Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)is a government program to incentivize people with federal student loans to work full-time in public service.

Librarian

What kinds of jobs qualify for PSLF?

Qualifying Employment

• Any employment with a federal, state or local government entity or organization

• Not-for-profit organizations designated as tax-exempt by the IRS.

• Private not-for-profit employers that are not tax-exempt if it provides certain public services.– Emergency management– Military service– Public safety– Public education or public library services– School library and other school-based services– Public interest law services– Early childhood education– Public service for individuals with disabilities and the

elderly.

Qualifying Employment

Marine Biologist

The CFPB estimates that 1 in 4 workers in the U.S. can qualify for forgiveness.

Park Ranger

How do I qualify for forgiveness?

• You have to make 120 on-time, full, scheduled, monthly payments on your direct loans after October 1, 2007.

• You have to make your payments under a qualifying repayment plan.

• When you make your payments, you must be working full-time at a qualifying public service organization.

How Do I Qualify?

• On-time payments are received by your loan servicer within 15 days after your scheduled due date.

• Full payments are payments that equal or exceed your required payment.

• Scheduled payments are made under a qualifying repayment plan after you have been billed.

• Monthly payments are regularly scheduled payments, lump sum payments or advance payments do not qualify.

What is an On-time, Full, Scheduled, Monthly

Payment?

Lighthouse Keeper

What is a qualifying repayment plan?

• 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan (or any other plan where the amount you pay is equal to or exceeds your payment under the 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan).

• Income-Based Repayment (IBR)• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)• Pay As You Earn Repayment

Qualifying Repayment Plans

Qualifying Repayment Plans

To maximize forgiveness choose the IBR, ICR or Pay As You Earn plan. Your payment will likely be lower than the 10-year plans and your repayment term will be longer.

Because of the longer repayment term, the interest that accrues on your account, and the smaller payment you will have a higher balance after you make 120 monthly payments. And the entire balance will be forgiven.

Cartographer

What loans are eligible for PSLF?

Eligible loans.

• Only Federal Direct Loans are eligible for PSLF.• You can consolidate FFELP or Perkins loans into Direct

Consolidation Loans.– Only payments made on the Direct Consolidation

Loan will count as PSLF payments.

Astronaut

Working full-time

Full-Time Work

• You must be a full-time employee at a qualifying organization to qualify.

• For an astronaut to qualify, he has to be working full-time for NASA at the time he makes his payments.

Coast Guard

How do I keep track of my eligibility?

Keeping Track of Your Eligibility

• 10 years (120 months) is a long time to keep track of anything. The Department of Education has created a process to help you keep track.

1. Complete the Employment Certification Form each year or when you change jobs.

2. Submit the form to FedLoan Servicing (the PSLF servicer).3. FedLoan Servicing will review the form and determine if your employment

qualifies for PSLF.– If you don’t qualify or if they can’t determine if you qualify, FedLoan

Servicing will notify you and ask for additional information.– If you qualify FedLoan Servicing will notify you of how many qualifying

payments you’ve made during the certification period, the total number of qualifying payments you’ve made and the number of payments you have to make to qualify for PSLF.

Archaeologist

What do I do after I’m eligible for PSLF?

When You’re Eligible for PSLF

• You have to submit the PSLF application (still under development).

• The first forgiveness will happen in October of 2017 (10 years after the program was made available).

Colonial “Reenactor”

Other Jobs that May Qualify

• In addition to the images you’ve seen, other careers that may qualify for PSLF include:– Nurse;– Physician;– Teacher;– Special Education Teacher;– Elderly Care;– Preschool Teacher;– Child Care;– And many, many more.