Student Loan Forgiveness and Perseverance

Student loan repayment is a long process, one that requires a lot of patience. For most types of loans—auto loans or mortgages, for example—you start paying them back right away and can see what you’re paying for. Student loans are more abstract: you take them out when you’re probably too young to really know what you’re getting in to and you don’t pay them back until you’re past the point of seeing what your money is paying for.

Only after the degree is conferred—which you can’t sell, unlike a car or house—does the 10-year-long reality of repayment hit you. After the dazzle of graduation and college memories fade into the distance, you have a lot of work to do: paying back the money that made it possible.

PSLF: Softening the Blow of Repayment

For those in public service—doctors, teachers, public servants, and more—there’s an aid to lessen the blow of repayment: Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Although it can involve lower monthly payments and a hefty sum of loans forgiven at the end, it still takes ten long years. Besides keeping up with your payments themselves, you have essential forms that need to be submitted so your servicer can track your income (for income-driven repayment plans) and employment, and you can track your progress.

Although PSLF is a complex journey—one that requires consistent effort over the 10 year repayment process—it’s worth it, and our clients can see tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, depending on their original loan amounts.

The Limited Waiver Opportunity: A Light at the End of the Tunnel

PSLF has had a rocky history, with current applicants only seeing a 2% success rate, but the Biden Administration has made it clear that it’s one of their top priorities. As the Department of Education strives towards lasting reforms to the program, they’ve implemented a “Limited Waiver Opportunity” in the meantime.

Under the LWO, borrowers in qualifying public service jobs are receiving PSLF regardless of their federal student loan types or payment plans, two hurdles to millions of previous applicants. We’re already seeing borrowers benefit from the LWO, and are doing all we can to assist those who qualify.

If you think you might qualify for the LWO—even if you’re not sure!—give us a call and we can help you sort it out. PSLF can be life-changing, and it’s now available to more borrowers than ever before. Leave the long road of repayment behind you and get ready to live your student loan-free life!