Comments on: Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness: The Basics and the Fine Print

By: E M

E M — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 19:18:33 +0000

Look into TEPSLF . And good luck. I am in a VERY similar sitation myself…. And am desperate for a more-than-fair shot as well! Also, check your loans account for qualifying paymeny updates after submitting anything for the TEMPORARY (key word here – time is of the essence as this program is only available as long as the limited funding available allows)TEPSLF. I never received a response, yet found ages afterward that my online loans account is showing qualifying paymenys dtatus for both PSLF and TEPSLF.

By: The Student Loan Sherpa

The Student Loan Sherpa — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 14:08:40 +0000

In reply to Krysten Axelson.

Great question. I have a couple thoughts:

– Switching to REPAYE will clearly save you some money right away. The interest capitalization is a concern, but if you are 5 years away from forgiveness, it just means more debt will be forgiven tax-free.

– The risk is if you don’t end up qualifying for PSLF. The larger balance will be even more to eventually pay off. Even if you get forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, the traditional IDR forgiveness is taxed.

By: Krysten Axelson

Krysten Axelson — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 13:25:28 +0000

Hello, I am currently paying my loans with IBR, and also enrolled in PSLF, I have 5 years of payment history, and re-certify every year like clockwork. All of my payments are recorded as eligible. I have a $200,000 loan balance with roughly $4500 in outstanding interest. My rate is 7.6%. My question is, considering the capitalized interest penalty, would it be smart to switch to PAYE or REPAYE from IBR since the loan balance will eventually be forgiven anyway? It would reduce my payment from roughly $1000/mo to $700/mo. Thank you in advance!

By: The Student Loan Sherpa

The Student Loan Sherpa — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 14:10:09 +0000

In reply to Megan W. You are correct. The best way to track your progress is to send in yearly employment certification forms. They not only check that you have an eligible employer, they also check to see if your loans are eligible and if you are on an eligible repayment plan.

By: Megan W

Megan W — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 15:24:54 +0000

Is there any way to guarantee $0 payments with PAYE will qualify? I recently graduated, consolidated my loans to wave my grace period, applied for PAYE, and have submitted my PSLF Employment Certification Form. I think I have everything set up correctly but am nervous that I could have missed something. Once FedLoans processes my certification form will I get confirmation that my payments are qualifying?

By: Angie Bardysh

Angie Bardysh — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 20:11:00 +0000

I have a terrible situation. My student loans are in my mom’s name but I have been making every payment. I have known about the forgiveness rule since I started paying my loans in 2009, but my mom did not know of the law, and failed to tell me until two days ago that she works in a non-profit and has for the past 18 years. We have checked our loan, and it is the correct loan for the forgiveness plan, but we are on the wrong repayment plan. I have been paying around $650 a month for the past 8.5 years, and we were told we would need to resign up and non of the payments I have made will count toward forgiveness. I need to make 120 new payments! To me, this seems absolutely insane. Is there any way around this rule? I believe the payments I have been making are more per month than the qualifying repayment plans would be. I am utterly devastated, and I have no idea what to do. I just can’t believe all of the money I have paid would not count. Is there anything I can do?!?!

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 02:12:00 +0000

In reply to The Student Loan Sherpa. I'm not surprised now that I've been through it. It's how the government will be able to avoid actually helping those in public service.

By: The Student Loan Sherpa

The Student Loan Sherpa — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 02:08:00 +0000

In reply to Lori.

You are definitely in good company with the PSLF issues. http://studentloansherpa.com/forum/horror-stories/public-service-loan-forgiveness-horror-story-please-help/

I’m shocked by how often people are running into this issue.

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 22:27:00 +0000

In reply to The Student Loan Sherpa.

I didn’t know I could, but I will now! I got a ‘payment history’ from the FedLoan Servicing people ‘explaining’ why my payments didn’t count. They claimed I was in forbearance when I wasn’t, said my payments were all late (which I never was) or too early (they don’t have it in EXPLICIT writing, but making a payment anything more than 30 days early is grounds for not counting a payment). Also, since I only found out about the program in 2011 and consolidated once I knew, they refused to count any of my 4 years prior to that. I requested a review and we’ll see what they say, but I plan to do everything I have to to get this righted. Cause if not, what’s the point? I could have been done with my loan in 2 years instead of another 6-8….

By: The Student Loan Sherpa

The Student Loan Sherpa — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 22:18:00 +0000

In reply to Lori. That is awful. Have you looked into filing a complaint with the CFPB? Counting only 18 of 70 payments is terrible.