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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2021 12:48:07 GMT -5
No issues with getting my loans forgiven- but my app was straightforward. 10 years all at SSA. I do kick myself for funding some of law school with private loans at better interest rates, but what you gonna do, since that was before PSLF existed. Best of luck to those applying!
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Post by nappyloxs on Jun 14, 2021 23:35:00 GMT -5
The key recipe: Qualifying loan, qualifying employment, qualifying payment plan. The problem with the initial surge of disapprovals (October 2017 was the first month that anyone could possibly have been forgiven) was that many folks had been incorrectly advised their employment qualified - certain non-profits, etc., that did not qualify. Another problem is that folks took forbearances or were otherwise in the wrong repayment plan so a lot of their months did not count. Many of that latter group count as a disapproval but subsequently have or will be forgiven. After that first 18 months of chaos (October 2017 to April 2019) things seem to have calmed down. The servicers know to push folks directly to Fed Loan Servicing (Department of Ed) and how to advise folks better since then. There was also a change in 2017-2018 that allowed extended repayment plans (grad/law school) plans. One still needed to have consolidated under fedloan. There are specific steps to applying for this exception. (TEPLSF) studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service/temporary-expanded-public-service-loan-forgiveness |
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Post by bippity on Jun 20, 2021 11:56:59 GMT -5
Interesting reading, as when I started at SSA (more than 10 years ago, but after 2008), I specifically asked about student loan forgiveness and was told it did not apply to SSA as we "made too much money". I am feeling very foolish at this point for simply taking the statement at face value. Was that advice for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program or the Federal Student Loan Repayment Program? The PSLF is not limited to which agency or profession. The other program is agency and profession dependent. www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/student-loan-repayment/. As stated in the most recent report, for CY 2018, www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/student-loan-repayment/reports/2018-revised.pdf, "In CY 2018, 34 Federal agencies provided 10,412 employees with a total of more than $78.7 million in student loan repayment benefits." SSA has not provided any student loan repayment benefits under this program. Per a GAO report from 2005, that was purposeful. www.gao.gov/assets/gao-05-762.pdf. This is an interesting CRS report about the different programs, which sheds some light on the confusion points. fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43571.pdf. Including that some programs allowed repayment / forgiveness of the FFEL loans, but the PSLF does not. Like another poster, I was denied PSLF forgiveness because my direct Stafford consolidation was not direct enough, and DoE still counted my loans as FFEL instead of "DIRECT," despite the FFEL and DIRECT both consisting of Stafford loans and using the same servicers. Really wish they had used different terminology, as I doubt I am the only one who thought a "direct consolidation loan of Stafford loans" was the same as a "DIRECT consolidation loan of Stafford loans." |
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Post by Pixie on Jun 20, 2021 17:02:10 GMT -5
Interesting reading, as when I started at SSA (more than 10 years ago, but after 2008), I specifically asked about student loan forgiveness and was told it did not apply to SSA as we "made too much money". I am feeling very foolish at this point for simply taking the statement at face value. Was that advice for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program or the Federal Student Loan Repayment Program? This is an interesting CRS report about the different programs, which sheds some light on the confusion points. fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43571.pdf. Including that some programs allowed repayment / forgiveness of the FFEL loans, but the PSLF does not. Like another poster, I was denied PSLF forgiveness because my direct Stafford consolidation was not direct enough, and DoE still counted my loans as FFEL instead of "DIRECT," despite the FFEL and DIRECT both consisting of Stafford loans and using the same servicers. Really wish they had used different terminology, as I doubt I am the only one who thought a "direct consolidation loan of Stafford loans" was the same as a "DIRECT consolidation loan of Stafford loans."That makes my head hurt. Pixie |
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Post by mercury on Jun 20, 2021 21:20:03 GMT -5
Interesting reading, as when I started at SSA (more than 10 years ago, but after 2008), I specifically asked about student loan forgiveness and was told it did not apply to SSA as we "made too much money". I am feeling very foolish at this point for simply taking the statement at face value. Was that advice for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program or the Federal Student Loan Repayment Program? The PSLF is not limited to which agency or profession. The other program is agency and profession dependent. www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/student-loan-repayment/. As stated in the most recent report, for CY 2018, www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/student-loan-repayment/reports/2018-revised.pdf, "In CY 2018, 34 Federal agencies provided 10,412 employees with a total of more than $78.7 million in student loan repayment benefits." SSA has not provided any student loan repayment benefits under this program. Per a GAO report from 2005, that was purposeful. www.gao.gov/assets/gao-05-762.pdf. This is an interesting CRS report about the different programs, which sheds some light on the confusion points. fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43571.pdf. Including that some programs allowed repayment / forgiveness of the FFEL loans, but the PSLF does not. Like another poster, I was denied PSLF forgiveness because my direct Stafford consolidation was not direct enough, and DoE still counted my loans as FFEL instead of "DIRECT," despite the FFEL and DIRECT both consisting of Stafford loans and using the same servicers. Really wish they had used different terminology, as I doubt I am the only one who thought a "direct consolidation loan of Stafford loans" was the same as a "DIRECT consolidation loan of Stafford loans." This happened to me and I made payments for over a year on non-qualifying loans before consolidating a second time. How it’s a consolidation when it turned two loans into two is beyond me. |
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Post by stevil on Jun 21, 2021 6:54:53 GMT -5
One of the best aspects of this program is that it helps keep some good attorneys from leaving us due to the relatively low pay and slim chance at advancement. The air force came up with a $65,000.00 law school loan repayment bonus (done instead of giving professional pay) if you signed up for another 6-years after your initial 4. I missed qualifying for this program, so I had to pay back the old fashioned way. You know - you borrow, you pay back.
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Post by Prrple on Jun 21, 2021 9:22:03 GMT -5
One of the best aspects of this program is that it helps keep some good attorneys from leaving us due to the relatively low pay and slim chance at advancement. The air force came up with a $65,000.00 law school loan repayment bonus (done instead of giving professional pay) if you signed up for another 6-years after your initial 4. I missed qualifying for this program, so I had to pay back the old fashioned way. You know - you borrow, you pay back. I somehow managed to miss all the repayment/forgiveness options, too. Best I got was a forbearance when I started active duty and my base pay was <$30K/year. Took me 25 years after finishing law school, but thanks to selling a house with some nice growth in value/equity, I finally paid off the student loans.
This is not an inspirational story  |
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Post by cookie on Jun 22, 2021 9:43:55 GMT -5
Sorry I’m late, but I also had mine forgiven. As others have said, it’s crucial you are in the correct consolidated loan category and stay on top of it. I was denied twice and just kept at it. Don’t be hesitant to call and check in and make sure all your payments are counted. I would recommend keeping all payment documents (which I did not do and wish I had).
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Post by bobsmith on Jun 24, 2021 11:52:34 GMT -5
Hey all,
This will hopefully make you all smile. I am in the PSLF program and met my 10-requirement. On March 23, 2021, my final forgiveness loan app was submitted to fedloan.org and it was officially approved today and all my loans were written-off. So it took 3 months to process the final app. Hopefully, this helps some of you out for hope.
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atty
Full Member
Posts: 39 
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Post by atty on Jun 24, 2021 18:07:18 GMT -5
I am caught in a trap...and I can't get out. I have been paying back loans since 2002, and in public service since 2000. From 2002 until 2012, I was paying on a federal consolidation loan. But *not* a DIRECT loan. I did not consolidate under DIRECT until 2012. Which was only after I was advised by a customer service representative that if I consolidated into the DIRECT loan program, that they would take my husband's INCOME into consideration but not his DEBT, which is similar to mine. I've applied twice for forgiveness and was denied (including the time I asked our Senator to provide assistance...I thought that the TEPSLF $$ was supposed to be for people like me - who were paying on the wrong loans?!!? The only other person I know who has had loans forgiven asked the same Senator for help and met success). I have my most recent application that has been pending with the Department of Ed since January 2021...I call once a month and nicely ask for a status. They tell me it could be months longer until I hear anything. The silence gives me a shred of hope.
Oh, and should I mention that my loan servicer never changed?! I've been sending my payments to the exact same address for the last 19.XX years....but they've only "counted" toward the program since 2012. Wah!!!!
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jun 25, 2021 11:31:57 GMT -5
On PSLF, payments before October 2007 (unless I'm wholly mistaken) wouldn't count, anyway. I was quite fortunate. I didn't start "public service" (as defined by this program), until 2010 and I got a knowledgeable person with my servicer and got consolidated into a correct, qualifying loan that Summer.
And, not to pile on, Atty, but I had no fewer than 4 servicers throughout my 120 payment run.
VERY fortunate.
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Post by intothewild on Jun 25, 2021 21:23:18 GMT -5
I am caught in a trap...and I can't get out. I have been paying back loans since 2002, and in public service since 2000. From 2002 until 2012, I was paying on a federal consolidation loan. But *not* a DIRECT loan. I did not consolidate under DIRECT until 2012. Which was only after I was advised by a customer service representative that if I consolidated into the DIRECT loan program, that they would take my husband's INCOME into consideration but not his DEBT, which is similar to mine. I've applied twice for forgiveness and was denied (including the time I asked our Senator to provide assistance...I thought that the TEPSLF $$ was supposed to be for people like me - who were paying on the wrong loans?!!? The only other person I know who has had loans forgiven asked the same Senator for help and met success). I have my most recent application that has been pending with the Department of Ed since January 2021...I call once a month and nicely ask for a status. They tell me it could be months longer until I hear anything. The silence gives me a shred of hope. Oh, and should I mention that my loan servicer never changed?! I've been sending my payments to the exact same address for the last 19.XX years....but they've only "counted" toward the program since 2012. Wah!!!! They made this way to complicated. My head hurts too! |
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Post by medinadodger on Jun 28, 2021 19:05:55 GMT -5
They have initially made this program very very very complicated.
I would advise anyone who is in the program or interested in the program to be diligent.
I would submit employment certification forms at least twice (or three times a year).
I would ask the service provider to manually check payments they deem ineligible.
If you can do it, do auto-payments; because in order for your payments to count towards the 120 payments they have to be ON TIME.
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Post by ba on Jun 30, 2021 9:47:17 GMT -5
They have initially made this program very very very complicated. I would advise anyone who is in the program or interested in the program to be diligent. I would submit employment certification forms at least twice (or three times a year). I would ask the service provider to manually check payments they deem ineligible. If you can do it, do auto-payments; because in order for your payments to count towards the 120 payments they have to be ON TIME. They also screwed over anyone that was on extended repayment before the program began by making them restart their 120 payments. |
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Post by bettercallsaul on Jun 30, 2021 13:43:38 GMT -5
The qualifying months FedLoan gave me didn't match what they should have been. After several calls, I spoke with a rep who said one of my payments from 8 years ago was not the full amount, and that had carried over for a couple of years. The amount of the supposed shortage that kept years of payments from counting? One (1) cent. She couldn't explain how that would have happened since I've been on auto-pay from the get-go. She said they'd look into it more, but it could take about a year for someone to go through it.
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Post by intothewild on Jun 30, 2021 18:53:59 GMT -5
The qualifying months FedLoan gave me didn't match what they should have been. After several calls, I spoke with a rep who said one of my payments from 8 years ago was not the full amount, and that had carried over for a couple of years. The amount of the supposed shortage that kept years of payments from counting? One (1) cent. She couldn't explain how that would have happened since I've been on auto-pay from the get-go. She said they'd look into it more, but it could take about a year for someone to go through it. See that is what is so frustrating about this program. I’ve heard a few success stories in this group, but the vast majority of people have had a negative experience trying to get their loans forgiven. Really shouldn’t be this hard!! |
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Post by trickbag on Jun 30, 2021 20:56:19 GMT -5
[/quote]
They also screwed over anyone that was on extended repayment before the program began by making them restart their 120 payments. [/quote]
This is the problem the TEPSLF was intended to fix, for borrowers that would otherwise qualify but were on the wrong repayment plan.
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atty
Full Member
Posts: 39
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Post by atty on Jun 30, 2021 22:57:26 GMT -5
I randomly (or maybe not?) received an email from Department of Ed today...suggesting I may qualify for TEPSLF?! Yes, please! Stay tuned....
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jbj32
New Member
Posts: 10
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Post by jbj32 on Jul 1, 2021 9:50:04 GMT -5
The qualifying months FedLoan gave me didn't match what they should have been. After several calls, I spoke with a rep who said one of my payments from 8 years ago was not the full amount, and that had carried over for a couple of years. The amount of the supposed shortage that kept years of payments from counting? One (1) cent. She couldn't explain how that would have happened since I've been on auto-pay from the get-go. She said they'd look into it more, but it could take about a year for someone to go through it. I also was told this. I was able to show my letter from direct loans showing that their 1 cent error was a mistake. I was told that there was some computer glitch from an information transfer that created this. BUT…this was at least 5 years ago, so it’s annoying they are still saying stuff like this. Just stay diligent and keep calling. I did get mine forgiven in 2018, which was on time, but I totally remember this issue freaking me out. |
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Post by stevil on Jul 1, 2021 12:13:31 GMT -5
I've heard some people have had great success after contacting their Congressperson and laying out all their payment facts, etc., so inquiry can be made. Still need to qualify, but Congressional inquiries go to the top of the inquiry stack - and answers come sooner.
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