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A posting on performance.gov is both an update on changes announced last October to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which allows for canceling of certain student loans after 10 years of federal and other public-sector employment, as well as a reminder that the application window for qualifying for those changes ends in October.
The program was created in 2007 to incentivize people to enter public service by providing loan forgiveness after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for government at the federal, state, local, or tribal level. However, the Education Department last fall said that in some cases borrowers were not receiving credit for years of payments they made because of complicated eligibility rules, servicing errors or other technicalities.
Changes included a waiver period through this October so that borrowers could count payments from all federal loan programs or repayment plans toward forgiveness, including loan types and payment plans that were not previously eligible.
“Although applications are still being processed, 70,000 borrowers so far have received about $5 billion of loan forgiveness with the PSLF limited waiver,” the posting said.
It said the Education Department is continuing efforts “to make sure everyone knows about these new changes to encourage more public servants to apply” by the October 31 deadline. Further information is at https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/pslf-limited-waiver.
The program is separate from one in which agencies may reimburse employees up to $10,000 a year with a $60,000 lifetime maximum for student loan costs as a recruitment and retention incentive. Also, the VA operates a separate loan forgiveness program for certain medical personnel.
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Benefits Upon Passing of a Federal Employee or Retiree