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PSLF Waiver – Latest Updates + How to Qualify

Editor's note: Although the limited PSLF waiver expired on October 31, 2022, the IDR Adjustment offers many of the same benefits. The IDR Waiver, or IDR Adjustment, is a one-time account adjustment to give credit for qualifying payments to borrowers on income-driven repayment plans and under PSLF. This waiver expires April 30, 2024.

On October 6, 2021, the government announced the Limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program waiver opportunity. Federal Student Aid added additional benefits for the PSLF waiver in mid-May 2022, such as allowing certain types of forbearances and deferments to count towards the PSLF program.

Here is a guide on the limited PSLF waiver and how it worked. Note that the IDR Waiver lasts until April 30, 2024 and has almost all of the benefits listed below. The only difference between the PSLF Waiver and the IDR Waiver is that the PSLF Waiver did not require you to be employed at a qualifying employer when you received forgiveness. That waived requirement is back in place. But all the other PSLF Waiver rules listed below are accessible under the IDR Waiver currently in place.

Limited PSLF Waiver program rules

Remember, the PSLF Waiver expired on October 31, 2022, but many of these benefits are available through the IDR Waiver.

Here are a few highlights of the PSLF Waiver:

  • Borrowers with previously ineligible types of loans, most notably Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans, qualified as long as payments were made while employed at a 501(c)(3) or government employer. To qualify, you must have consolidated these loans into the Direct Loan Program with a Direct Consolidation Loan and applied for PSLF.
  • All repayment plans qualified for PSLF if certified before this PSLF Waiver expired.
  • All past loan payments made before a loan was consolidated could have been counted as well.
  • Deferment and forbearance due to active-duty deployment could have been counted toward PSLF for current and former active-duty military service members.
  • Before March 13, 2020, if you spent 12 months or more in consecutive forbearance, or 36 months or more in aggregate forbearance, those periods of non-payment may have counted towards PSLF.
  • For any type of deferment before 2013 besides in-school deferment, that period may have counted. Only economic hardship deferments were counted as of January 2013 and after.

Note that only months on or after October 2007 could have qualified for credit towards forgiveness.

What is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness limited waiver opportunity?

The Biden administration used authority under the HEROES Act of 2003 to enact the now-expired PSLF waiver. This Act allows the President to modify many of the normal rules about student loans during periods of national emergency (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic). Under the PSLF waiver, all federal loans, repayment plans and some kinds of forbearance and deferment could have qualified for loan forgiveness if you were a public servant at the time.

You could have even received a refund if you end up with more than 120 months of qualifying credit.

Borrowers who already received loan forgiveness, paid off their loans or have refinanced with a private company will not receive this benefit.

May 2022 Limited PSLF Waiver update and FAQ

The guidance on the PSLF Waiver is constantly changing. Here are the latest answers to questions you may have.

What happens if I missed the deadline for the PSLF Waiver?

Even though the PSLF Waiver is expired, the IDR Adjustment offers many of the same benefits. The IDR Waiver, or IDR Adjustment, is a one-time account adjustment to give credit for qualifying payments to borrowers on income-driven repayment plans and under PSLF.

If I consolidate loans with different payment and forbearance histories, what will happen to the new consolidation loan?

The government will give you at least the amount of credit on the loan with the longest payment history. This is an extraordinarily generous decision by Department of Ed, and it allows many borrowers to consolidate strategically to get additional credit on more recent loans. In one case, a surgeon used an old loan from undergrad to get years of extra PSLF credit on his med school loans by consolidating.

Do loans need to have overlapping payment history to benefit from the PSLF waiver?

No. Prior guidance from the Department of Education stated that the loans needed to have overlapping payment histories, but they changed their mind.

Can Parent PLUS loans benefit from the PSLF waiver?

No. But if you consolidate Parent PLUS loans with at least 1 loan from your own education, then the new Direct Consolidation Loan could benefit.

Should everyone consolidate to get the PSLF waiver?

No. Some borrowers who still have years to go before they reach 10 years of public service credit might hurt themselves by consolidating. This is mainly true for borrowers with incomes higher than their debts, who might lose the ability to cap their payments at the standard 10 year plan level.

Who absolutely needs to consolidate their loans in order to benefit?

Borrowers with FFEL loans should consolidate in order to benefit from the PSLF waiver. You can call your servicer to find out if you have this type of loan, which only existed prior to 2010.

What mistake will most borrowers make that blocks them from getting benefits under the PSLF Waiver?

If you need to consolidate first, do that and then apply with all of your employment history with the PSLF help tool at studentaid.gov/pslf. If you do not need to consolidate, you still need to apply. Many borrowers have never submitted their full employment history through the Federal Student Aid website, and these borrowers risk missing out completely on the PSLF waiver benefits.

Get Started With Our New IDR Calculator

How to get loan forgiveness from the PSLF Waiver

Borrowers needed to take different steps depending on what kind of loans they have and how much employment history they've certified with the U.S. Department of Education.

Borrowers with older loans needed to take two steps. Whereas borrowers with newer Direct Loans only needed to take one step.

Editor's note: Even though the PSLF Waiver is expired, the IDR Adjustment offers many of the same benefits. The IDR Waiver, or IDR Adjustment, is a one-time account adjustment to give credit for qualifying payments to borrowers on income-driven repayment plans and under PSLF.

PSLF Waiver action steps for borrowers with loans from BEFORE 2010

Borrowers with federal student loans from 2010 or before may have two kinds of loans: Direct and FFEL.

Most of these loans will be from the FFEL program (FFELP), which previously didn't qualify for PSLF at all.

For all FFELP and Federal Perkins Loans, you must first consolidate your loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. If you have Parent PLUS loans, you can do a double consolidation to get around the rules excluding Parent PLUS from forgiveness!

Note:  If you have an FFEL loan, both public and private sector employees can benefit from the IDR AdjustmentBorrowers with commercially held FFEL debt will need to consolidate to take advantage of these benefits by April 30, 2024. Borrowers with federally-owned FFEL loans do not have to consolidate to get these benefits. If you need help navigating these options, we provide professional help

Second, submit the PSLF Employment Certification Form on StudentAid.gov, also called the ECF. Use the Federal Student Aid's (FSA) PSLF Help Tool to do this.

If you have Direct Loans from this period, certify ALL your years working at a nonprofit or government employer. You could pick up years of additional credit toward forgiveness. This applies even if you were on the wrong student loan repayment plan.

Note that you can consolidate multiple loans with different payment counts and get credit for the new consolidation loan for the one with the most months of credit!

Many FFEL borrowers could qualify for immediate forgiveness by consolidating and certifying at least 10 years of eligible employment. Most FFEL borrowers have been in repayment for at least 10 years. That means, if you have 10 years' worth of public sector employment between 2007 and 2022, you could qualify for a tax-free discharge of your loans.

PSLF Waiver action steps for borrowers with loans FROM 2010 and AFTER

If you have federal student loans after 2010, you most likely only have Direct Loans. This is because the FFEL program ended in 2010. Therefore, there's no need to consolidate.

Although, given new guidance on the consolidation of Direct Loans during the waiver, you might want to consider it.

Consider this scenario. You worked as a teacher after undergrad for four years, went back to grad school, and borrowed another $100,000.

If you consolidate the grad school loans with the undergrad loans, your new loan will get credit for those four years you paid as a teacher!

The guidance on the PSLF waiver seems to change WEEKLY. It's frustrating when we're trying to help clients and readers maximize their benefits. But just know that there are A LOT of planning opportunities around this.

Next, use the PSLF Help Tool and formally apply for PSLF

After determining if you need to consolidate or not, you only need to submit the PSLF ECF. Any previously ineligible years of payments will now count as long as you made payments of any kind on your student loans.

If you've already certified your PSLF credit, you can benefit automatically in the coming months as the government reviews loan accounts.

That said, I recommend you resubmit your ECF even if you've already done so. Include ALL employment from a 501(c)(3) or government employer between 2007 and 2021.

I expect many borrowers (even those who are PSLF-certified) to neglect to include qualifying employment for years in which they didn't make an income-based payment on their student loans.

This new PSLF order allows ANY past payment to qualify. So, one of the most common reasons borrowers will fail to benefit will probably be neglecting to include all qualifying public service employment on their ECF.

How long until you see the PSLF Waiver help you?

The Education Department is in the middle of transferring 16 million borrower accounts to a new student loan servicer. FedLoan Servicing, the company that manages PSLF, is one of the servicers quitting.

If you took the actions above by October 31, 2022, I expect you'll have nothing to worry about.

As of May 2022, we have already seen over 100,000 borrowers get forgiveness on over $6 billion. You need to be patient and make sure you have taken all the necessary steps. Then it's just a waiting game.

We see most consolidations happen within one or two months. Many borrowers report seeing their payment counts updated anywhere between two and six months.

Limited PSLF Waiver benefit: Technical payment problems eliminated

Here's another big benefit of the PSLF Waiver. Those with late payments and payments slightly less than the total amount due will now qualify.

The PSLF program had a lot of trouble with accidental payment mistakes. For example, paying one penny less than the required amount would cause a payment not to count.

Many borrowers have been fighting for years to get payment issues fixed, often of no fault of their own.

This provided relief to many thousands of borrowers.

How many student loan borrowers will benefit?

Early reporting suggested the Biden Public Service Loan Forgiveness Waiver would benefit as many as 550,000 borrowers. However, this number only includes borrowers who have already applied for PSLF.

We've already seen over 100,000 borrowers get PSLF due to this waiver. But we expect that's just the tip of the iceberg.

If you include the millions of borrowers with previously ineligible loans, millions of people could receive benefits under this PSLF Waiver.

PSLF for FFEL loans could result in complete forgiveness for millions of borrowers

Take a look at the current state of FFEL loans below, none of which are eligible for PSLF under normal rules. Keep in mind all FFEL loans have been around for at least 10 years and could have qualified for PSLF under this executive action.

Dollars of FFELP loans (Q2 2021)# of borrowers with FFELP loans
$238.8 billion10.6 million
Source: Department of Education, Q2 2021

There are presently more than 10 million borrowers with FFELP loans.

Non-profit workers represent about 10% of the workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And a Brookings report found that government workers represent approximately 15% of the workforce.

That means approximately 25% of the workforce would work for a qualifying employer under PSLF.

Public-sector workers are more highly educated than private-sector workers as a group. That means this 25% number is likely a floor. Likely, more than 25% of the 10 million borrowers above could work for a qualifying employer.

A rough guess of the FFEL loans that could be forgiven immediately

That said, you need to be employed full-time for 10 years cumulatively to benefit. You also must have made payments while employed for those 10 years to get PSLF. Of the current public sector workers, it's reasonable to guess at least half have met those eligibility requirements. More than 90% of FFEL loans are in active repayment and have existed for at least 10 years since the program ended in 2010.

PSLF borrowers also tend to have higher average student loan debt balances. So, an absolute floor for eligible FFEL loans might be 25% (share of the workforce in public service) * 50% (share that's been employed in public service full time for 10 years) * $238.8 billion = $29.9 billion.

That number could easily double in size if the share of FFEL borrowers is disproportionately working in public service.

This cost estimate was not included in the Department of Education announcement.

How many Direct Loans will be forgiven from this PSLF order?

The typical public servant borrower with Direct Loans who benefits from this PSLF order will probably just get a couple of years of extra credit toward their 120 months of qualifying payments.

Many borrowers started out on the wrong repayment plan or made a loan consolidation mistake. But they figured out what to do shortly after that.

Borrowers who didn't certify credit toward forgiveness while they were on plans besides an IDR plan will have the most to gain.

Also, FAR more borrowers qualify for PSLF with Direct Loans than have currently submitted an approved employer certification PSLF form. The final benefit amount of the PSLF Waiver may ultimately depend on reaching a huge number of individuals in the next year.

PSLF Waiver results so far

Department of Education has released forgiveness totals for each month under the PSLF waiver. Here's what the results look like. A yellow color indicates official numbers. A green color indicates our projections if the growth rate in approved borrowers and debt forgiven remains at 10%.

Notice that the rate of growth in approvals is slowing.

The big danger with the PSLF Waiver

The massive danger with the Limited PSLF Waiver is that borrowers will not hear about this life-changing opportunity in time. You only had until October 31, 2022. Our consult business has tripled partly due to this waiver's massive saving opportunities.

Please tell your friends and colleagues. My wife is a physician, and many of her highly educated physician colleagues have just discovered that they can get their entire balance forgiven by consolidating thanks to this waiver.

How many borrowers will fail to receive forgiveness simply because of how complex the government made this waiver? Far too many. Please 1) take advantage of this limited-time opportunity for you, and 2) tell others about it.

Getting help navigating PSLF

Following the action steps in this article carefully could knock years off your repayment or even get complete forgiveness.

Borrowers who already had a plan in place from the beginning will likely not benefit. This order targets borrowers who experienced difficulty with PSLF during the late 2000s and early 2010s when information about PSLF was less widely available (and what was available was often incorrect!).

While the PSLF Waiver expired on October 31, 2022, the IDR Waiver offers many of the same benefits. Our team of CFA and CFP® professionals can help make sure you get the max benefits under the waiver rules. We also have the highest reviews of any company operating in the student loan industry. So, you can trust that we take our responsibility to save you money incredibly seriously.

Not sure what to do with your student loans?

Take our 11 question quiz to get a personalized recommendation for 2024 on whether you should pursue PSLF, Biden’s New IDR plan, or refinancing (including the one lender we think could give you the best rate).

Take Our Quiz

Comments

  1. Ivan October 7, 2021 at 9:05 AM
    Reply

    Does the waiver benefit those who made FFEL idr payments while at a non profit before consolidating into a qualifying loan type but who wouldn’t have 120 payments while at a non profit until well after 10/31/22? (December 2028 would 120th month after starting working at nonprofit)

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner November 28, 2021 at 6:38 PM
      Reply

      Hey Ivan, this is correct!

  2. Guy Golan October 8, 2021 at 12:14 PM
    Reply

    How are people impacted who would benefit from this PSLF expansion in the sense that they could qualify for an extra couple years worth of payments but still not have the requisite 10 years of payments by the expiration date of October 31, 2022? Does the only hep people who can reach 10 years of qualifying payments by the deadline? Do you get to keep that credit post deadline if you’re still working toward 10 years?

    • Adam October 13, 2021 at 1:32 PM
      Reply

      Guy – The 2022 deadline is essentially for the consolidation process out of FFEL loans if necessary. You will get to keep any additional credit your receive beyond that date, even if you don’t hit the 10-year mark. For example, if you currently have 4 years of qualify payments and this temporary waiver gives you four more years, you’ll now only have to make 2 more years of qualifying payments. The 2022 deadline will have nothing to do with that.

  3. Adam October 13, 2021 at 1:35 PM
    Reply

    Travis – Have you heard if people on a non-qualifying repayment plan right before COVID will also have their $0 “payments” count toward PSLF? Obviously, it would have counted if they were on the right repayment IDR plan, but I haven’t seen anything about those that were on a different plan.

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner November 28, 2021 at 6:41 PM
      Reply

      Hey Adam, here is what our consultant Rob Bertman has to share: Yes, all payments on any payment plan and on any type of loans will count.

  4. Beth March 16, 2022 at 3:15 PM
    Reply

    Hi! I have submitted my form and believe that I may be eligible for loan forgiveness. While I am waiting to hear back, should I pursue a refund for overpayments that I made during the COVID payment suspension (these would have been payments/overpayments I made before I realized that the PSLF was happening)?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 18, 2022 at 12:07 AM
      Reply

      Hi Beth, yes you can do that.

  5. Dolores March 17, 2022 at 1:43 PM
    Reply

    Hello Travis.
    I have a question about the 10 years of repayment to qualify for PSLF. I am not understanding about reaching the 120 payments. Let’s say I have made 6 years of payments and the deadline for forgiveness is in October. Will I have 4 more years to pay off the Loan? Confused!!!!

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 18, 2022 at 12:19 AM
      Reply

      Hi Dolores, here’s a blog outlining 40 tips of PSLF. The deadline for forgiveness is not October, the October 31st deadline currently refers to when borrowers should apply for the waiver. If you believe you believe you may qualify based on the key points below, then apply for the waiver.

      -Borrowers with previously ineligible FFELP loans now qualify as long as payments were made while employed at a 501(c)(3) or government employer. You must consolidate these loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan and apply for PSLF to qualify.
      -All repayment plans now qualify for PSLF if certified before this PSLF Waiver expires.
      -All payments made before a loan was consolidated now count as well.
      -Deferment and forbearance due to active duty deployment will now count toward PSLF for current and former active duty military.

      Now to be eligible for PSLF, you need 120 qualifying payments which consecutively adds up to 10 years. If you’re already on track (6 years) then keep going. You would need an additional 4 years as you stated. However, if you do qualify for the waiver, it may credit you more qualifying payments. Worth a try applying!

  6. Heather March 17, 2022 at 1:44 PM
    Reply

    Initially, I didn’t understand that FEELP loans were Stafford loans until I recently found an article on your site that stated so. I paid on Sub and Unsub Stafford loans while employed with a qualifying employer between 2007-2011 before returning to graduate school in 2011. I onsolidated these Stafford loans into two consolidation loans which were in deferment while I was in grad school). Do these prior payments on Stafford loans count, even though I consolidated them in 2012?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 30, 2022 at 1:46 AM
      Reply

      Hi Heather, yes it sounds like, but get a consult from us because it’s a high risk to leave that credit behind and you might be able to apply it to your grad school loans too.

  7. Nikki Smith-Kemper March 18, 2022 at 10:11 AM
    Reply

    Hi Travis. I did a loan consult with your company in November and have since satisfied all steps for the PSLF waiver. I had FFEL loans consolidated with AES and now have consolidated to direct loans. I then filled out the income driven payment form and loan forgiveness form with my government employment certified back to 2008 with a continuous payment history. Never missed one month of payments. Fed Loan has reviewed everything and says my EC is approved but has given me 0 months credit toward the 120 month payment requirement. I called them and waited on hold for over three hours and they said that was just the “first review” and it now goes to the Dept. of Ed. to be reviewed for the PSLF limited waiver. Do you know anything about this process? The initial letter I received from Fed Loan indicated in bold it had been reviewed for the limited waiver and that I didn’t qualify. Further, the letter was dated 2/15/22 (not before 2/7/22 as referenced in the guidance). I literally meet every single requirement for forgiveness under the limited waiver and am not understanding how this has happened.

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 30, 2022 at 1:46 AM
      Reply

      Hi Nikki, here’s a message from Travis: “it’s taking them a LONG time to process everything, avg we’ve seen is 4 months, one day I predict you’ll login and it’ll be gone.”

      • Nikki April 9, 2022 at 10:32 PM
        Reply

        Hi Travis. Just wanted to let you know that when I checked my mailbox the afternoon after I posted my comment, I had a letter confirming my $56,000 balance had been forgiven!

  8. Sam March 18, 2022 at 4:51 PM
    Reply

    Hello Travis,
    I have a question from the March update “If you have Parent PLUS loans and at least one loan taken out for your education, consolidate the whole thing together.”

    Lets say I have 5 Parent Plus loans for my child, 5 Direct Loans for grad school for myself, and a FFEL loan from 2007 with qualifying payments. Should I pursue the Double Consolidation on the Parent PLUS loans then consolidate all loans after that for the PSLF special waiver?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 30, 2022 at 1:45 AM
      Reply

      Hi Sam, probably yes, but a lot of people in this situation are booking consults to discuss it with the team.

  9. Kristine March 19, 2022 at 4:07 PM
    Reply

    I consolidated my FFEL Consolidation loan into a direct consolidation loan and then combined it with the rest of my Direct Loans. I believe I have made the 120 payments now that the loans are all combined and submitted the waiver form which included the certified employment. I submitted my application for PSLF on January 7th and I’m anxiously awaiting a response from them. I’m curious to know how long I should wait before contacting them to make sure my file gets worked on at some point? I believe I should qualify for forgiveness. I worked as a nurse at qualifying employer for more than 120 payments. My FFEL loan was a consolidation FFEL loan. I hope that doesn’t disqualify me. I don’t think it should though. Do you know of anyone who submitted around same time as me that have gotten forgiveness? I can’t thank you enough for all you do. To say I would be lost without you would be major understatement. Thank you for your service!!!

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 30, 2022 at 1:44 AM
      Reply

      Hi Kristine, Travis and team are seeing four months as the avg wait. We would expect something by end of April… I’d reach out if you don’t hear back by then.

  10. Ryan Sanderson-Smith March 24, 2022 at 5:52 AM
    Reply

    Has the waiver allowed for consolidation of direct loans without losing prior qualifying PSLF payment history?

    I’d like to do this to simplify payment tracking. The multiple direct loans also have different payment counts for PSLF, so this may also solve that problem.

    But this definitely would not wipe out PSLF payment history before the consolidation right?

  11. Ian March 25, 2022 at 9:28 AM
    Reply

    Great article. What about FFELP loans that were in repayment in 2013 and paid off in 2015, then more grad school loans (direct) were taken out and are in repayment now. I am seeking PSLF now that the waiver came along (71/120), and all my current loans are direct and qualify without consolidating. I am getting ready to apply for PAYE before the freeze ends to lower my payments. Would a consolidation rope in the old FFELP loans even though they have a zero balance? There are an additional 2+ years in which I was working for a non-profit (2014-2016) but my direct grad school loans were in deferment during residency.

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 30, 2022 at 1:41 AM
      Reply

      Hi Ian, no, zero balance means no credit.

  12. Maggie March 27, 2022 at 12:32 PM
    Reply

    Hi! I love your site and newsletters and I’ve been reading and re-reading it, as well as the Federal Student Aid site but I want to be quite clear since I just received my update from FedLoan this week.

    I have 4 “direct unsubsidized Stafford” loans where FedLoan added 2 additional payments from early on during one of their clerical errors (long story, should be 3 additional payments but oh well). I also have 6 “direct student PLUS” loans where they did not add these 2 prior payments for unclear reasons. If I consolidate everything, which is now apparently what’s recommended even though we were told time and time again when I was in school NOT to consolidate unless you were going to refinance, these 2 additional payments should count for all of my loans for PSLF?

    Also, going to be tough to consolidate if the FSA website is down… which it is as of 3/27/22

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 30, 2022 at 1:41 AM
      Reply

      Hi Maggie, yes that sounds like the way to go if you’re 100% positive you’re doing PSLF, but that might recertify your income early, so you might want a consult to review it.

  13. J March 27, 2022 at 7:59 PM
    Reply

    Any intelligence on how long it is taking them to update payment counts for people who submitted all the waiver paperwork? The Department of Ed. website and MyFedLoan website just say “months” but it’s unclear if that means 2 months or 8 months or what.

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 29, 2022 at 1:01 AM
      Reply

      Hi J, we don’t know but some readers have shared that it has taken 3-4 months.

  14. Rb March 29, 2022 at 12:32 AM
    Reply

    I have been on a graduated repayment plan towards a Consolidated Federal Direct Loan since 2002 because I couldn’t afford to pay the income driven repayment plan amounts. I haven’t made any loan payments (due to automatic covid forbearance) since November 2020. I’ve been continuously employed by a government employer for over 20 years. Is there anything I can/should do to qualify for the PLSF Waiver?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner March 30, 2022 at 1:40 AM
      Reply

      Hi Rb, yes , you might be able to just fill out the waiver at studentaid.gov/pslf but you should probably book a consult with us to see if you need to take any additional steps such as consolidate. You can book a consult here if interested.

  15. Guy Golan March 30, 2022 at 9:22 AM
    Reply

    Hi, just to clarify about consolidating loans for PSLF. If we do it, we’ll get all our loans to around 7 years of PSLF payments. However, we’re not currently working at a qualifying employer. The consolidation will reset our IDR payment count correct? So it would be too risky to increase our qualifying payments for PSLF at the expense of starting IDR over when it’s unknown if we’ll ever be in another qualifying employment situation since we live in CA. Is that accurate? Thank you.

  16. Marinus April 2, 2022 at 4:48 PM
    Reply

    On the stat about how the waiver would maybe help as many as 550,000 but only those that have “applied” for the waiver does that simply mean anyone that has submitted an employer cert? I’ve been pursuing PSLF since 2010 and have been with Fedloan since something like a few years after that, and someone told me that I was automatically eligible for the waiver because of this. That’s confused me throughout the process: it doesn’t seem that there’s an application that is exclusively for this waiver but that one “applies” by doing other steps like submitting employer cert, consolidating, etc…

  17. Mike April 3, 2022 at 12:25 PM
    Reply

    I have one FFEL loan and two direct loans. Can I consolidate just the FFEL loan into a direct consolidation loan so that I can pursue PSLF for all my loans and get all credit for payments I’ve made on the FFEL loan through the limited waiver? If so, will my payment need to be recertified? And will all my loan payments need to be re-certified or just for the FFEL loan? I would like for my existing direct loans to remain at the same pre-covid payment amount if possible.

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner April 7, 2022 at 1:56 AM
      Reply

      Hi Mike, you’d want to consolidate all together to give the other direct loans the credit the FFEL loan has if the payment count is different between them. But yes, you could just consolidate the ffel on it’s own, but it would recalculate the whole payment I believe since you’d have to submit a new IDR application.

  18. Ann April 6, 2022 at 2:14 PM
    Reply

    Is there any exception to the requirement that you must be currently employed by a qualifying employer when you apply for the waiver? I’ve got way over 10 years of payments with qualified employers but have been unemployed during Covid to care for kids. Then, my husband passed unexpectedly, and I have yet to return to the workforce. Is there any hope for me? I know there are others like me who may qualify but have been unemployed during this window of opportunity.

  19. Lesa April 6, 2022 at 2:43 PM
    Reply

    I have had a FFELP Consolidated loan since 2001, then consolidated into a Direct Loan Consolidation in 12/2021 for the purpose of the PSLF waiver program. I have definitely paid 120 payments which now should qualify for PSLF as I meet all the criteria of the PSLF waiver and requirements. I have always paid on time and the entire amount of my payments. I even continued to pay even after March of 2020 when payments/interest were postponed by the government. Afraid not to pay!
    Can I request a refund now from the lender for those payments from March 2020 to October 2021 when I began the consolidation process?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner May 4, 2022 at 12:42 AM
      Reply

      Hi Lesa, you can only get refunds on loans that have not been consolidated yet.

  20. Daisy April 11, 2022 at 3:21 PM
    Reply

    Thanks for this valuable information. I have been told that I have (over) 120 qualifying payments and that I am “eligible” for loan forgiveness. I’m waiting for my account to zero out. My concern is that I have not been on an IBR payment plan, and I keep reading this TEPSLF requirement that you pay IBR amounts for the 12 months before applying for forgiveness. Can you help me understand this?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner May 4, 2022 at 12:41 AM
      Reply

      Hi Daisy, TEPSLF is currently not relevant with the PSLF waiver in place.

  21. Heidi May 19, 2022 at 11:34 AM
    Reply

    I have about $70,000 in FFEL loans and have made 120 payments while working for a PSLF eligible employer, payments that now qualify under the waiver. I am trying to consolidate my loans into the Direct Loan program, but have a question about which repayment plan to choose. By following the PSLF help tool, I was directed to the Direct Loans Consolidation website. I am given any number of repayment options. How do I know which to choose, since technically my loans will be forgiven? Will I have to make payments on the new consolidated direct loan while waiting for the PSLF program to certify my payments and forgive my loan? Thank you!!!

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:48 PM
      Reply

      Hi Heidi, choose standard because it won’t matter. They’ll be forgiven before you make a payment.

  22. Susan May 19, 2022 at 1:30 PM
    Reply

    Hi, I was elected to my small town’s Board of Commissioners in 2017. Does this count as government service for the PSLF? I work part time for the town and just under full time hours for a private employer.

    • Nathalia at Student Loan Planner May 27, 2022 at 3:49 AM
      Reply

      Hi Susan,

      According to the studentaid website, government organizations at any level do count as a qualifying employer, but you do need to have full time employment status for that qualifying employer.

  23. Darren Fitzpatrick May 19, 2022 at 1:55 PM
    Reply

    Hi Travis. Quick question. I have 15+ years of working at nonprofits, with 120 payments completed during the final 10 years of my tenure. Based on the new guidelines, if I was in deferment during the first 5 years working at a nonprofit, do I need to submit that on my PSELF form or just need to include the 10 years while making payments at a nonprofit?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:49 PM
      Reply

      Hi Darren, here’s a response from Travis: include the 5 years of deferment too! That’s very important.

  24. Tom Woolf May 19, 2022 at 4:17 PM
    Reply

    A friend of mine has loans serviced by Great Lakes, and has never previously certified employment. Now that loans cannot be transferred to FedLoan, how would she submit ECFs/PSLF applications? The Great Lakes Servicing site simply redirects to the PSLF help tool on the FSA site, and the FSA site says to submit these through FedLoan.
    Thanks!

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:50 PM
      Reply

      Hi Tom, just use the PSLF help tool to send in the document based on the instructions. If you can’t send it to FedLoan online remember you can fax or mail after finishing the ECF on the online student aid tool.

  25. John May 23, 2022 at 1:49 AM
    Reply

    Thank you for this thread. I have questions. FedLoans recommend that I consolidate my loans and take advantage of my high PSLF payment count on one of my loans. They said if I consolidate, It will move more a lot closer to forgiveness. However, I will not be at 120 yet. Since I complete the consolidation and IDR application together on studentaid.gov, will that raise my monthly payment? My income has gone up since prior to COVID. I heard old payments will continue for awhile after the payments restart.

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:51 PM
      Reply

      Hi John, it could but almost always the benefit from the higher payment count is better.

  26. John May 23, 2022 at 1:50 AM
    Reply

    My wife has several student loans. Should she apply for Limited PSLF? Her payment counts are only off by 1 payment, meaning it would necessary raise her payment count.

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:51 PM
      Reply

      Hi John, probably not with a 1 payment difference.

  27. Kacie May 23, 2022 at 10:47 AM
    Reply

    Great article! I am in the process of consolidating and I chose a Standard Direct. I got a letter from FedLoan and way at the bottom it has a blurb that to “get the most” from PSLF that I should choose an IDR type of loan. I’ll have 120 payment easily (I’ve been paying for 20 years) so I chose Standard with the thought that my income is high currently. Should I worry about changing the loan type or no?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:52 PM
      Reply

      Hi Kacie, standard is fine that’s just boilerplate.

  28. Eric May 24, 2022 at 3:07 PM
    Reply

    I have a Direct Loan that was consolidated in 2002 and have had continously qualifying employment from that time to present. I have made continous payments (including payments during the COVID pause) during the entire period from 2002 to present. If I understand correctly, I would have made 120 qualifying payments by 2017 (since the program started in 2007.) If my PSLF waiver is approved will I receive a refund for the payments I made from 2018 to present?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:53 PM
      Reply

      Hi Eric, if the loan was consolidated a while ago then yes that’s possible and likely.

  29. Brittany May 26, 2022 at 1:58 PM
    Reply

    Thank you for this article! Has anyone had any luck getting the time in academic deferment to count towards PSLF? Both my husband and I were put into academic deferment for a few years, while we were working full time in public service, and we did not notice that our PSLF clock was not ticking until it was too late. If you have had luck with this, how did you do it? Thank you again!
    -Brittany

    • Nathalia at Student Loan Planner May 27, 2022 at 4:21 AM
      Reply

      Hi Brittany,

      Unfortunately, in-school deferment does not count towards PSLF.

  30. Heidi Phillips May 27, 2022 at 7:04 AM
    Reply

    Hello! I will have made 120 qualifying payments under the new PSLF waiver if I consolidate my FFEL loans into the direct loan program. Does it matter for qualification for forgiveness which repayment plan I choose in the direct loan program?
    Thank you!
    Heidi

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 13, 2022 at 1:28 AM
      Reply

      Hi Heidi, I responded to your previous question but just in case… choose standard because it won’t matter. They’ll be forgiven before you make a payment.

  31. TL May 31, 2022 at 8:40 PM
    Reply

    Hello,

    Wondering if payments made in the REPAYE program count toward PSLF?

    Also, with the waiver, does one still need to be full time? Does being .5FTE count if you’re getting full benefits etc.

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:54 PM
      Reply

      Hi TL, yes REPAYE counts, 0.5FTE is not full time so it wouldn’t count, have to be at least 30 hrs a week or 30 hrs from multiple part time jobs combined.

  32. Oscar June 4, 2022 at 9:22 PM
    Reply

    I was a resident for one year at an eligible employer and am now with another eligible employer, however, I did not and have not made any payments given the COVID pause. Would the PSLF waiver reduce the number of qualifying payments for me by 12 (one year residency) and then by the number of months I have been with my new employer whilst still in the COVID forbearance?

    • Abel at Student Loan Planner June 12, 2022 at 6:55 PM
      Reply

      Hi Oscar, it would be reduced anyway because of the pandemic pause counting for PSLF already.

  33. James June 11, 2022 at 12:16 PM
    Reply

    I have consolidated my FFEL loans and submitted the PSLF/TEPSLF application. Is there an additional step needed to apply for the Waiver?

    • Nathalia at Student Loan Planner June 13, 2022 at 10:52 AM
      Reply

      Hi James,

      if you have also submitted your employment certification form, which is usually done with the PSLF/TEPSLF application then there are no more additional steps.

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