In 2007, Congress enacted the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program as a way to attract talented professionals to careers in public service. Under the program, borrowers who work in nonprofit or government jobs for 10 years or more and meet other program requirements can get their remaining federal student loans forgiven.
Sound simple? Navigating the PSLF program has been anything but easy.
Complex eligibility rules, misinformation, predatory lenders and little oversight has made it nearly impossible for eligible borrowers to achieve loan forgiveness through PSLF. According to NPR , 99 percent of PSLF applications were denied in 2018.
But things have begun to change under the Biden Administration. In October 2021, the administration put in place a limited PSLF waiver, which temporarily sets aside complicated program rules, allowing more borrowers to qualify for loan forgiveness.
But this offer won’t last for much longer. It expires Oct. 31.
In this episide of The Voice, host and UUP President Fred Kowal talks about the PSLF waiver with UUP statewide Secretary-Treasurer Jeri O’Bryan-Losee, who runs UUP’s virtual student debt clinics, which have helped thousands of our members get more than $2.1 million in student debt forgiven through the PSLF program. You can register to attend a debt clinic HERE.
O'Bryan-Losee will explain the limited PSLF waiver and the first steps borrowers must take to get their loans forgiven under PSLF. Last year, she served as a primary negotiator representing student loan borrowers for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Affordability and Student Loans Committee. The committee’s work resulted in changes to the PSLF program and proposals for state-level changes.
In 2021, O'Bryan-Losee had $74,000 in student loans forgiven under PSLF.
Kowal also talks with Pattie Samson, a UUP member at SUNY Morrisville, who had $84,000 in federal loans forgiven through PSLF. Sampson. A senior counselor at SUNY Morrisville’s Senior Health Center, attended UUP’s student debt clinics.