Several Initiatives Expand the Student Loan Forgiveness Program
Written by Reananda Hidayat PermonoCompleted Master of Science - MS, Petroleum Geology from Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
The President Biden administration recently implemented several initiatives to improve and expand the student loan forgiveness program.
The program provides options for student loan borrowers who work in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Public service workers can apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program for as little as ten years.
The program requires 120 eligible monthly payments for someone to be qualified for student loan forgiveness.
However, those payments don’t have to be consecutive.
Under the original rules, the payment must be made under a specific repayment plan while the borrower works in qualifying employment.
A “qualifying employment” means full-time employment, with average working hours of a minimum of 30 per week.
Your specific role or job title is not relevant to a PSLF determination.
You can count those requirements as eligible payments and receive loan forgiveness if you meet all those requirements.
Interestingly, the Biden administration implemented two plans to expand access to PSLF: the IDR Account Adjustment and the Limited PSLF Waiver.
Both plans broadened the definition of “qualifying payments,” so it should be useful for borrowers.
Besides full-time employment, part-time borrowers can qualify if their combined hours are at least 30 hours per week.
But generally, contractor work doesn’t qualify for the PSLF program. Many student loan forgiveness program developments have been in the news lately, and you need to know about them.