Most people pursuing public service loan forgiveness discover at some point that they don’t qualify, for one technical reason or another.
That may be because their loan type is ineligible or they’re not in the right repayment plan.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007 and allows not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans erased after 10 years of on-time payments.
Just 206 applicants for the debt relief have been approved, according to recent Education Department data. More than 40,000 have applied.
What’s more, about 25 percent of American workers are in public service and could, in theory, be eligible. In practice, student loan servicers are delaying and denying borrowers access to the forgiveness program, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
As a result, you shouldn’t rely just on your lender for information on the program, advocates say. Here are some other helpful and reliable resources.
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