Lifechanging Loan Forgiveness, Part 1
For years, educators who believed they were eligible for student loan forgiveness under the federal public service loan forgiveness program got the runaround and round after round of rejection. For many, that's all changing now. NEA Member Benefits affiliate relations specialist Guy Kendall-Freas talks about the tools and resources available to Ohio's educators to help them get the loan relief they've earned.
PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM: HERE’S WHAT’S CHANGED
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced major changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
The new changes might help you if:
The new changes might help you if:
- You have federal student loans AND you work full-time for a school district, or institution of higher education AND you have Direct Loans OR You consolidate into the Direct Loan Program by Oct. 31, 2022
What public service workers need to do before October 31, 2022:
- Go to studentaid.gov/pslf, login with your Federal Student Aid ID (or create one if you do not have one) and make sure your contact information is up to date so the U.S. Department of Education can communicate directly with you.
- If you have a Direct Loan, have made 120 payments, and have applied for PSLF, you should receive automatic forgiveness soon.
- If you have a Direct Loan, have made 120 payments, and have NOT applied for PSLF, you need to apply for PSLF right away.
- If you have a FFEL or Perkins loan, you need to consolidate into a Direct Loan, then apply for PSLF. Previous Rules Temporary Changes
- PREVIOUS RULE: Borrowers who have Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) or Perkins loans were ineligible for forgiveness
- TEMPORARY CHANGE: FFEL and Perkins loans payments are now eligible and count towards the required 120 payments
- PREVIOUS RULE: Payments in non-income driven repayment plans did not count towards the required 120 payments
- TEMPORARY CHANGE: Previous payments outside of income-driven repayment now count towards the required 120 payments
- PREVIOUS RULE: Previous late payments were not credited toward the required 120 payments
- TEMPORARY CHANGE: Previous late payments and partial payments now count towards the required 120 payments
- PREVIOUS RULE: Borrowers who consolidated their federal student loans to qualify for PSLF would lose all previous payment credits toward the 120 qualifying payments
- TEMPORARY CHANGE: Payments made prior to consolidation will now be eligible towards the required 120 payments
Why did the PSLF program change?
PSLF was created in 2007 to forgive the federal student debt of public employees, including teachers, faculty, and education support professionals, who provide 10 years of service and make 120 monthly payments on their student loans.
However, when the first borrowers became eligible for forgiveness, the Trump Administration prioritized profits for big banks over keeping the promise of PSLF. They denied over 90 percent of applications and kept public service workers paying interest on debts that should have been canceled.
Loan forgiveness was denied because the program had too many technicalities and many loan servicers misled borrowers about the rules. The Biden Administration’s overhaul fixes some of the technicalities and will mean debt forgiveness right away for tens of thousands of public service workers and eventual forgiveness for many more. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of educators could become eligible for loan forgiveness over the next year.
10 years of public service equals no student debt. That is the promise. And we will not stop until that promise is kept to everyone.
PSLF was created in 2007 to forgive the federal student debt of public employees, including teachers, faculty, and education support professionals, who provide 10 years of service and make 120 monthly payments on their student loans.
However, when the first borrowers became eligible for forgiveness, the Trump Administration prioritized profits for big banks over keeping the promise of PSLF. They denied over 90 percent of applications and kept public service workers paying interest on debts that should have been canceled.
Loan forgiveness was denied because the program had too many technicalities and many loan servicers misled borrowers about the rules. The Biden Administration’s overhaul fixes some of the technicalities and will mean debt forgiveness right away for tens of thousands of public service workers and eventual forgiveness for many more. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of educators could become eligible for loan forgiveness over the next year.
10 years of public service equals no student debt. That is the promise. And we will not stop until that promise is kept to everyone.
The changes to PSLF will exist only until October 31, 2022.
For more information, go to studentaid.gov/announcements-events/pslf-limited-waiver
Need Help?
- You can apply for PSLF forgiveness at studentaid.gov/pslf
- And every NEA member can get free help applying for PSLF (and with any questions about student debt) by going to neamb.com/Savi
- If you are not a member of NEA, you can join by going to nea.org/join
- ATTEND A ZOOM SESSION TO LEARN MORE
NEA Member Benefits will share more information about this throughout December. To learn more, simply use this ZOOM link to join any (or all) of the seven ZOOM sessions below: https://neamb.zoom.us/j/81151687159?pwd=Wkk3anUvYTcwQzNwZjZSWFhHSmFpdz09. If prompted, the meeting ID is 811 5168 7159 and the passcode is 516955.
- DECEMBER 13 from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. EASTERN TIME
- DECEMBER 14 from 7:00 – 8:00 A.M. EASTERN TIME and repeated from 7:00 – 8:00 A.M. CENTRAL TIME.
- DECEMBER 15 from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EASTERN TIME
- DECEMBER 18 (Saturday) from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m./ EASTERN TIME
- DECEMBER 20 from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. EASDTERN TIME
- DECEMBER 28 (DURING THE HOLIDAY BREAK) from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EASTERN TIME
A wide range of dates and times have been selected to make this information as obtainable as possible.
Featured Education Matters guest:
- Guy Kendall-Freas, Affiliate Relations Specialist, NEA Member Benefits
- Guy Kendall-Freas is an Affiliate Relations Specialist from NEA Member Benefits where he has been employed since 1996. A former special education teacher, Guy was also a local, district, and state leader for the Association during his 12 years in the classroom, in addition to serving in various capacities to the Ohio Department of Education, including serving as one of the first group of teachers trained as Praxis III assessors in Ohio. Working from the NEA Member Benefits Regional Office in Mansfield, OH, Guy serves members and locals in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Connect with us:
- Email educationmatters@ohea.org with your feedback or ideas for future Education Matters topics
- Like OEA on Facebook
- Follow OEA on Twitter
- Follow OEA on Instagram
- Get the latest news and statements from OEA here
- Learn more about where OEA stands on the issues
- Keep up to date on the legislation affecting Ohio public schools and educators with OEA's Legislative Watch
About us:
- The Ohio Education Association represents about 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools, and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio’s schools.
- Education Matters host Katie Olmsted serves as Media Relations Consultant for the Ohio Education Association. She joined OEA in May, 2020, after a ten-year career as a television reporter, anchor, and producer. Katie comes from a family of educators and is passionate about telling educators' stories and advocating for Ohio's students. She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and two young children.
This episode was recorded in December, 2021.
