Public schools, colleges and universities, child and family service agencies, and special governmental districts such as public transportation, water or housing authorities are considered eligible government employers , according to the Education Department.
A "60 Minutes" report broadcast Sunday found that of the nearly , active-duty members with federal student loans, just were approved for debt forgiveness. The Student Debt Dilemma. Please enter email address to continue. We will pair these changes with an expanded communications campaign to make sure affected borrowers learn about these opportunities and encourage them to apply.
These changes are important steps toward a better and stronger PSLF program, one that will move away from the current situation in which too few borrowers receive forgiveness, and too many do not receive credit for years of payments they made because of complicated eligibility rules, servicing errors or other technicalities.
The Department is also working to identify further improvements to ensure public servants get the relief they deserve, including partnerships with employers and revising regulations. These actions are informed by the more than 48, comments the Department received on a request for information on improving PSLF issued over the summer.
The Department estimates that the limited waiver alone will help over , borrowers who had previously consolidated their loans see their progress toward PSLF grow automatically, with the average borrower receiving 23 additional payments.
For reference, just over 16, borrowers have ever received forgiveness under PSLF prior to this action. We anticipate that many more will also receive additional credit as we implement other changes over time, such as counting previously ineligible payments that were not affected by a loan consolidation. Many public servants have been on the front lines of the pandemic, making personal sacrifices to keep the rest of us safe.
Nonprofits are still recovering jobs lost in the last year, and some public service workers have reported they are considering leaving public service altogether.
Frontline sectors like teaching and healthcare are already seeing burnout and employee shortages. Alleviating some of the financial strain associated with student debt can help borrowers in these sectors as they continue to navigate the fallout of this pandemic. The Department will be offering a temporary opportunity to give borrowers credit for prior payments they made that would not otherwise count toward PSLF.
Any prior payments made while working for a qualifying employer will count as a qualifying payment, regardless of loan type or repayment plan. This Limited PSLF Waiver will apply to borrowers with Direct Loans, those who have already consolidated into the Direct Loan Program, and those with other types of federal student loans who submit a consolidation application into the Direct Loan Program while the waiver is in effect.
The waiver applies to loans taken out by students. The waiver will run through October 31, That means borrowers who need to consolidate will have to submit a consolidation application by that date. Similarly, borrowers will need to submit a PSLF form—the single application used for a review of employment certification, payment counts, and processing of forgiveness—on or before October 31, to have previously ineligible payments counted. Counting prior payments on additional types of loans will be particularly important for borrowers who have or had loans from the Federal Family Education Loan FFEL Program.
Around 60 percent of borrowers who have certified employment for PSLF fall into this category. The program has been a source of bipartisan scorn — Democrats and Republicans have agreed that the program is flawed and needs to be updated.
But Republicans said the Education Department is overstepping its authority by moving to alter a program that Congress created. Virginia Foxx, R-N. It marks the latest of several attempts to fix the program.
IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. NBC News Logo. Covid Politics U. Approximately 16 million student loan borrowers will get a new student loan servicer. If you are not notified in writing from the Education Department, you will likely have the same student loan servicer. You should keep making student loan payments to your current student loan servicer until you are notified whether to make payments to a different servicer.
What are next steps for your student loans? Make sure you understand all your options now for student loan repayment. Here are some smart ways to pay off student loans and save money:. This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes.
0コメント