Two months are left to go until the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) limited waiver period ends on Oct. 31. So far, borrowers have benefited from more than $10 billion forgiven through PSLF—could your or someone you know be next?
RSVP to the PSLF Day of Action here.
The White House is focusing on spreading the word about the PSLF limited waiver to educators, school personnel, administrators, professors and other employees at all education levels. This relief can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who work tirelessly every day to educate and care for our nation’s students. Please join us by posting to social media and sharing this life-changing opportunity with your family, friends and colleagues.
To receive updates and resources on PSLF, visit the PSLF stakeholder resource page.
Here are some important facts about the program.
- The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, which launched in 2007, forgives the remaining balance on student direct Loans after students have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan (which are very specific types of loans) while working full-time for a qualifying employer. Public schools are qualifying employers and many current and future educators can take advantage of PSLF. Qualifying employers include government organizations at any level (federal, state, local or tribal, as well as the U.S. military, and not-for-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
- In October 2021, the Biden Department of Education recognized the problems that eligible borrowers were enduring in order to receive PSLF’s forgiveness by offering a time-limited waiver so that student borrowers can count payments from all federal loan programs or repayment plans toward forgiveness. This includes loan types and payment plans that were not previously eligible. To receive the waiver, borrowers must apply to consolidate their loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan before the Oct. 31 deadline. Additionally, the waiver allows the COVID-era repayment pause period to count even though borrowers did not have to—and in many cases did not—make payments during that period. That repayment pause will end in December 2022.
- The department estimated that the limited waiver alone would help more than 550,000 borrowers who had previously consolidated their loans see their progress toward PSLF grow automatically, with the average borrower receiving 23 additional payments. This includes approximately 22,000 borrowers who will be immediately eligible to have their federal student loans discharged without further action on their part, totaling $1.74 billion in forgiveness. Another 27,000 borrowers could potentially qualify for $2.82 billion in forgiveness if they certify additional periods of employment.
- In August 2022, the department announced that it had approved more than $10 billion in debt relief for more than 175,000 borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program since the October 2021 limited waiver announcement. Additionally, it announced that, owing to the temporary changes to PSLF, more than 1 million borrowers have also received additional credit toward forgiveness, with the typical borrower receiving more than a year’s worth of progress.
