Yes, under the temporary changes you are eligible for PSLF but you must apply before October 31, 2022.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Updates
As of July 1, 2024, the PSLF program has successfully transitioned from MOHELA and now is fully managed by ED on StudentAid.gov. For all inquiries surrounding your PSLF discharge and any associated refunds, visit StudentAid.gov.
You may be eligible for income-driven repayment (IDR) loan forgiveness if you've have been in repayment for 20 or 25 years. An IDR plan bases your monthly payment on your income and family size.
If you consolidate your loans on or after September 1, 2024, the qualifying payments made on the Direct Loans (other loan types will not be considered) included in your consolidation loan will be credited to your consolidation loan using a weighted average of those payments.
Original PSLF processing pause announcement (April 2024): There will be a pause in processing for all PSLF forms while we transition the program to ED. Beginning on May 1, 2024, you are no longer able to access your PSLF progress, certified employment, or payment counts on MOHELA's borrower portal.
You don't get reported when you're in forbearance. During the on-ramp period (through Sept. 30, 2024), we automatically put your loan in a forbearance for the payments you missed. Here's what this means: Your account was no longer considered delinquent and was made current.
You can still apply for Student Loan Forgiveness in 2024. Despite the Supreme Court striking down Biden's initial plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loans, the president has introduced other programs that have provided $167.3 billion in student loan forgiveness to over 4 million borrowers.
Your student loan servicer(s) will notify you directly after your forgiveness is processed. Make sure to keep your contact information up to date on StudentAid.gov and with your servicer(s). If you haven't yet qualified for forgiveness, you'll be able to see your exact payment counts in the future.
The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 (10 years) qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan, while working full-time for a qualifying employer.
You were either enrolled in the SAVE Plan or about to have your payments lowered under it. A federal court recently blocked the implementation of the SAVE Plan. To comply with the court order and prevent incorrect billing, the Education Department directed MOHELA to place affected borrowers into forbearance.
As of July 2024, the PSLF Program is now fully managed by the Department via StudentAid.gov, rather than by a single loan servicer, making it easier for borrowers to track their progress toward forgiveness.
If you work in certain public service jobs and have made 120 payments on your Direct Loans, you may be eligible to have your loans forgiven.
Most denials are for not making enough qualifying payments.
To get PSLF, you have to get a total count of 120 qualifying payments. So you'll want to make sure that you're getting closer to your goal with each payment you make. Keep in mind, your payments don't have to be consecutive.
If you missed the deadline for the limited-time PSLF waiver, you could still take advantage of other payment reduction and forgiveness opportunities, including the Income-Driven Repayment Account Adjustment, a one-time payment count adjustment for eligible borrowers enrolled in an IDR program.
The department first implemented the forbearance in August 2024 due to ongoing litigation between the department and seven states challenging the debt cancellation effort's legality. The plan is under an injunction preventing the department and servicers from forgiving loans.
If your military service qualifies for a military-related deferment or forbearance, we suggest that you take advantage of that deferment or forbearance as that time will count as payments toward PSLF.
The Grace Period
For most federal student loan types, after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment, you have a six-month grace period (sometimes nine months for Perkins Loans) before you must begin making payments.
If you work full time for a government or nonprofit organization, you may qualify for forgiveness of the entire remaining balance of your Direct Loans after you've made 120 qualifying payments—i.e., at least 10 years of payments. To benefit from PSLF, you need to repay your federal student loans under an IDR plan.
Undergraduate Loan Interest Rates
Interest rates increased 1.48 percentage points from 2023-24 to 2024-25 (from 5.05% to 6.53%). From 2020-21 to 2024-25, federal student loan interest rates for undergraduates increased 137.5%, equivalent to 3.78 percentage points (from 2.75% to 6.53%).
In July 2024, AFT sued MOHELA for a wide range of unlawful practices, including illegally executing a “call deflection” scheme to deny service to borrowers who need help.
Yes. Any month when your scheduled payment under an income-driven plan is $0 will count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness if you also are employed full-time by a qualifying employer during that month.
A processing pause began on May 1, 2024, for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program as we update and streamline our systems for a better user experience.