Public Student Loan Forgiveness - Deadline Approaching

Last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced an overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. SEBAC members have been vocal in the fight to make post-secondary education more affordable and accessible, so we were thrilled to find that the program will result in over 550,000 borrowers who have previously consolidated seeing an increase in qualifying payments with the average borrower receiving another two years of progress toward forgiveness. 

Please join their next webinar on August 25, 2022, at 5:00 PM - Register HERE! You can also review a PSLF FAQ document by clicking HERE.

The changes included are below but it is important to note that the deadline to take advantage of these limited programs is rapidly approaching. All required actions must be completed by October 31, 2022.

  • A limited PSLF waiver that allows all payments by student borrowers to count toward PSLF, regardless of loan program or payment plan. This waiver will allow student borrowers to count all payments made on loans from the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or Perkins Loan Program. It will also waive restrictions on the type of repayment plan and the requirement that payments be made in the full amount and on-time for all borrowers. To receive these benefits, borrowers will have to submit a PSLF form by October 31, 2022, which is a single application used to certify employment and evaluate a borrower for forgiveness.

  • Borrowers who currently have FFEL, Perkins, or other non-Direct Loans, will get the benefit of this limited waiver if they apply to consolidate into the Direct Loan program and submit a PSLF form by October 31, 2022. The waiver applies to loans taken out by students.

  • Allowing active duty service members to count deferments and forbearances toward PSLF. This solves a problem for service members who have paused payments while on active duty but were not getting credit toward PSLF.

  • Automatically providing credit toward PSLF for military service members and federal employees using federal data matches. The Department will implement data matches next year to give these borrowers credit toward PSLF without an application.

  • Reviewing denied PSLF applications for errors and giving borrowers the ability to have their PSLF determinations reconsidered. These actions will help identify and address servicing errors or other issues that have prevented borrowers from getting the PSLF credit they deserve.

Have you applied for PSLF and been denied? Have you thought about applying but been confused by the requirements? SEBAC is partnering with the Student Loan Fund to get our members connected with the resources they need to take advantage of this limited waiver. 

Please join their next webinar on August 25, 2022, at 5:00 PM - Register HERE! You can also review a PSLF FAQ document by clicking HERE.

Your local unions may also be offering additional webinars in the coming weeks, but due to the upcoming deadline, we encourage you to attend the August 25th webinar if possible.