Limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness Waiver Opportunity
On Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced a change to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program rules as a result of the COVID-19 national emergency. Throughout the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education has provided a variety of benefits to borrowers.
Now, for a limited period of time, borrowers may receive credit for past payments made on loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.
Please visit the Federal Student Aid website for a complete listing of new rules around qualifying payments, waiver requirements, the employment verification process, and more.
You Have At Least One Federal Student Loan That Is Not A Direct Loan Such As A Ffel Loan
You will need to submit a consolidation application and a PSLF form by October 31, 2022 to ensure that payments made on loans that are not Direct Loans can be counted toward PSLF. Right now, we encourage you to consolidate before using the PSLF Help Tool to certify employment. If you want to check your employers eligibility for PSLF before you consolidate, you can do so by logging into the PSLF Help Tool, which is available at StudentAid.gov/PSLF. If you have a mix of FFEL and Direct Loans, please refer to the sections above to understand how your Direct Loans will be affected.
We are working to update the PSLF Help Tool, but it will not be configured for borrowers with non-Direct Loans to submit a PSLF form until later this year. We will provide more information when this update is done.
To find out more about loan consolidation visit StudentAid.gov/Manage-Loans/Consolidation.
Can Student Loan Interest Be Forgiven
Yes, student loan interest can be forgivenif the loan itself is forgiven. Then it typically is, along with the loan principal and any fees.
Generally, though, you cant get loan interest forgiven by itself. If you get a forbearance on your loan, you wont have to pay it, though it usually still accrues. It suspended interest accrual on the loans, along with the repayments themselves.) If you want to pay less in student loan interest, your main option is to refinance the debt. Otherwise, some lenders will knock a bit off your loans current rate if you make automatic payments each month, in whats known as an Automated Clearing House discount.
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Should I Apply For Government Employee Forgiveness
Even though approvals arent being distributed like they should be, I still think its worth pursuing and applying for PSLF Forgiveness as soon as youve satisfied the eligibility requirements of the program.
Why? Because eventually the promise that the Federal Government made to Public Service workers will be fulfilled eventually a Democratic President will be elected, and eventually someone sane will be put back in charge of the Department of Education.
Even if you dont qualify for PSLF, my advice is to change jobs and find a role that WILL allow you to qualify for the benefit, because this is the single most powerful Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Program that exists.
In fact, its even possible to get total PSLF forgiveness without ever paying a single cent on your loans, because you COULD qualify for a $0 monthly payment under one of the IDR Repayment Plans, and even those $0 payments still count towards the 120 payment threshold.
Government Employee Student Loan Forgiveness
Daniel Morgan
public servant loan forgiveness, local firefighter for student loan forgiveness for public service
Government employee student loan forgiveness is exactly that in meaning, student loan forgiveness for individuals that work for the US Government in any division, branch or level. For instance, for many this form of student loan forgiveness is known as student loan forgiveness for public service.
Public Loan forgiveness for government employees is one of the best PSLF forgiveness programs available. This is mainly because it does not matter what your title is.
The fact that you are a public servant working for the Government is the primary factor in your eligibility for a public service loan forgiveness program.
Student loan forgiveness for public service was a primary factor to address and modify for the Obama administration. Commonly referred to as the Obama Student Loan Forgiveness Program or Obama Loan forgiveness focused on providing better student loan forgiveness options for public servants.
Now that president trump is in office, government employee student loan forgiveness along with student loan forgiveness for public service may very well be under attack.
And, with the presidents new plans to reform the public loan forgiveness program, we could see these programs diluted in effectiveness and benefits to those that qualify.
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Not Sure How To Proceed
Many options are accessible to borrowers, specifically to federal loan debtors. This guide aims to draw the full picture of Government Employee Loan Forgiveness. Besides, we presented some alternative solutions to this program.Most borrowers lack financial knowledge and debt management skills. Hence, understandably, you can find the information presented challenging to interpret. If you feel lost among options and do not know which will fit you the best, you can contact Student Loans Resolved experts. In SLR, we gathered experienced debt specialists to help hundreds and thousands of borrowers deal with their debt payments. We can analyze your finances, help with the selection of the right program and lead you throughout the application process. Maximize your chance to eliminate the student debt with SLR experts.
Repayment Plans With Loan Forgiveness
If you arent working in a public service position, you may still be able to get a portion of your student debt forgivenbut it will take longer. Federal income-driven repayment plans , designed to help graduates who would have trouble making payments within the standard 10-year time frame, also allow for some debt forgiveness after a certain period.
These plans include:
- Income-Based Repayment . Maximum monthly payments will be 10% to 15% of discretionary income. Forgiveness eligibility comes after 20 or 25 years of qualifying payments.
- Income-Contingent Repayment . Payments are recalculated each year based on gross income, family size, and outstanding federal loan balance generally, theyre 20% of discretionary income. Forgiveness eligibility is after 25 years of qualifying payments.
- Pay As You Earn and Revised Pay As You Earn . Maximum monthly payments will be 10% of discretionary income. Forgiveness eligibility is after 20 years of qualifying payments. The government may even pay part of the interest on the loan.
In addition, if you work for a federal agency, your employer may repay up to $10,000 of your loans per year, with a maximum of $60,000, through the federal student loan repayment program.
Your student loan servicer handles the repayment of your federal student loans, so work with the servicer to enroll in a repayment plan or change your current plan. You can usually do this online at the servicers website.
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What Jobs Qualify For Government Employee Forgiveness
You have to be working for the Government Full-Time, which means at least 30 hours per week, in a Public Service role, but the great thing about this program is that the definition of Government Work is quite loose, so tons of different jobs are going to qualify you for PSLF benefits.
Qualifying Jobs
- ANY job at ANY level of the Government, including Federal, State and Local Government jobs, including:
- Jobs in Emergency Management, Public Safety and Law Enforcement, or the Military
- Jobs in Public Health Services, Public Service for People with Disabilities and the Elderly
- Jobs in Public Education, Public Libraries or other School-Based Services
- Jobs in ANYTHING ELSE where you can prove that youre technically a Government Employee
The easiest way to qualify is obviously to have a job directly with the Government, like working for the DMV, or as a member of Congress, or in the Local Government Capital Building, but there are SO many jobs that qualify you as a Government Employee, from things like Military Personnel to Police Offiers to Fire Fighters to Park Rangers, that the options are nearly limitless.
My suggestion to find out if your job qualifies is to contact whoever is in charge of HR, and simply ask them Does my job count for Public Service Loan Forgiveness? Its their job to understand these benefits and inform you whether or not you can utilize them, so put the onus on them!
For details on how to do this, visit my Guide to Certifying Employment for PSLF.
Loan Forgiveness For Lawyers
There are about a million jokes about lawyers being bloodsuckers on society, but the federal loan program begs to differ. There is a financial incentive for lawyers to practice in public service or government offices in order to have some portion of their law school loan forgiven.
For example, the Department of Justice provides up to $60,000 in loan forgiveness for lawyers who work there for at least three years. The Air Force Judge Advocate program offers up to $65,000 in loan forgiveness.
The best place to start looking might be your own law school, since several colleges forgive some or all of the student loans for students who make less than $60,000 a year.
That amount varies, so check with your school to get actual requirements and amount forgiven. If you cant qualify for a forgiveness program, look into refinancing your law school debt.
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How To Apply For Public Service Loan Forgiveness
To apply for PSLF, you must fill out an Employment Certification Form every year and make pay stubs, W-2 forms or other documentation available as requested.
If you have met the repayment requirements, submit a PSLF application to the Department of Education. If its approved, the remaining balance of your loan will be forgiven.
But be aware, the whole PSLF program is in limbo until President Biden or Congress submit a plan for changing the program. Its possible that monthly payments would also be slashed. People earning less than $25,000 a year and couples earning less than $50,000 would pay nothing toward their loans until their incomes rose above those levels.
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:
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The Us Department Of Education Announced A Host Of Changes Wednesday To The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Which Guarantees Debt Forgiveness To Qualifying Public Sector Employees
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.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, established in 2007, promised to forgive student loans for qualifying public sector workers who made their federal student loan payments on time for 10 consecutive years.
But the program was plagued with problems from its inception, drawing criticism from advocates who said the system was difficult to navigate and often left qualified borrowers ineligible for debt forgiveness after a decade of regular payments. More than 98% of people who applied for loan forgiveness under the program were rejected, according to federal data, including thousands of teachers. Many of them were turned away for small mistakes, like checking the wrong box on an application or failing to date a signature.
Borrowers who devote a decade of their lives to public service should be able to rely on the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement Wednesday. The system has not delivered on that promise to date, but that is about to change for many borrowers who have served their communities and their country.
Welcome News for Borrowers
Kate Elizabeth Queram is a senior reporter for Route Fifty and is based in Washington, D.C.
National Health Service Corps
The National Health Service Corps is a competitive program that recruits fully trained and licensed health professionals to provide primary health services in selected high-need communities. Professionals selected for this program may receive funds to be applied to the principal, interest, and related expenses of government loans and certain commercial loans.
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Federal Student Loan Repayment Options
While you might have selected or been assigned a repayment plan when you first began repaying your student loan, you can change repayment plans, for free, at any time. Contact your loan servicer if you would like to discuss repayment options or change your federal loan repayment plan.
Learn more about how to repay your loans from the U.S. Department of Education.
For more information about local, state and federal loan forgiveness and repayment programs please reach out to the student loan ombudsperson in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
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.
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You Have Direct Loans And Youve Already Had Some Pslf Employment Certified
If youve already applied for PSLF and had at least some employment certified, the Department will award any additional payments we can without further action from you. If necessary, Federal Student Aid may contact you to ask you to certify additional months of employment. You should look out for an email from Federal Student Aid in the coming weeks to let you know how many additional payments we have preliminarily determined to be qualifying. You dont need to do anything until you receive an updated payment count or other communication from us.
If you know that you have qualifying employment that you have not yet certified with us, we recommend you certify that employment now by using the PSLF Help Tool at www.StudentAid.gov/pslf.
You Cannot Get Forgiveness In Less Than 10 Years
One of the downsides of the Government Employee Loan Forgiveness program is that it is only accessible for a minimum of 10 years. Borrowers eliminate their remaining debt after making 120 monthly payments which take at least ten years. Such a long term is the reason why Joe Biden proposed changing the program so that borrowers can get $10,000 forgiveness for every service year.
Some people wonder if they can qualify sooner by making higher payments. However, it is a wrong idea because such a process does not exist. You can make the higher payment, e.g., 3-month worth payment. In this case, the payment will bring three credits, and you will not be required to repay the debt for the 3-month period. You need to wait for the 4th month to get another credit.
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Student Loan Forgiveness Programs
The Department of Personnel and Administration publishes annual, up-to-date information about eligibility requirements for federal loan forgiveness programs designed to incentivize public service and help make the State of Colorado an employer of choice. Recent events have made student loan repayment difficult for many public employees. On this page you can find additional information and strategies for reducing anxiety around your student loan.
Tell Me More About What Jobs Best Qualify
The chance at public student loan forgiveness is ideal for all government workers. Also, This includes all federal, state and local government entities, organizations and agencies.
The main thing is to remain working full time and make the required 120 payments. Because, after of which you will receive government employee student loan forgiveness and/or public servant loan forgiveness.
Here are some of the more common public service occupations for public service loan forgiveness or PSLF forgiveness
- Teachers
- Peace Corp
Also note that you do not have to perform all of your public services all at the same organization. Or even the same position to stay eligible for your forgiveness.
You actually can mix it up, you can do a couple of years as a teacher. Then serve as a guidance counselor and finish up your last couple of years as a policemen. And, still get your loan forgiveness after 10 years.
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How To Clear Student Loans
Federal student loans come with more benefits and are more flexible when compared to private student loans. They can also be forgiven in certain conditions. This is a reason for most of the borrowers to think of paying off private student loans before federal student loans. But those who choose this idea must make sure that they enroll in an income-driven repayment plan.
A Student loan forgiveness sounds like a very good plan but in the long run, it may cost you more. Chasing forgiveness can be expensive because borrowers the low monthly payments can mean significant interest accumulation. Taking 20 years to pay off a loan is more expensive when compared to paying off it in 10 years. And the forgiveness programs charge you with extra taxes for the forgiven loan amount.
For some borrowers, a student loan forgiveness program may become expensive when compared to just paying off the loan in full. Whereas it may be the best choice. For the borrowers who are stuck in the middle of these scenarios, an income-driven repayment plan will be a better way to sort out the problem.
