Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
Some repayers are in deep student loan debt and forgiveness provides the only light at the end of a very long repayment tunnel. Today’s post is going to lay out the right things to do and the things you want to avoid doing when you’re trying to get Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
If you’re after PSLF success this article is for you. Estimated read time 4 minutes.
Do
- Know the specifics of PSLF. You must maintain full time employment by an eligible employer and make 120 payments on eligible loans for forgiveness.
- Submit the Employment Certification form annually and when you change employers.
- Keep making your monthly payments under an income-driven repayment plan and keep your loan in good standing.
Don’t
- Consolidate your Direct Loans if you’ve been making payments for awhile. If you consolidate, the 120 payments will start all over with your new Direct Consolidated Loan.
- Refinance your loans. Federal student loans are the only type of loans that qualify for PSLF.
- Stop working for an eligible employer until you’ve received loan forgiveness, even if you’ve made 120 payments. If you move to a private sector job after meeting the PSLF eligibility requirements but before you apply for loan forgiveness, you will not be eligible for forgiveness since you must be working for a qualifying employer at the time you apply for and receive forgiveness.
Two important steps to take right now.
- Submit your Employment Certification form. If you don’t hear back from the Department of Education or Federal Loan Servicing after a month call FedLoan Servicing at 1-855-265-4038
- Figure out how many qualifying payments you have made and how many you have left to go. If you haven’t submitted an Employer Certification form yet this you can count the number of payments you’ve made since your grace period ended and subtract from 120. If you’ve already submitted your Employer Certification form you can find out how many qualifying payments you’ve made by logging in to your FedLoan account and viewing your loan details or by looking on your most recent billing statement.
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