Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is a program to alleviate the student loan burden by encouraging people to follow their passions and work in the public sector. Nurses, teachers, physicians, military personnel and anyone who works for local, state and federal government may qualify as well as people who work for non-profit organizations. By forgiving student loans after 10 years, new graduates can do what they love and not be hamstrung by mountains of student loan debt.

1. Public
Service
Loan
Forgiveness

2. Public Service Loan Forgiveness
(PSLF)
is a government program to incentivize
people with federal student loans to
work full-time in public service.

3. Librarian
What kinds of jobs qualify for PSLF?

4. Qualifying Employment
• Any employment with a federal, state or local
government entity or organization
• Not-for-profit organizations designated as tax-
exempt by the IRS.

5. • Private not-for-profit employers that are not tax-
exempt if it provides certain public services.
– Emergency management
– Military service
– Public safety
– Public education or public library services
– School library and other school-based services
– Public interest law services
– Early childhood education
– Public service for individuals with disabilities and the
elderly.
Qualifying Employment

6. Marine Biologist
The CFPB estimates that 1 in 4 workers in the
U.S. can qualify for forgiveness.

7. Park Ranger
How do I qualify for forgiveness?

8. • You have to make 120 on-time, full,
scheduled, monthly payments on your direct
loans after October 1, 2007.
• You have to make your payments under a
qualifying repayment plan.
• When you make your payments, you must be
working full-time at a qualifying public service
organization.
How Do I Qualify?

9. • On-time payments are received by your loan servicer
within 15 days after your scheduled due date.
• Full payments are payments that equal or exceed
your required payment.
• Scheduled payments are made under a qualifying
repayment plan after you have been billed.
• Monthly payments are regularly scheduled
payments, lump sum payments or advance payments
do not qualify.
What is an On-time, Full,
Scheduled, Monthly Payment?

10. Lighthouse Keeper
What is a qualifying repayment
plan?

11. • 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan (or any other plan
where the amount you pay is equal to or exceeds
your payment under the 10-Year Standard
Repayment Plan).
• Income-Based Repayment (IBR)
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)
• Pay As You Earn Repayment
Qualifying Repayment Plans

12. Qualifying Repayment Plans
To maximize forgiveness choose the IBR, ICR or
Pay As You Earn plan. Your payment will likely
be lower than the 10-year plans and your
repayment term will be longer.
Because of the longer repayment term, the
interest that accrues on your account, and the
smaller payment you will have a higher balance
after you make 120 monthly payments. And the
entire balance will be forgiven.

13. Cartographer
What loans are eligible for PSLF?

14. Eligible loans.
• Only Federal Direct Loans are eligible for PSLF.
• You can consolidate FFELP or Perkins loans into
Direct Consolidation Loans.
– Only payments made on the Direct Consolidation
Loan will count as PSLF payments.

15. Astronaut
Working full-time

16. Full-Time Work
• You must be a full-time employee at a qualifying
organization to qualify.
• For an astronaut to qualify, he has to be working full-
time for NASA at the time he makes his payments.

17. Coast Guard
How do I keep track of my
eligibility?

18. Keeping Track of Your Eligibility
• 10 years (120 months) is a long time to keep track of
anything. The Department of Education has created a
process to help you keep track.
1. Complete the Employment Certification Form each year or when you change
jobs.
2. Submit the form to FedLoan Servicing (the PSLF servicer).
3. FedLoan Servicing will review the form and determine if your employment
qualifies for PSLF.
– If you don’t qualify or if they can’t determine if you qualify, FedLoan
Servicing will notify you and ask for additional information.
– If you qualify FedLoan Servicing will notify you of how many qualifying
payments you’ve made during the certification period, the total number of
qualifying payments you’ve made and the number of payments you have to
make to qualify for PSLF.

19. Archaeologist
What do I do after I’m
eligible for PSLF?

20. When You’re Eligible for PSLF
• You have to submit the PSLF application (still under
development).
• The first forgiveness will happen in October of 2017
(10 years after the program was made available).

21. Colonial “Reenactor”

22. Other Jobs that May Qualify
• In addition to the images you’ve seen, other careers
that may qualify for PSLF include:
– Nurse;
– Physician;
– Teacher;
– Special Education Teacher;
– Elderly Care;
– Preschool Teacher;
– Child Care;
– And many, many more.