In this 2 Minute Q&A Tuesday, we’re going into the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. A lot of us have heard of people being denied or even suing student loan providers over the PSLF program. But what is all this PSLF tea about? We’ll you guys are doing your work and digging into your student loans. And are now finding some big red flags about your loans. In this week’s video, we were asked what to do if your job allows you to get the PSLF, but your loan doesn’t. This is a complex problem for any public servants that needs a better solution than just hey deals with it.
Prerequisites for PSLF
Before spilling any tea, we need to make it clear on what you need to do to even qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
- You need to be in a Public Service industry or career field. Here is a list of qualified careers that position you for the PSLF program.
- You need to work full-time, meaning you’re working more than 30 hours a week.
- To get into the PSLF program you need to have a Qualified Direct Loan. If yo don’t have that specific loan type, then you have to consolidate into one.
- Apply for an Income-Driven Repayment Plan. They have 5 different Income-Driven plans currently and picking the best one for you all depends on your personal situation.
- Then make 120 qualified payments, which equals to 10 years of payments
These are all the steps you have to make inorder to even apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Once all of these have been completed, then you can apply for the PSLF program. Whatever amount is left on your loan will be forgiven. Click here for more information on the process for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program offered by our sponsor Chipper.
What to do if Your Loan isn’t a Qualified Direct Loan
Now you may be wondering what to do if you’re in the right career, but your loan isn’t a qualified direct loan. Unfortunately, the only option you have right now is to consolidate it into a qualified direct loan. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, since you’ve been already paying into your loans. But as of right now these are the prerequisites to qualify for the PSLF program.
You do have some hope. When doing my research I came across a few big lawsuits of student loan providers abusing borrowers. The tea here is that the loan providers were trying to keep borrowers in the payment rotation longer than they needed to be. Down below I will share some of these resources for you to look into. A lot of changes and movement is happening within the student loan industry that I would keep an eye on.
Chipper Resources
I know that all of this information might sound overwhelming, but that’s why I partnered up with Chipper on this Q&A. It’s so important to know that we have resources to help us make the best financial decision about our loans. Especially when seeking forgiveness for your student loans. I do want to boast that Chipper is Latinx owned. On top of that, Chipper is here to provide information on how to lower your student loan payments, help you qualify for forgiveness, and other resources. Plus their calculator tool is a must for anyone deciding between income-driven repayment plans.
Closing Thoughts
I just want you to keep your spirits up while on the journey to getting your student loans forgiven. It is a journey that will have its ups and downs, but if you get a plan on how to tackle them you’ll feel a lot better about them. I say this from experience because even though I didn’t qualify for the PSLF program, I had a plan. This plan helped motivate me and keep me focused to pay off my loans. So get a plan and get confident that you know what’s going on with your student loans. Because that’s how you build your financial confidence.
Other Resources and Refrences
- Major Student Loan Servicing Change Will Impact 1 Million Borrowers – Forbes.com
- Why 147,000 People Were Rejected for Student Loan Forgiveness – Fobes.com
- New York Sues Student Loan Servicer for “Abusive” Acts – The New York Times.com
Other Videos and Blogs
- How to Pay off Over $30K in Student Loan Debt Fast – 2 Minute Q&A Tuesday
- How my Millennial Family Paid Off Over $99K of Debt in 5 Years
- Is Being Debt-Free Overrated? – A Poised Conversation w/My Husband
