student Loan Forgiveness and Repayment and find the program that best suits your situation and branch of the military.

Donât Miss: Qlink Wireless Upload Proof

Student Loan Forgiveness For Federal Employees

Student loan debt is undoubtedly a crisis in the UnitedStates, with an estimated $1.52 trillion in debt outstanding among 45 millionstudent loan borrowers.

Unfortunately, high student loan balances can make it more challenging for graduates to go into public service including working for the federal or state government because many new grads need a private sector salary to repay all theyve borrowed.

However, in certain cases, federal employees may qualify for student loan forgiveness. This article breaks down how the public student loan forgiveness program works for federal employees.

• Summary- Federal Employees now have more options than ever for student loan forgiveness

Note: As always, this is a personal blog and does not represent an official position of the federal government. Please do not mistake my blog for financial advice on whether you qualify for the PSLF program.

Also Check: An Fha Loan Is Insured By The Federal Government