How to Apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Did you obtain a public service loan and find it challenging to repay? You need not worry much because there is a way you can get your loan discharged.

As a federal student loan borrower, you can get your loan discharged after working in a position with the government or any nonprofit making organization for some period of time. The name of the program that enables this is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

After graduation, working in a government own organization or even working in a non-profit-oriented organization qualifies you to apply for a student loan. probably you haven’t finished paying for your loan this is an opportunity for you.

In this article, you will learn about Public service Loan Forgiveness, How to get loan forgiveness through public service, and many other important sub-topics relating to loan forgiveness.

About Public Service Loan Forgiveness

According to Wikipedia, The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is a United States government program that was created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 to provide indebted professionals a way out of their federal student loan debt burden by working full-time in public service.

The forgiveness program after 10 years discharges all outstanding debt of the borrower. As long as the borrower is employed full-time in any federal-owned organization. However, the borrower must have paid at least 120 times. This payment must meet some criteria:

The payment must be made under an income-driven repayment plan such as PAYE, IBR, REPAYE
Some federal student loans are not issued under the Direct Lending Program hence, payment must be made on a Direct Federal Student Loan.
The borrower’s payment must be on time while working as a full-time employee for a government agency.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a federal program the government orchestrates that aims toward forgiving student loan debt for those currently working in a government or nonprofit organization.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Application

Due to a lack of knowledge, most PSLF applicants always have application failures. Some minor issues are responsible for this failure. Here is a detailed explanation of what you need to put in place to make a successful application.

#1. Be a Full-Time Employee For a Qualifying Employer.

For you to be qualified, you must work for a qualifying employer. The program has a list of employers it deems to be qualified, the list is given below

501(c)(3) nonprofits
Any Government Organization
A nonprofit organization without 501(c)(3) but has its primary purpose hinged on public service.
Peace Corps or AmeriCorps

As an employee, in order to know if your employer qualifies, you must complete an Employment Certification Form. having completed the form, send it to the Fed Loan Servicing, particularly to the contractor that oversees Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for the department.

You also have a part to play by working for the qualifying employer at least 30 hours per week. This is a condition that you must meet to prove you work full-time for the employer. However, if you work part-time for two employers, this is not necessarily a problem. As long as your working hours sum 30 hours per week, you still have a chance of being eligible for the forgiveness.

#2. Make Payments That are Worth 10 Years

Make sure you pay at least 120 monthly payments. Below are the conditions for making a payment

On time ( within 15 days of your due date)
While working on a full-time basis for a qualifying employer and also on a qualifying repayment plan.
For the full amount due

#3. Have the Right Loan Type

Students who are on a private loan, are automatically not eligible for the PSLF program. Only those who are using the Federal Direct Loan program are eligible.

You can also add other types of federal loans to make them PSLF-eligible. Perkins Loans and Federal Family Education Loans are two other types of federal loans.

You don’t need to consolidate your Perkins loan if you already qualify for Perkins Loan Cancellation.

#4. Switch to an Income Drive Repayment Plan

As it concerns the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you should make your payment on any of the four income repayment plans or on the standard 10-year plan.

If you make qualifying payments on an income-driven plan you will definitely save more. By making all payments on a standard plan you will make enough payments to qualify for PSLF.

#5. Apply For Forgiveness

Having met all the outlined above requirements submit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness form.

While submitting the form, you should also add the employment certification form. Do this on behalf of your current employer and all other employers during the 120-day period. However, if you remained faithful in the completion of both forms, you’ll need to submit just one on behalf of your current employer.

Immediately the FedLoan Servicing receives your paperwork, it will notify you. Also, have in mind that you are not to make any payments when your application is in the processing stage.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Form

In order to get this forgiveness, you must obtain the PSLF form. Fill out this form and ensure you submit this form after ensuring you have met all the requirements given for this forgiveness.

In order to make the tracking of your application easier, we recommend you submit the PSLF form annually or once you switch employers.

You can fill out your PSFL form in any of these two ways

The PSLF Help Tool is an option you can use in starting the form. Using this way, you will be able to print the partly completed for you and your employer to sign after you enter your information.
Alternatively, you can Get the PSFL Form and complete3 all sections yourself before submitting it.

Once you fill out the PSLF Form, you can send it to FedLoan Servicing either through email, a mailbox, or a fax machine.

However, if FedLoan Servicing is already your loan servicer. You may upload your PSLF form on FedLoan Servicing’s official website.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Phone Number

Student borrowers seeking forgiveness always ask the question of who and how to get in contact with their loan servicer. Use the phone number- 1-855-265-4038 to get in contact with the PSLF Loan Servicer and get answers to your questions.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness News

According to the US Department of Education, Only 2% of the applicant has been granted forgiveness as of April 2021. Following this development, millions of teachers, nurses, military personnel, first responders as well as non-profit workers are not able to get the debt relief for students they were promised.

The proposed federal budget account by President Joe Biden for making immense improvements to the PSLF program. Notwithstanding, until substantial progress begins to come to light public servants that hinged their hope on the loan forgiveness program must continue making their loan repayment. By ceasing the loan repayment, you lose Eligibility for the PSLF program.

PSLF Help Tool

The PSLF Help tool is a tool on the official loan forgiveness website that helps you fill out your PSLF Form. This tool helps determine if you actually work for a qualifying employer for the PSLF or the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) Program.

This tool also helps by making recommendations on actions you can take to make you eligible for the PSLF and guides you through the form submission process.

People also search for Student Loan Forgiveness Biden

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Covid

Following the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 around the world, the US Department of Education’s 0% interest student loan rate, and the suspension of payments on federal student loans since January 20, 2021. These reliefs were extended through September 30, 2021. The Measures for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Act gained awareness as a form of relief. It came into effect on March 13, 2020, and the purpose is to provide some financial flexibility during the period of the pandemic.

Things To Know About PSLF During The Pandemic Period

Make Additional Payments: Generally, it is a good strategy financially to make more payments on your loan during the 0% interest period. However, if you are seeking PSLF, this strategy is not ideal for you.
Avoid PSLF Scam: Have in mind that there are no fees you will be paying for the payment suspension and other student loan relief benefits. You are not to pay any money whatsoever to the federal government or even your loan servicer. Anyone asking for payment from you so you can enjoy the benefits is trying to scam you.
A decrease in The Number Of Working Hours Could Have an Effect On Your Eligibility: In as much as there is a relief program, you should continue working full-time. the reason is so that you can meet the requirement of the full-time employee of a qualifying employer, especially if you are hoping on the loan forgiveness program.

Conclusion

As a graduate seeking to get forgiveness for a loan taken during my student days. engaging in Public service by working in any government organization or a non-profit-making firm is one sure way of getting forgiveness from the government. Ensure that you are working for a qualifying employer and be a full-time staff. Having met these conditions, you qualify to apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

References

FederalStudentaid– forgiveness form
Fox Business– Discharge application
nerdwallet– How forgiveness works