PSLF

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 28, 2022 16:29:56 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Jan 28, 2022 15:29:51 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Jalapeñomel - huge news just released today that I think will really help you "If you received Teacher Loan Forgiveness, the period of service that led to your eligibility will count towards PSLF (if you certify employment for PSLF for that period)"

studentaid.gov/announcements-events/pslf-limited-waiver%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0pAs1U3AH7a-oZ4rfORLz9B4ZJRx7M1rQO1UVllG4rxIjCEodUAVsrFnI#which-are-waived

OMG! This is great news!!! But the link is broken for me.

Doh. Try this one: studentaid.gov/announcements-events/pslf-limited-waiver#new-payment-rules

[lucky3]

OMG this would also make me eligible for not only forgiveness but 3 years of payback. This would be life changing

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 28, 2022 21:35:45 GMT -5 lucky3 said:

OMG this would also make me eligible for not only forgiveness but 3 years of payback. This would be life changing

yayayaay!!!

[ellipses84]

Jan 28, 2022 23:28:18 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Jan 28, 2022 23:23:38 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

yayayaay!!!

So glad you posted, I meant to tag you earlier just to say thanks:) You helped so much with the process, it was kind of confusing! We got a letter in the mail that H’s application was received and is being reviewed, etc. so thanks again for the help.

Also, who is eligible for payback?!?! Is that a separate process?

ETA: and I’ve paid it forward by helping as many others as I can think of with 1.) knowledge this exists and 2.) how to start it!

I know some people who paid during Covid forbearance months when they didn’t have to got a refund for it. I think people who were previously denied on a technicality when they should have been approved have as well, for eligible payments beyond 10 years, but I don’t know the details of that. I’m not sure if my situation will be a refund or not (probably not but fingers crossed).

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 28, 2022 23:28:18 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Jan 28, 2022 23:23:38 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

yayayaay!!!

So glad you posted, I meant to tag you earlier just to say thanks:) You helped so much with the process, it was kind of confusing! We got a letter in the mail that H’s application was received and is being reviewed, etc. so thanks again for the help.

Also, who is eligible for payback?!?! Is that a separate process?

ETA: and I’ve paid it forward by helping as many others as I can think of with 1.) knowledge this exists and 2.) how to start it!

It depends on your loan type. For direct loans, any payment over 120 will be refunded. If you have ffelp loans, they will be consolidated into a direct loan but no overpayments made while ffelp will not be refunded. Overpayments will be automatic after the forgiveness process - seems like it’s about 2 weeks after forgiveness that people are receiving either checks or direct deposit.

If you have direct loans and have been paying during the covid forbearance period you can ask for all of those payments to be refunded now. If you had ffelp loans, they weren’t included in the pause.

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 28, 2022 23:55:15 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Jan 28, 2022 23:50:15 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

It depends on your loan type. For direct loans, any payment over 120 will be refunded. If you have ffelp loans, they will be consolidated into a direct loan but no overpayments made while ffelp will not be refunded. Overpayments will be automatic after the forgiveness process - seems like it’s about 2 weeks after forgiveness that people are receiving either checks or direct deposit.

If you have direct loans and have been paying during the covid forbearance period you can ask for all of those payments to be refunded now. If you had ffelp loans, they weren’t included in the pause.

Ha, we have no idea what type still! I do know they are federal:) 

If you look on the studentaid.gov website it will tell you. It’ll either say “ffelp” or “direct” at the front of it. If I could post a pic I would. Lol.

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 28, 2022 23:58:32 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Jan 28, 2022 23:57:17 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

If you look on the studentaid.gov website it will tell you. It’ll either say “ffelp” or “direct” at the front of it. If I could post a pic I would. Lol.

Thank you once again:))

You’re welcome!!

This has become my adhd hyperfocus area so I’ve been reading way too much, so feel free to ask! I probably have read about every scenario ha.

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 29, 2022 0:08:41 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Jan 28, 2022 23:57:17 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

If you look on the studentaid.gov website it will tell you. It’ll either say “ffelp” or “direct” at the front of it. If I could post a pic I would. Lol.

Ok, it says ffelp, so no repayment, right?

Correct.

With one tiny potential exception.

Direct loans are federally backed and were funded by the government. FFELP student loans are federally backed loans that were originally funded by private companies. BUT there are a very small number of fflep loans that are held by the Dept of Ed because they had to buy out the private company for some reason. If you have one of those Dept of Ed held FFELP loans then you were eligible for the payment pause and for overpayment refunds.

I’m not sure how ffelp loans look on the student aid website. Mine are Direct and under servicer it says Dept of Ed/Fedloan on that site. I would assume that non-Dept Ed owned ffelp would say “Private Company”/Navient, bur thats a total assumption on my part. An easy way to tell is if you’ve been required to pay during the covid forbearance. If yes - you have one of the 99% of ffelp loans that didn’t qualify for forbearance and won’t get refunded (because government can’t force private company to refund). If your loans have been paused since Mar 2020 then I think you would qualify for the refund as well because Dept of Ed owns it like they own direct loans.

If you’ve been paying the whole time and don’t know if it’s because you had to or because you just did to pay down the loans, check what the next payment due date is. If its next month - you are out luck. If its due in May - you are in luck!

Eta: actually I may be wrong about all my pretty paragraphs up there lol. This is from the updated FAQs

I have more than 120 payments on my FFELP loans and I just consolidated into Direct Loans so I can receive PSLF forgiveness. Will I receive a refund on payments made before I consolidated?

No. Payments in excess of 120 payments can only be refunded if paid on the consolidation loan. This applies to both FFELP loans and Direct Loans that are consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan.

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 29, 2022 0:20:38 GMT -5 mofongo said:

gretchenindisguise - if H’s loans get paid off, we’re taking you to the best dinner:))) 🍷 🥩 🍮 🥂 🍣, all of the thing!!! I honestly think it’s looking good.

I can’t wait until we all get forgiven! It’s going to be such a huge relief.

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 29, 2022 1:03:13 GMT -5 mofongo said:

gretchenindisguise - one more question. Do we need to do anything to his loans? They are federal, but do we need to consolidate them, not sure what that means really?

ETA: Do we need to do anything to make ffelp loans consolidated?

Yes! You need to consolidate them into a direct loan so they will qualify for pslf.

I just copied this from the fb page.

1. Ensure you work for a qualifying employer and that you are classified as full-time at 30+ hours/week (or work part-time for two or more qualifying employers for a combined total of 30+ hours). You must work for a government, nonprofit school, or 501c3 (and rarely, other types of nonprofits). You cannot be a contractor - you must be a true, paid employee of the entity and not a 1099 contractor or an employee of a for-profit contractor.

2. Check your loan type at studentaid.gov. Click My Aid, scroll down to Loan Types and expand each segment.

3. Consolidate any FFEL/FFELP or Perkins loans. Choose FedLoan as your servicer: studentaid.gov/app/launchConsolidation.action
NOTE- if you have loans with different payment counts (ex, you've been paying on one loan for 5 years and another for 9 years) you *can* consolidate them *all* together *during the Waiver period only* and receive the highest payment count of the included consolidated loan. You can do this with both FFEL and Direct loans.

4. Once the consolidation is complete, or if you do not have any loans that need consolidating (e.g., you have only Direct), complete the PSLF Help Tool and follow the directions to submit employment certification: studentaid.gov/pslf/
NOTE. If you are not already with FedLoan, this step will automatically transfer your loans to them once they approve your employment certification. We do not have a timeline for how long the transfer takes. Typically a few weeks or a few months.

5. If you're not already on an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, apply here: studentaid.gov/app/ibrInstructions.action Alternately, if you are consolidating, you will have the opportunity to apply for an IDR during the consolidation process. (Gretchen note - if you are confident you are over 120 payments choose whichever it won’t matter).

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 29, 2022 1:23:40 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Jan 29, 2022 1:13:04 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Yes! You need to consolidate them into a direct loan so they will qualify for pslf.

I just copied this from the fb page.

1. Ensure you work for a qualifying employer and that you are classified as full-time at 30+ hours/week (or work part-time for two or more qualifying employers for a combined total of 30+ hours). You must work for a government, nonprofit school, or 501c3 (and rarely, other types of nonprofits). You cannot be a contractor - you must be a true, paid employee of the entity and not a 1099 contractor or an employee of a for-profit contractor.

2. Check your loan type at studentaid.gov. Click My Aid, scroll down to Loan Types and expand each segment.

3. Consolidate any FFEL/FFELP or Perkins loans. Choose FedLoan as your servicer: studentaid.gov/app/launchConsolidation.action
NOTE- if you have loans with different payment counts (ex, you've been paying on one loan for 5 years and another for 9 years) you *can* consolidate them *all* together *during the Waiver period only* and receive the highest payment count of the included consolidated loan. You can do this with both FFEL and Direct loans.

4. Once the consolidation is complete, or if you do not have any loans that need consolidating (e.g., you have only Direct), complete the PSLF Help Tool and follow the directions to submit employment certification: studentaid.gov/pslf/
NOTE. If you are not already with FedLoan, this step will automatically transfer your loans to them once they approve your employment certification. We do not have a timeline for how long the transfer takes. Typically a few weeks or a few months.

5. If you're not already on an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, apply here: studentaid.gov/app/ibrInstructions.action Alternately, if you are consolidating, you will have the opportunity to apply for an IDR during the consolidation process. (Gretchen note - if you are confident you are over 120 payments choose whichever it won’t matter).

OMG his loans are now on the student aid site and he just applied for the consolidation. You are the BEST!!!

Whoohoo!!

Make sure he chooses Fedloan as his servicer.

Once they are there - turn in the pslf form.

Don’t be surprised if it shows zero or a laughably small number of payments. At this point the waiver isn’t applied immediately. Hopefully it’ll be applied before loans start back up in May.

Oh and bonus! Once they are consolidated and direct, he’ll be able to benefit from the payment pause.

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 29, 2022 5:45:49 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Jan 29, 2022 1:32:09 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Whoohoo!!

Make sure he chooses Fedloan as his servicer.

Once they are there - turn in the pslf form.

Don’t be surprised if it shows zero or a laughably small number of payments. At this point the waiver isn’t applied immediately. Hopefully it’ll be applied before loans start back up in May.

Oh and bonus! Once they are consolidated and direct, he’ll be able to benefit from the payment pause.

Ok, wait, I thought we already did this??

You may have. But do it again for good measure after the consolidation goes through. I’ve read of some being denied because the pslf was before the consolidation, but some in Oct definitely got forgiven when they were basically at the same time. It’s an inconsistent crapshoot sometimes, so just be prepared.

[lucky3]

So I just logged into my account and I am showing that on January 14 they sent me three different letters saying that my public student loan forgiveness application did not qualify. They are only giving me credit for the 23 payments that have been made during the pandemic. Do I need to do anything else? Or will they go back through and count up all of the payments that I made that were not income based?

[gretchenindisguise]

Feb 2, 2022 11:59:17 GMT -5 lucky3 said:

So I just logged into my account and I am showing that on January 14 they sent me three different letters saying that my public student loan forgiveness application did not qualify. They are only giving me credit for the 23 payments that have been made during the pandemic. Do I need to do anything else? Or will they go back through and count up all of the payments that I made that were not income based?

Based on what I've seen - this is part of the process and you'll likely be forgiven soon. Basically fedloan denies you based on the old traditional rules, they send it to dept of ed who says - no they have all of these payments, and then then fedloan says ok fine. 

I think I've seen anywhere from 3-8 weeks between the flurry of denial letters and ultimate forgiveness, but as always - it's hard to exactly predict when it will come through.

[puppyluv]

My timeline update:
I submitted my PSLF application in November. Notified in December that they received the application. Got a letter via mail last week stating they would be transferring my loans to FedLoan soon to review payments. Loans are still not moved. It is going to be a very long process.

[bex1973]

puppyluv, it is a long process and it's hard to be patient! I've been at the stage of just waiting for the dept of ed to apply waiver for a LONG time. I think it seems longer because I've done everything I have the power to do and I have nothing left to do but wait.

[lucky3]

Feb 2, 2022 12:07:19 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Feb 2, 2022 11:59:17 GMT -5 lucky3 said:

So I just logged into my account and I am showing that on January 14 they sent me three different letters saying that my public student loan forgiveness application did not qualify. They are only giving me credit for the 23 payments that have been made during the pandemic. Do I need to do anything else? Or will they go back through and count up all of the payments that I made that were not income based?

Based on what I've seen - this is part of the process and you'll likely be forgiven soon. Basically fedloan denies you based on the old traditional rules, they send it to dept of ed who says - no they have all of these payments, and then then fedloan says ok fine. 

I think I've seen anywhere from 3-8 weeks between the flurry of denial letters and ultimate forgiveness, but as always - it's hard to exactly predict when it will come through.

Thank you. To further complicate things I qualified for the title 1 loan forgiveness 8 years ago and they just came out saying those payments will be counted towards PSLF. I’m crossing everything 🤞🤞🤞

[gretchenindisguise]

Feb 2, 2022 16:35:01 GMT -5 lucky3 said:

Feb 2, 2022 12:07:19 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Based on what I've seen - this is part of the process and you'll likely be forgiven soon. Basically fedloan denies you based on the old traditional rules, they send it to dept of ed who says - no they have all of these payments, and then then fedloan says ok fine. 

I think I've seen anywhere from 3-8 weeks between the flurry of denial letters and ultimate forgiveness, but as always - it's hard to exactly predict when it will come through.

Thank you. To further complicate things I qualified for the title 1 loan forgiveness 8 years ago and they just came out saying those payments will be counted towards PSLF. I’m crossing everything 🤞🤞🤞

Fingers crossed it comes through soon for you! The mods on the FB page said they suspected that TLF time had been counting based on a few cases they had seen, but it wasn't confirmed officially until last week with the updated revisions of the studentaid website. So hopefully that hasn't been holding up your application and you just get the forgiveness soon!

[Mushe]

puppyluv that’s good progress! I’m on the same timeline, but haven’t yet been notified of transfer. I hope it happens for you soon.

[ste]

Just to confirm- if, like an idiot, I consolidated all of my loans with a private lender, I’m SOL even if I otherwise meet the criteria?

[gretchenindisguise]

Feb 2, 2022 20:30:35 GMT -5 ste said:

Just to confirm- if, like an idiot, I consolidated all of my loans with a private lender, I’m SOL even if I otherwise meet the criteria?

Yes

If you refinanced with a private lender, it converted your loans from federal to private and there is no way to reverse it.

Eta: an easy way to know is if it shows up on studentaid.gov. If it’s truly private it won’t be listed there to my knowledge.

[ste]

Feb 2, 2022 20:38:22 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Feb 2, 2022 20:30:35 GMT -5 ste said:

Just to confirm- if, like an idiot, I consolidated all of my loans with a private lender, I’m SOL even if I otherwise meet the criteria?

Yes

If you refinanced with a private lender, it converted your loans from federal to private and there is no way to reverse it.

Eta: an easy way to know is if it shows up on studentaid.gov. If it’s truly private it won’t be listed there to my knowledge.

😭😭😭 That’s what I figured. I’m so glad other people are actually getting help! I never imagined I’d actually be in public service long enough to qualify. 🤣😭

[gretchenindisguise]

Feb 2, 2022 20:43:35 GMT -5 ste said:

Feb 2, 2022 20:38:22 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Yes

If you refinanced with a private lender, it converted your loans from federal to private and there is no way to reverse it.

Eta: an easy way to know is if it shows up on studentaid.gov. If it’s truly private it won’t be listed there to my knowledge.

😭😭😭 That’s what I figured. I’m so glad other people are actually getting help! I never imagined I’d actually be in public service long enough to qualify.

You made the best decision with the information you had. No one could have predicted your longevity in public service or the waiver being created.

[reginaphalange72]

ML lurker here. Thank you so much to everyone for all the helpful info on this! I never thought I would even be close to PSLF so I never considered it as an option. It's crazy to think I may have 7/10 years already covered.

One thing I'm trying to find out - does anyone know how it works if you took out an additional loan somewhere in the middle of that period? For example: I taught at a qualifying college for 5 years (while paying on all the loans I had at that time). Then I went back to school for a PhD and ended up taking out two more direct loans for that (HCOL with a grad school stipend). I have now been at a different qualifying employer for 2 years, paying on all my loans. So do those two later loans only have the two years of payments counted for them while the others have all 7? Or is it just a blanket 7 years for all of them? My guess is the later loans only get the 2 years counted, but I'm trying to confirm that so I can figure out if it makes sense to pursue this further.

Thank you all so much for all the helpful info and congrats to everyone who has (or is close) gotten forgiveness! This is so wonderful!

[cville]

I read this thread title as "pumpkin spice latte fuck" every time.

[pumpkin]

Feb 2, 2022 13:24:14 GMT -5 puppyluv said:

My timeline update:
I submitted my PSLF application in November. Notified in December that they received the application. Got a letter via mail last week stating they would be transferring my loans to FedLoan soon to review payments. Loans are still not moved. It is going to be a very long process.

This is just about my same timeline - and also waiting for my loans to transfer back. I think I read somewhere that the payment counting is the longest part of all this, so we’ll see when anything happens next.

[bex1973]

Holy shit y'all. I woke up to an email telling me that I message in my FedLoan inbox.

FORGIVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even believe it! I mean I had faith it would work out and was trying to be patient and trust the process but it was not easy.

I didn't log in and check quick enough to see anything about a refund but I don't even care about that. I mean don't get me wrong I would totally take it but it's not the most important thing in this moment.

Fingers crossed it's your turn(s) soon!!!

[gretchenindisguise]

Feb 3, 2022 8:54:02 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

Holy shit y'all. I woke up to an email telling me that I message in my FedLoan inbox.

FORGIVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even believe it! I mean I had faith it would work out and was trying to be patient and trust the process but it was not easy.

I didn't log in and check quick enough to see anything about a refund but I don't even care about that. I mean don't get me wrong I would totally take it but it's not the most important thing in this moment.

Fingers crossed it's your turn(s) soon!!!

Yayayayayayay!!! So excited for you!! Enjoy your loan freedom!!

[gretchenindisguise]

Feb 3, 2022 8:13:27 GMT -5 reginaphalange72 said:

ML lurker here. Thank you so much to everyone for all the helpful info on this! I never thought I would even be close to PSLF so I never considered it as an option. It's crazy to think I may have 7/10 years already covered.

One thing I'm trying to find out - does anyone know how it works if you took out an additional loan somewhere in the middle of that period? For example: I taught at a qualifying college for 5 years (while paying on all the loans I had at that time). Then I went back to school for a PhD and ended up taking out two more direct loans for that (HCOL with a grad school stipend). I have now been at a different qualifying employer for 2 years, paying on all my loans. So do those two later loans only have the two years of payments counted for them while the others have all 7? Or is it just a blanket 7 years for all of them? My guess is the later loans only get the 2 years counted, but I'm trying to confirm that so I can figure out if it makes sense to pursue this further.

Thank you all so much for all the helpful info and congrats to everyone who has (or is close) gotten forgiveness! This is so wonderful!

Traditionally the new loans would be on their own forgiveness timeline. With this waiver you have the limited opportunity to consolidate them and they will take on the payment count for the older loans. Consolidate before Oct 2022 before you lose the chance (I’d do by August at the latest bc of processing times).

Check out the updated Q&A on consolidation because the pre-waiver language is still on some of the paperwork and scares people. But primary source says this works and thousands before you have done it successfully. studentaid.gov/announcements-events/pslf-limited-waiver#questions

[wildrice]

Feb 3, 2022 8:54:02 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

Holy shit y'all. I woke up to an email telling me that I message in my FedLoan inbox.

FORGIVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even believe it! I mean I had faith it would work out and was trying to be patient and trust the process but it was not easy.

I didn't log in and check quick enough to see anything about a refund but I don't even care about that. I mean don't get me wrong I would totally take it but it's not the most important thing in this moment.

Fingers crossed it's your turn(s) soon!!!

WOOHOO!!!!! Congratulations!!!!

Such wonderful news!