If you are a public service employee, you may qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)!
The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer.
To qualify for PSLF, you must:
- be employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization (federal service includes U.S. military service)
- work full-time for that agency or organization
- have Direct Loans
- repay your loans under a repayment plan, and
- make 120 qualifying payments.
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to the PSLF program rules for a limited time, as a result of the COVID-19 national emergency.
The changes to the program include:
- For a limited time, you may receive credit for past periods of repayment on loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.
- If you have Federal Family Education (FFEL) Program loans, Perkins, or other federal student loans, you’ll need to consolidate your loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify for PSLF, both in general and under the waiver.
- Past periods of repayment will now count whether or not you made a payment, made that payment on time, for the full amount due, or on a qualifying repayment plan.
In order to qualify for these changes, you MUST sign the waiver by October 31, 2022!