PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS REFORMS & TEMPORARY WAIVER
Ronny Lau
NEA Lobbyist
Jeff Burritt
OGC Staff Counsel
Laura Petty
OGC Law Fellow
Today’s Agenda
What is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?
Established in 2007, the promise of PSLF was simple:
Work in public service
For at least 10 years
While making 120 student loan payments
The 2007 law, passed by Congress, promised that borrowers who met these criteria would have the remaining balance of their federal student debt forgiven.
But PSLF Was a Broken Promise
Prior to October 2021, well over 90% of PSLF applications were denied.
NEA Fought to Fix the �Student Debt System
NEA members sent nearly 50,000 personalized messages to the Education Department last year, and nearly 170,000 in the last two years, demanding student debt relief, helping to keep PSLF in the news for months.
And the Biden Administration Listened
In October 2021, the Department of Education issued the “Limited Waiver,” which waives many of the Department’s normal requirements for PSLF until October 31, 2022.
$6.2 Billion!
550,000
100,000
16,000
Estimated debt that will be forgiven under the Limited Waiver
Estimated borrowers who will receive forgiveness or be closer to forgiveness because of the Limited Waiver
Estimated borrowers who will receive forgiveness under the Limited Waiver
Total borrowers who received forgiveness prior to the the Limited Waiver
NEA’S Advocacy Continues
Coalition Groups
Members
Dept. of Education
March 29, 2022 coalition letter regarding PSLF Reconsideration
Monthly meeting with Senior Staff to address individual and systemic issues
March 9, 2022 webinar for Educators of Color
TEMPORARY FIXES TO PSLF DURING THE LIMITED WAIVER
Temporary Changes �During the Limited Waiver (ends Oct. 31, 2022)
Overview of Eligibility �During the Limited Waiver
To Receive PSLF during the Limited Waiver, you need to show that you:
REMEMBER: Anyone who wants to receive PSLF one day should submit a PSLF application before October 31, 2022, even if you have not made 120 payments yet!
1) Work full-time for 10 years for a “Qualifying Employer”
Qualifying Employer
🡺This means all public school districts
🡺This means most private schools and universities
Full-Time
TIP: It’s a good idea to submit an Employment Certification Form (ECF) every year to make sure your full-time work for a qualifying employer gets credited towards your PSLF payment count. This is not a requirement, it’s just recommended to make keeping track of payment counts easier and ensure accuracy.
REMEMBER: Your job title doesn’t affect your PSLF eligibility. It’s your employer that determines your eligibility. That means anyone employed by a public school district, not just teachers, qualify for PSLF.
2) Have “Eligible Loans”
Private loans don’t qualify
Ordinarily, consolidation starts over the PSLF payment count, but under the Limited Waiver, it doesn’t
1) submit a consolidation application on studentaid.gov THEN
2) submit a PSLF application before October 31.
3) Make 120 “Qualifying Payments”
During the Waiver, any payments made since October 1, 2007 qualify
Outside the Waiver period:
Payments never have to be consecutive (not during the Waiver, not without the waiver)
The Limited Waiver is Limited!
TO SUBMIT A PSLF APPLICATION:
RESOURCES FOR BORROWERS
AND NEA AFFILIATE STAFF
Resource # 1 – NEA’s Student Debt Support Pages�https://www.nea.org/student-debt-support �
Recorded webinars discussing program requirements and answering member questions.
A basic overview of the PSLF Program and Limited Waiver
NEA has contracted with the company Savi to provide advice to NEA members
Detailed answers to questions posed by NEA members
Resource # 2 – U.S. Dept. of Education Office of �Federal Student Aid (FSA) PSLF Help Tool�https://studentaid.gov/pslf/
After logging in with their FSA ID, borrowers can input information into the Help Tool, which generates a PSLF Application that can be filed and advice on steps the borrower should take to remain on track for loan forgiveness.
The FSA website also contains information and FAQs on the PSLF program.
TIP: the Help Tool provides initial information about an individual borrower’s PSLF eligibility, but it might not always be 100% accurate or up to date. It is an important step in the process, but we need to inform members not to be dissuaded by what the Help Tool tells them if they meet the PSLF requirements.
Resource # 3 – NEA Student Debt Navigator�powered by SAVI�https://www.nea.org/student-debt-support
Resource # 4 – NEA’s Student Debt Team
Affiliate staff members with questions should feel free to reach out to NEA’s Student Debt Team with questions about PSLF.
If a member has a challenging case, please have the staff member reach out so that we can answer questions and/or assess whether we can provide individual assistance directly to the member.
Please direct inquiries to
Ronny Lau, (rlau@nea.org), Jeff Burritt (jburritt@nea.org),
and Laura Petty (lpetty@nea.org)
Resource # 5 – Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group
The Ombudsman Group can help borrowers:
The self-proclaimed resource of “last resort,” the Ombudsman Group “is dedicated to helping resolve complaints related to the federal student aid programs, including Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans, Perkins Loans, and grant programs.”
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS AND
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Common Misconceptions about PSLF
FALSE: I’m not a teacher, so I’m not eligible for PSLF
FALSE: I didn’t receive a degree, so I’m not eligible for PSLF
FALSE: If I have a question about PSLF, I should ask my loan servicer
TRUE: Your job title doesn’t matter. If you work for a qualifying employer, you are eligible.
TRUE: It doesn’t matter if you graduated. Income, debt amount, and loan age also don’t matter for PSLF eligibility. Grad school loans also count for PSLF.
TRUE: Loan servicers do not always provide accurate information to borrowers. Trust resources on studentaid.gov, protectborrowers.org, and NEA.org.
Reach out to NEA or Savi for 1:1 support
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: How do I figure out what kind of loans I have?
🡺 With your FSA ID, log in to studentaid.gov/aid-summary/
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: I am a recent retiree, and though I am no longer employed, I was employed in public service for more than 10 years. I still owe student debt. Do I qualify for PSLF?
🡺 You likely qualify for PSLF only until October 31, 2022. Submit a PSLF Application ASAP.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Is Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) the same program as Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)?
🡺No. They are two different programs. Only teachers working in Title I schools qualify for TLF, while all public service workers, including all public school teachers, qualify for PSLF.
🡺TLF only forgives a certain amount of student debt (no more than $17,500). PSLF forgives all outstanding debt.
🡺 If you already received TLF, the same years of payments that went toward your TLF award are only eligible for a PSLF award if you submit a PSLF Application before October 31.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What if I qualify for PSLF but FedLoan is not my servicer?
🡺You can qualify for forgiveness regardless of what servicer you have right now.
🡺If you want to get PSLF right now or one day, you should complete the PSLF Application on Studentaid.gov and submit the application to FedLoan Servicing before October 31, 2022.
🡺After you submit a PSLF Application, your loans will automatically be moved to FedLoan Servicing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How does the CARES Act Payment pause impact my PSLF payment count?
🡺The months during the CARES Act payment pause (since March 2020) count towards PSLF payments, even though you have not owed any money.
QUESTIONS?
CLOSING AND NEXT STEPS
BIG TAKEAWAYS
PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS REFORMS & TEMPORARY WAIVER
Ronny Lau
NEA Lobbyist
Jeff Burritt
OGC Staff Counsel
Laura Petty
OGC Law Fellow