Since the Biden administration announced improvements to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and temporarily expanded forgiveness eligibility in October 2021, 615,000 public service workers have seen $42 billion in student debt erased, according to a Department of Education (ED) statement released Monday.
PSLF allows federal student loan borrowers who go into public service — such as teachers, nurses, government employees and more — an opportunity to have their debt forgiven after completing 10 years of service.
Prior to an overhaul beginning in 2021, the program was notoriously selective, approving less than 1% of applications as of 2018, with many denials due to borrowers adhering to the wrong type of payment plan. That’s why the Biden administration has made it a priority to address issues with the process and make it easier for qualifying borrowers to see forgiveness.
“Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked relentlessly to fix a broken student loan system, including by making sure we fulfill the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness for those who have spent a decade or more serving our communities and our country,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in the statement.
Borrowers are required to be on an income-driven repayment plan to make their 120 monthly payments to qualify for forgiveness. But under the temporary expansion, which ended in October 2022, eligible borrowers could receive forgiveness regardless of the type of payment plan they followed.
Find out if you’re eligible for PSLF
As part of its continued efforts to improve the program, ED announced updates to its PSLF help tool on Monday as well.
The tool allows borrowers to find qualifying employers, see what they need to do to become eligible and apply for loan forgiveness. If you’re already working toward your 120 payments, you can use the tool to track them.
To use it, you’ll need your Federal Student Aid (FSA) login information and your W-2 or your employer’s federal…
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