The Department of Education announced a "Limited PSLF Waiver" which expanded eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for borrowers who have already been making payments. While the waiver has expired, many of the expanded benefits of the Limited PSLF Waiver have been extended as part of the ongoing IDR Adjustment. This means that payments made on all repayment plans and payments made before consolidating can count toward forgiveness for a little longer. You can read more about the details in our blog post, and of course, let us know if you have any questions about your loan situation! Here are the next steps broken down by loan situation.
If you have only Direct loans:
The good news is that your loans already qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), so you don't need to make any changes to your loan situation.
The only way to make sure all of your previous payments are counted is to turn in one employment certification form for every employer you've had since you started paying your loans and working in public service. (The earliest they'll accept is October 2007 since that's when the PSLF program was created.) To get started, you can log in to use our PSLF tool! You can complete the form, sign it, and submit it all online.
If you've already certified all of your qualifying employment, then you're all set! Sometime in 2024, you should receive an updated qualifying payment count from the Department of Education along with any months eligible under the IDR adjustment.
If you have FFEL loans:
The Department of Education has stated that previously made on your FFEL loans while working full time in public service can be counted toward forgiveness!
There are two next steps that you'll need to take to make sure your payments are counted:
- Consolidate your FFEL loans and enroll in IDR. The Department of Education has stated that past payments on your FFEL loans will only count toward PSLF if they’re consolidated into Direct loans. Consolidation will mean combining your older loans into one new federal Direct Consolidation loan. You will need to consolidate by April 30, 2024, to access the full benefits of the PSLF Limited Waiver and IDR Adjustment. Now that the payment pause has ended, the Department of Education has stated that you will need to enroll in an IDR plan for your payments to count toward forgiveness. You can use Summer’s IDR tool to consolidate and enroll your loans in an IDR plan.
- Certify your employment. You'll need to complete and send in one employment certification form for every employer you've had since you started paying your loans and working in public service. (The earliest they'll accept is October 2007 since that's when the PSLF program was created.) This is the only way for the Department of Education to count your qualifying payments. If you have any additional employment to certify, you can use Summer’s PSLF tool!
If you have Perkins loans:
The Department of Education has stated that payments previously made on your Perkins loans while working full-time in public service can be counted toward forgiveness! If you're already in the process of pursuing Perkins Loan Cancellation, which is a separate program only for Perkins loans, you may decide not to consolidate your Perkins loans and pursue PSLF. This will depend on whether you qualify for both programs and how far you are into the Perkins Loan Cancellation process.
There are two next steps that you'll need to take to make sure your payments are counted:
- Consolidate your Perkins loans and enroll in IDR. The Department of Education has stated that past payments on your Perkins loans will only count toward PSLF if they’re consolidated into Direct loans. Consolidation will mean combining your older loans into one new federal Direct Consolidation loan. You will need to consolidate by April 30, 2024, to access the full benefits of the PSLF Limited Waiver and IDR Adjustment. Now that the payment pause has ended, the Department of Education has stated that you will need to enroll in an IDR plan for your payments to count toward forgiveness. You can use Summer’s IDR tool to consolidate and enroll your loans in an IDR plan.
- Certify your employment. You'll need to complete and send in one employment certification form for every employer you've had since you started paying your loans and working in public service. (The earliest they'll accept is October 2007 since that's when the PSLF program was created.) This is the only way for the Department of Education to count your qualifying payments. If you have any additional employment to certify, you can use Summer’s PSLF tool!
If you have Parent PLUS loans:
Under the IDR Adjustment, past payments made on Parent PLUS loans may count towards PSLF. You'll still want to consolidate your Parent PLUS loans into a new federal Direct Consolidation loan so your payments will count going forward as well! Summer's income-driven repayment (IDR) tool can help you consolidate online as well as enroll in an IDR plan.
If you have FFEL or Perkins loans that have already been consolidated:
To make sure your previous payments before consolidation count towards PSLF, you'll need to complete and send in one employment certification form for every employer you've had since you started paying your loans and working in public service. (The earliest they'll accept is October 2007 since that's when the PSLF program was created.) This is the only way for the Department of Education to count your qualifying payments. To get started, you can log in to use our PSLF tool! You can complete the form, sign it, and submit it all online.
If you've been in a non-IDR repayment plan:
To make sure your previous payments on a different repayment plan count towards PSLF, you'll need to complete and send in one employment certification form for every employer you've had since you started paying your loans and working in public service. (The earliest they'll accept is October 2007 since that's when the PSLF program was created.) This is the only way for the Department of Education to count your qualifying payments. To get started, you can log in to use our PSLF tool! You can complete the form, sign it, and submit it all online.
As of right now, you need to be enrolled in an IDR plan for your payments to count toward forgiveness going forward. You can use Summer’s IDR tool to enroll your loans in an IDR plan.