Important tips on Public Service Loan Forgiveness
If you get a student loan forgiveness, then you can end up saving on thousands of dollars from student loans. If you take up a job in public service, then you may qualify for a Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Here are some important tips you need to know about Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness is essentially a federal program forgiving federal loans of borrowers who work full-time in a federal, state or local public service job and make at least 120 on-time payments (this roughly equates to 120 months of student loan payments made on-time)
- This program is eligible only for payments made after October 1st, 2007.
Any payments made before this day will not add up to the 120 payments. As a borrower, you can make the 10-year student loan repayment using any of the following repayment options: standard repayment, Pay As You Earn Repayment (PAYE), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), Income-Based Repayment (IBR). You can improve your chances of being eligible for a Public Service Loan Forgiveness by making most of your 120 repayments using an income-driven plan. The direct loans that are eligible include Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford/Direct Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Direct Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loans (for parents and graduate and professional students), Federal Direct Consolidation Loans Only two types of student loans, namely: direct loans and Federal Direct Consolidation Loans are eligible for a Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The direct loans must only be approved by the federal government for you to qualify. Note that if you have taken a private student loan, Federal Perkins Loans or Federal Family Educational Loans, you will not be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Keep in mind that as long as you have been employed in public service, you are eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Your eligibility will not be affected if you have worked under different public service employers during the 10-year period. With the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, 100% of your federal student loans are forgiven.