Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is a federal program that forgives student loan debt for borrowers who work for a government or a non-profit employer such as teachers, firefighters, nurses, members of the military, and other public service workers. As a Henrico County employee, it may include you.
In October 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced temporary, transformational changes to get public service workers closer to loan forgiveness. These changes include:
- For a limited time, you may receive credit for past periods of repayment on loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.
- If you have FFEL, Perkins, or other federal student loans, you’ll need to consolidate your loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify for PSLF both in general and under the waiver. Before consolidating, make sure to check to see if you work for a qualifying employer.
- Past periods of repayment will now count regardless of whether you made a payment, made that payment on time, for the full amount due, on a qualifying repayment plan.
- Periods of deferment or forbearance, and periods of default, continue to not qualify.
Therefore, if you did not previously qualify for the PSLF, you may not qualify with the new waiver guideline. You must work for your qualifying employer full time, which amounts to at least 30 hours per week. If you work part-time for two qualifying employers and your time averages at least 30 hours per week, you may still be eligible. To receive these benefits, borrowers must submit a single application used to certify employment and evaluate a borrower for forgiveness by October 31, 2022.
Henrico County Department of Human Resources, encourages all present and future employees to utilize this benefit. If you are interested, please follow the link to complete the necessary form and our Human Resources Department/Administration Division, will verify and confirm Henrico County is a qualified employer.
More information is available from Federal Student Aid at StudentAid.gov/PSLFWaiver. The Department of Education will communicate directly with borrowers about these changes to PSLF; to help borrowers understand how they may benefit and any actions they may need to take. Borrowers should ensure they have accounts on StudentAid.gov and their contact information is updated.
For more information, please use https://studentaid.gov to get assistance.
Please use these resources to learn more about Repayment Plans.
Finally, we hope this information will assist in obtaining loan forgiveness during your tenure with Henrico County!
Resources:
https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/what-is-considered-full-time-employment-for-pslf