What is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
PSLF, is a program established under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, allows federal student loan borrowers who make 120 qualifying monthly payments while working at a qualifying employer (typically a not-for-profit organization) to have the remainder of their outstanding federal student loan balance forgiven (U.S. Dept. Of Education).
In other words, the program forgives or discharges the federal student loans of public servants after they’ve made 10 years of qualifying payments. Qualifying payments are typically made via an income-driven repayment plan. A repayment option that federal borrowers need to opt-in for.
You may be eligible for the program if you have federal student loans and work for a 501(c)(3) organization, a charitable foundation, any local, state, federal, or tribal government organization or another qualifying organization. This covers a large swath of people, making this highly visible program important to many people.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program forgives the remaining balance on your federal Direct Loans after you make 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying public service employer.
This program helps you manage your student loan debt while pursuing a career in public service. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is available to many employees working in public service, including all levels of government states, municipalities, school districts, public hospitals, non-profit organizations, and more.
Here’s what to do if you want to learn more:
Step 1: Understand your choices
If you have federal student loans and can show that you are experiencing economic hardship, you can cap your monthly payment at a percentage of your discretionary income through an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. IDR plans can keep your monthly payments low while you make the 120 qualifying payments needed to get PSLF.
Only federal Direct Loans are eligible for PSLF. However, if you have other federal loans originated under the Federal Family Educational Loan (FFEL) program or the Perkins loan program, you may be able to consolidate those loans into a new Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify.
If you have a Perkins loan, consolidating federal loans may cause you to give up other benefits. Borrowers with Perkins loans should talk to their servicer about the risks associated with consolidation.
What qualifies your as PSLF?
Once your Employed by the city, the state or a non profit organization and your working over 30-40 hours Hours a week you will be qualified for PSLF ( Public Service Loan Forgiveness). Once you are qualified for the PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS (PSLF) you will have a loan term plan of 10 years which still equivalent to 120 consecutive payments on your federal student loan, which is pretty much shorter than the original loan term plan u had received, this is only if you work for the Government. In the event your are employed at a private company the term of the loan will be 240 to 300 Months which is 20 to 25 years, once your loans are under IDR program and you work for the city,the state or non profit organization, you will receive the great benefits that program has to offer.
Below are the Entities that Qualifies you as a PSLF Worker:
- The us army
- Teacher
- Fire fighter
- Preacher
- Police officer
- Us Navy
- Doctor
- Hospital
- Nurse
- Librarian
- Day care for kids with proper certification
If you are unsure of the background of the institution your currently working, check with your human resource department to find out if your job is non profit organization or private entity.
Call: (800) 385-8054