The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program was established in 2007 to help non-profit and/or government workers with their federal student loan balances. Under the original guidelines, only those with Direct Student Loans – Subsidized, Unsubsidized, PLUS, and Consolidated – would receive credit toward forgiveness. Limitations were also placed on the loan payments themselves. Payments must have been made on-time, in-full, and within the correct repayment plan.
- Allowing past payments to Perkins and Family Federal Education Loans (FFEL) to count toward forgiveness – these types of loans were ineligible under the original PSLF Program.
- Allowing borrowers to consolidate their federal loans without losing eligibility for forgiveness – previously, borrowers who consolidated individual federal loans (Direct or non-Direct) to a Direct Consolidation Loan would have to restart their eligible payment clock.
- Allowing partial payments to count – payments that were made for less than the monthly billed amount would not count toward PSLF.
These changes have allowed many additional borrowers to become eligible for forgiveness under PSLF, and the full list of changes can be viewed on the PSLF Limited Waiver Fact Sheet.
As of now, the October 31, 2022 deadline has not been extended (please note that this differs from the recently announced administrative forbearance extension ending on December 31, 2022), so make sure to contact your lender if you believe you are eligible for forgiveness! You may also contact a Family Wellbeing Specialist, with a focus on Family Finance (https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/finance) for additional assistance with navigating your student loans.
