Sense & Centsibility Blog
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Student Loan

Public Service Loan Forgiveness [still here, still helping]

Monday, February 3, 2025 - 15:57

There have been many changes to the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program for student loan borrowers over the last three years. As a result, there’s lots of confusion around whether it’s still available and how it can help borrowers.

The good news is that the PSLF program is still here and doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Here is a quick summary of what you need to do to have your loans forgiven under PSLF.

Eligibility

You need to meet all four of the following eligibility requirements at the same time to obtain forgiveness.

Student Loan Type

  • Only federal Direct Loans qualify for PSLF. This means that Perkins, Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and Parent Plus Loans do not qualify unless they are consolidated.
  • Find out what type of federal loans you have by going to StudentAid.gov. Once you log in, view “my aid,” then select “loan details” for information on each loan that has a balance.

Qualifying Employment 

  • Qualifying employment means working 30 hours per week or more as a W-2 employee at a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or government agency. It doesn’t matter what job you have at the agency, just as long as it is a qualifying employer.
  • Verify your employment by going to StudentAid.gov/pslf to use the PSLF Help Tool. You will need to work with your current employer each year to verify that you have qualifying employment.

Type of Loan Repayment Plan

  • Only Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans qualify. IDR plans include Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), Pay as You Earn (PAYE), Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR).
  • If payments under these plans are higher than your current payment plan, PSLF might not be beneficial for you. Our certified student loan counselors are available to discuss the pros/cons of IDR plans and other repayment options with you.

Amount of Time Repaying Loans

You must make a total of 120 cumulative months of payments (10 years) toward your loan. You can change payment plans, employers, etc., and the payments don’t have to be made in consecutive months, but only qualifying payments will count.

  • Qualifying months start when loans came into repayment or 2007 (whichever is most recent).
  • Time spent in school, grace periods or student loan default does not count toward PSLF.
  • If you consolidate your student loans, your cumulative month count might be reset to zero.

You must satisfy all four requirements at the same time for your payment to count toward forgiveness. Once you have reached 120 qualifying months, your remaining loan balance is forgiven. However, this is an all-or-nothing program — there is no prorating forgiveness. 

PSLF is a very nuanced program that requires the borrower to do a lot of paperwork and follow-up. Our certified student loan counselors are here to walk through this process with you. They can help ensure you are on track to repaying your student loans with a plan that fits your unique situation. Call 888.577.2227 today to set up a free, confidential appointment.

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Author April Sanderson is a certified financial counselor with LSS Financial Counseling. Her areas of expertise include student loan counseling.