As we navigate the gray, the charcoal, and even the rough black of deepening December darkness, I’m looking for the light. Just like the dormant scaly brown tubers of my dahlias will sprout and yield dazzling hues, I know that December will yield to fresh green May and shimmering June. We wish you a peaceful end to this dark and difficult year, with quiet and confident hope for a brighter one to come. Happy holidays.
For those on income-driven repayment plans (IDRs), your student loan payments are recalculated each year based on how much money you made the year before. This is typically done using your AGI, taken directly from last year’s 1040—you can even link your tax documents directly from the IRS when you submit your income recertification. By reducing your AGI through pre-tax contributions, you save the tax on the deferred income, your annual tax bill, and on your monthly student loan payment. Between the three, that can add up to significant savings!
The PSLF Help Tool is designed to guide borrowers through the steps of determining if their employment qualified them for PSLF, making sure they’re on the right repayment plan, and filling out the ECF properly.
We and our partners are working to make sure that PSLF stays strong, works better, and endures. You may not be able to wrap it and tie a bow around it, but—for many—PSLF is a gift that keeps on giving, and one that can last for generations.
Under the recently announced Limited Waiver Opportunity for PSLF, FFEL borrowers have an opportunity to pursue PSLF without restarting the clock. As long as the other conditions for PSLF were met—full-time employment at a public service organization like a 501(c)(3)—previous payments made on FFELs will count towards PSLF as long as they are consolidated before October 31, 2022 and submit the appropriate employment paperwork.. Finally, borrowers under this orphaned loan program will be able to enjoy PSLF without the added hurdle of 10 extra years of repayment.
If your QPs go missing, don’t panic! It’s usually a simple mistake that can be corrected with a little patience. If this happens to you, give us a call—we’re here to guide you through thick and thin!
She pulled up last year’s form, which she had saved to the cloud. It looked identical to this year’s—just the date was changed—no new qualifying payments, 12 shy of the number she expected. Her heart sank: this was wrong. Was it her fault? Did she forget something? How could this have happened? Almost worse than the results was the fact that now she would have to call. She’d have to dial her servicer, sit on hold, and be told that she’d made a mistake.
As borrowers make plans to resume making student loan payments in February, they may have questions about who will be servicing those loans. We learned earlier this year that two large student loan servicers—PHEAA and Granite State—would no longer service federal student loans. The former, through its subsidiary FedLoan, is responsible for all borrowers pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a program that has been under intense scrutiny throughout the student debt crisis. Just last month, yet another major servicer—Navient— announced that it would no longer manage federal loans, transferring them to another company.
Following the hearings in June, the Dept. of Ed. made a request for comments, an opportunity for borrowers pursuing PSLF to join the process. To amplify your voices, the Student Borrower Protection Center has partnered with a number of state and national organizations to collect borrower stories and send them on to Washington.
What can we do to change the culture around student debt? First off, we need to start talking about it.