PSLF

[Mushe]

Apr 29, 2022 10:13:44 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

Apr 29, 2022 9:42:02 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Just an fyi to go back and check your FedLoan account a few days after forgiveness. I just did and see a pending payment of almost $5k, the amount I’m expecting as a refund based on the increase in my balance just before the waiver applied.

For timeline, I applied in early November, acknowledged right away but loans didn’t transfer from my servicer until April. I also had a FFEL loan that consolidated in December and was forgiven in February. Waiver applied to my remaining loans last week.

But don't be concerned if you don't see anything because there is a short time period when you can see the refund balance, I missed seeing how much I was getting so it was a nice surprise to get the over $5k check in the mail!!

Yes, for sure! I never saw the amount in parentheses, so I was surprised to see the ‘payment pending’ listed there.

[bex1973]

Apr 29, 2022 10:40:34 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Apr 29, 2022 10:13:44 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

But don't be concerned if you don't see anything because there is a short time period when you can see the refund balance, I missed seeing how much I was getting so it was a nice surprise to get the over $5k check in the mail!!

How long did it take for the check to show up in the mail for you post forgiveness?

I've gotten confirmation from the ombudsman that I should have a refund, but have seen zero evidence of it on fedloan and my paid in full date on FSA is wrong. I pointed that out to ombudsman contact and she told me not to worry but uhm, I'm worried lol. 

Maybe 4-6 weeks?  I feel like it was closer to the 4 weeks. And by the time I got my refund they were sending 1 check versus a separate check for each over payment.

[killercupcake]

Apr 28, 2022 10:25:08 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Apr 28, 2022 4:52:00 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

Hi all! I am slowly reading through everything and had a question.

I’ve got a FedLoan account and can see they are working on consolidating my NelNet loan to DirectLoans. I have all but one of my employer forms. Once I have that, can I upload before the loan is consolidated? Or should I wait?

PS - Congrats to everyone getting good news!

To be safest, wait until it's fully consolidated and showing correctly on FedLoan and then upload through the FedLoan portal.

In about 98% of the cases, uploading before the consolidation goes through is fine, but I've seen a few where the application was "put on hold" if it was sent pre-consolidation. 

Do I need to resubmit my employment certification or will they automatically apply what I’ve already had counted prior to my consolidation?

[gretchenindisguise]

Apr 29, 2022 11:13:33 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

Apr 29, 2022 10:40:34 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

How long did it take for the check to show up in the mail for you post forgiveness?

I've gotten confirmation from the ombudsman that I should have a refund, but have seen zero evidence of it on fedloan and my paid in full date on FSA is wrong. I pointed that out to ombudsman contact and she told me not to worry but uhm, I'm worried lol. 

Maybe 4-6 weeks?  I feel like it was closer to the 4 weeks. And by the time I got my refund they were sending 1 check versus a separate check for each over payment.

Today is exactly 5 weeks, so I guess I'll wait another week and then ask. I just assume that they messed something up with mine since that's what they've done this whole time.

[gretchenindisguise]

Apr 29, 2022 11:23:57 GMT -5 killercupcake said:

Apr 28, 2022 10:25:08 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

To be safest, wait until it's fully consolidated and showing correctly on FedLoan and then upload through the FedLoan portal.

In about 98% of the cases, uploading before the consolidation goes through is fine, but I've seen a few where the application was "put on hold" if it was sent pre-consolidation. 

Do I need to resubmit my employment certification or will they automatically apply what I’ve already had counted prior to my consolidation?

In about 99% of the cases, they automatically apply what you've already had counted and you don't need to resubmit. 

That said, I don't believe there is any harm in resubmitting. In my experience it didn't put you in the back of the line or anything.

[underwaterrhymes]

Thanks for the replies to my question the other day!

I almost had a major freak out in the middle of the night. I checked my email at 1 am because I couldn’t sleep and had a consolidation denial from FedLoan indicating “You listed Direct Consolidation Loans with the same first disbursement date on your application. These loan types cannot be consolidated alone. You must include at least one other eligible Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) or Direct Loan Program loan.”

After frantically searching the PSLF FB group, it turns out I am a dumbass and tried to consolidate a single loan, which isn’t possible or necessary. I can move onto submitting my employment forms and FedLoans will transfer over my single loan after they process the PSLF forms. I have all of my PSLF forms signed by my employers, so am going to upload today!

[brady2012]

Apr 29, 2022 11:49:19 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Apr 29, 2022 11:23:57 GMT -5 killercupcake said:

Do I need to resubmit my employment certification or will they automatically apply what I’ve already had counted prior to my consolidation?

In about 99% of the cases, they automatically apply what you've already had counted and you don't need to resubmit. 

That said, I don't believe there is any harm in resubmitting. In my experience it didn't put you in the back of the line or anything.

I ended up resubmitting this week because the initial acknowledgment of my psfl application from fedloan came before consolidation was complete and it said I didn’t have any qualifying loans at this time. After I resubmitted my application the letter listed my consolidated loans and said they will review for qualifying employment.

[ellipses84]

I was forgiven! Almost $50k and a payment pending for $10k, which adds up to the payments I made from October 2017 to the covid pause! Now I need an amazing Mother’s Day gift for my mom. We are still in disbelief.

[okla]

May 4, 2022 8:50:29 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

I was forgiven! Almost $50k and a payment pending for $10k, which adds up to the payments I made from October 2017 to the covid pause! Now I need an amazing Mother’s Day gift for my mom. We are still in disbelief.

CONGRATS!!!!

[pumpkin]

May 4, 2022 8:50:29 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

I was forgiven! Almost $50k and a payment pending for $10k, which adds up to the payments I made from October 2017 to the covid pause! Now I need an amazing Mother’s Day gift for my mom. We are still in disbelief.

Congrats!!! This is so exciting!!!

[bex1973]

May 4, 2022 8:50:29 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

I was forgiven! Almost $50k and a payment pending for $10k, which adds up to the payments I made from October 2017 to the covid pause! Now I need an amazing Mother’s Day gift for my mom. We are still in disbelief.

YAY!!!!!!!!  I'm so happy for you & your mom!  I know I have said this so often but I'm loving how many ML friends are benefitting from this!!

[gretchenindisguise]

May 4, 2022 8:50:29 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

I was forgiven! Almost $50k and a payment pending for $10k, which adds up to the payments I made from October 2017 to the covid pause! Now I need an amazing Mother’s Day gift for my mom. We are still in disbelief.

Yahoo!!!! So so so happy for you!!

[Mushe]

Yay! Congratulations, Ellipses!

[Jalapeñomel]

I just read that the rumor is that Biden will forgive some amount for individuals making less than $150k and couples making less than $300k. What that amount will be, don't know.

I believe it was a Washington Post article. I'll go back and look for a link, sorry!

Found it: www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/04/30/white-house-student-loans/

[bex1973]

May 5, 2022 13:27:03 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I just read that the rumor is that Biden will forgive some amount for individuals making less than $150k and couples making less than $300k. What that amount will be, don't know.

I believe it was a Washington Post article. I'll go back and look for a link, sorry!

Found it: www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/04/30/white-house-student-loans/

This would be amazing because H doesn't qualify for PSLF because he's always worked for private owned EMS but has been paid essentially a non profit wage

[ellipses84]

May 5, 2022 13:30:51 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

May 5, 2022 13:27:03 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I just read that the rumor is that Biden will forgive some amount for individuals making less than $150k and couples making less than $300k. What that amount will be, don't know.

I believe it was a Washington Post article. I'll go back and look for a link, sorry!

Found it: www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/04/30/white-house-student-loans/

This would be amazing because H doesn't qualify for PSLF because he's always worked for private owned EMS but has been paid essentially a non profit wage

Write to all of your Gov’t representatives! There’s is discussion of allowing more employers based on job type even if it’s for profit. Unfortunately there’s a lot of people who were misled with bad info and based major life decisions on it, like those who did spousal consolidation or refinanced to a private loan for the lower interest rate who don’t qualify. I’m hoping for some forgiveness for all which likely wipe out the reminder of my remaining student loans, and overall reform like low interest rates and PSLF expansion.

[ellipses84]

May 5, 2022 13:27:03 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I just read that the rumor is that Biden will forgive some amount for individuals making less than $150k and couples making less than $300k. What that amount will be, don't know.

I believe it was a Washington Post article. I'll go back and look for a link, sorry!

Found it: www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/04/30/white-house-student-loans/

I feel like they are missing so much nuance in the discussion. I hate that it’s all focused on a one time solution. We need massive student loan reform so this doesn’t happen to the next generation. 10k won’t make a dent in a lot of people’s interest and many those with graduate degrees also have way more student loans. So many people have paid way more than they borrowed, so it’s not like the Gov’t hasn’t made money off of all of us. There’s no “fair” way to do it, but they could put a timeline on it (like PSLF for all based on past payments), relate it to the ratio of yearly income to loan amount (even averaging it over several years income), say once you’ve paid more than you owed at graduation you are forgiven, once you’ve paid 10 or 15 or 20 years you are forgiven, etc.

[gretchenindisguise]

Anyone here in this week's forgiveness wave? Who is still waiting?

[pumpkin]

May 10, 2022 11:09:07 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Anyone here in this week's forgiveness wave? Who is still waiting?

I’m still waiting….

[mel]

I'm sorry if this was asked, admittedly I didn't read all 17 pages.

I am on an IBR plan through Direct Loans. I do not, nor have I ever worked for a qualifying employer. I have had 36 months of forbearance throughout the life of my loan (which started in 2006, I've never not had Direct Loans). I thought I read somewhere that I could qualify for PSLF? Or am I getting my wires crossed?

FWIW, I still owe as much today as I did 16 years ago, due to interest and forbearance.

[underwaterrhymes]

May 10, 2022 11:25:53 GMT -5 mel said:

I'm sorry if this was asked, admittedly I didn't read all 17 pages.

I am on an IBR plan through Direct Loans. I do not, nor have I ever worked for a qualifying employer. I have had 36 months of forbearance throughout the life of my loan (which started in 2006, I've never not had Direct Loans). I thought I read somewhere that I could qualify for PSLF? Or am I getting my wires crossed?

FWIW, I still owe as much today as I did 16 years ago, due to interest and forbearance.

If you have worked for a qualifying employer full time for ten years while you have been making payments, you qualify for PSLF. If you work in for-profit or the private sector, you won’t qualify for this program. They have expanded who qualifies in that people who are in repayment plans that previously didn’t qualify now DO qualify until October 2022. But that has to do with the loan program you’re in, not your employer.

[underwaterrhymes]

May 10, 2022 11:09:07 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Anyone here in this week's forgiveness wave? Who is still waiting?

I’m still waiting, but I just applied maybe two weeks ago.

[mel]

May 10, 2022 11:51:01 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

May 10, 2022 11:25:53 GMT -5 mel said:

I'm sorry if this was asked, admittedly I didn't read all 17 pages.

I am on an IBR plan through Direct Loans. I do not, nor have I ever worked for a qualifying employer. I have had 36 months of forbearance throughout the life of my loan (which started in 2006, I've never not had Direct Loans). I thought I read somewhere that I could qualify for PSLF? Or am I getting my wires crossed?

FWIW, I still owe as much today as I did 16 years ago, due to interest and forbearance.

If you have worked for a qualifying employer full time for ten years while you have been making payments, you qualify for PSLF. If you work in for-profit or the private sector, you won’t qualify for this program. They have expanded who qualifies in that people who are in repayment plans that previously didn’t qualify now DO qualify until October 2022. But that has to do with the loan program you’re in, not your employer.

Right. I've never worked for a qualifying employer. I thought I read that if you are in an IBR (income based repayment) plan (which I have been since 2006), you could qualify. But I can't figure out how to apply or even find where I read that.

[underwaterrhymes]

May 10, 2022 11:57:37 GMT -5 mel said:

May 10, 2022 11:51:01 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

If you have worked for a qualifying employer full time for ten years while you have been making payments, you qualify for PSLF. If you work in for-profit or the private sector, you won’t qualify for this program. They have expanded who qualifies in that people who are in repayment plans that previously didn’t qualify now DO qualify until October 2022. But that has to do with the loan program you’re in, not your employer.

Right. I've never worked for a qualifying employer. I thought I read that if you are in an IBR (income based repayment) plan (which I have been since 2006), you could qualify. But I can't figure out how to apply or even find where I read that.

I’m not sure where you saw that, but it’s definitely limited to people with qualifying employers. I was a PT employee and then a contractor for one of my employers for four years, and I can’t count those years. I can only count the first three years when I was a FT employee.

studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service/questions

[gretchenindisguise]

May 10, 2022 11:25:53 GMT -5 mel said:

I'm sorry if this was asked, admittedly I didn't read all 17 pages.

I am on an IBR plan through Direct Loans. I do not, nor have I ever worked for a qualifying employer. I have had 36 months of forbearance throughout the life of my loan (which started in 2006, I've never not had Direct Loans). I thought I read somewhere that I could qualify for PSLF? Or am I getting my wires crossed?

FWIW, I still owe as much today as I did 16 years ago, due to interest and forbearance.

You won't qualify for pslf, because that relies on having a qualified employer.

But you may qualify for IDR forgiveness! studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment

This link will tell you if you're under a 20 or 25 year plan to forgiveness that route: studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven

[mel]

May 10, 2022 11:59:58 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

May 10, 2022 11:57:37 GMT -5 mel said:

Right. I've never worked for a qualifying employer. I thought I read that if you are in an IBR (income based repayment) plan (which I have been since 2006), you could qualify. But I can't figure out how to apply or even find where I read that.

I’m not sure where you saw that, but it’s definitely limited to people with qualifying employers. I was a PT employee and then a contractor for one of my employers for four years, and I can’t count those years. I can only count the first three years when I was a FT employee.

studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service/questions

I think this is what I saw...

www.forbes.com/sites/adamminsky/2022/04/20/who-qualifies-for-student-loan-forgiveness-under-bidens-huge-new-expansion-of-income-based-repayment/?sh=1a4e475974f7

[mel]

May 10, 2022 12:02:35 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

May 10, 2022 11:25:53 GMT -5 mel said:

I'm sorry if this was asked, admittedly I didn't read all 17 pages.

I am on an IBR plan through Direct Loans. I do not, nor have I ever worked for a qualifying employer. I have had 36 months of forbearance throughout the life of my loan (which started in 2006, I've never not had Direct Loans). I thought I read somewhere that I could qualify for PSLF? Or am I getting my wires crossed?

FWIW, I still owe as much today as I did 16 years ago, due to interest and forbearance.

You won't qualify for pslf, because that relies on having a qualified employer.

But you may qualify for IDR forgiveness! studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment

This link will tell you if you're under a 20 or 25 year plan to forgiveness that route: studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven

Yes, this is what I saw! So, if I'm reading this right, there's nothing I need to do? It's automatic?

[underwaterrhymes]

May 10, 2022 12:06:54 GMT -5 mel said:

May 10, 2022 11:59:58 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

I’m not sure where you saw that, but it’s definitely limited to people with qualifying employers. I was a PT employee and then a contractor for one of my employers for four years, and I can’t count those years. I can only count the first three years when I was a FT employee.

studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service/questions

I think this is what I saw...

www.forbes.com/sites/adamminsky/2022/04/20/who-qualifies-for-student-loan-forgiveness-under-bidens-huge-new-expansion-of-income-based-repayment/?sh=1a4e475974f7

That’s IDR, which gretchenindisguise references just above. It’s not available yet, but soon!

[gretchenindisguise]

May 10, 2022 12:07:54 GMT -5 mel said:

May 10, 2022 12:02:35 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

You won't qualify for pslf, because that relies on having a qualified employer.

But you may qualify for IDR forgiveness! studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment

This link will tell you if you're under a 20 or 25 year plan to forgiveness that route: studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven

Yes, this is what I saw! So, if I'm reading this right, there's nothing I need to do? It's automatic?

That's my understanding! You should see some evidence of that long forbearance now counting under this expanded IDR waiver this fall.

[mel]

May 10, 2022 12:12:24 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

May 10, 2022 12:07:54 GMT -5 mel said:

Yes, this is what I saw! So, if I'm reading this right, there's nothing I need to do? It's automatic?

That's my understanding! You should see some evidence of that long forbearance now counting under this expanded IDR waiver this fall.

Oh man, fingers crossed! Like I said, my balance now is almost the same as it was in 2006, so this would be a huge relief!!