Federal student loans offer benefits that many other loans dont. Being eligible for loan forgiveness is one perk; in certain situations, the federal government may forgive all or part of your federal student loans. This indicates that you are no longer required to make loan payments. Another advantage is that you might be able to get your loans forgiven in certain circumstances.
Please take note that this is not a comprehensive list Offsite, and that you must satisfy certain requirements and provide certain information to be eligible.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, you might be eligible for loan forgiveness if you work for the government or a nonprofit.
After you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer, the PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans.
Complete the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Form With the PSLF Help Tool
The PSLF Help Tool Offsite assists in determining whether you are employed by a company that is eligible for the PSLF or Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) programs, makes recommendations for steps you can take to qualify for PSLF, and directs you through the PSLF application and submission process.
Servicing for the PSLF Program is managed by another federal student loan servicer (MOHELA Offsite ). If you submit a PSLF form to the PSLF servicer, your eligible loans will be transferred from Great Lakes to MOHELA. If your loans have already been transferred to MOHELA, you can log in to their borrower portal to track your PSLF status and payment counts.
The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program are two federal student loan programs that do not qualify for PSLF. However, if you combine them into a Direct Consolidation Loan, they would qualify. Please be aware that if you consolidate your debt, only qualifying payments made on the new Direct Consolidation Loan will count toward the 120 payments needed to qualify for PSLF. Any loan payments you made prior to consolidating them do not count.
You can rest assured that your PSLF form will be reviewed in accordance with the limited PSLF waiver rules if you timely submitted your application to MOHELA to consolidate your FFEL Program loans and/or Perkins Loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan by October 31, 2022. These temporary modifications to the PSLF Program’s rules enable borrowers to receive credit for prior repayment periods that would not otherwise be eligible for PSLF. This opportunity ended on October 31, 2022.
Student loans from private lenders do not qualify for PSLF.
Limited PSLF Waiver: What Happens After the End of the Waiver October 31, 2022
The “limited PSLF waiver” refers to the time-limited changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program rules that allowed borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. This opportunity ended on October 31, 2022 and beginning November 1, 2022, we went back to the normal program requirements for both PSLF Offsite and TEPSLF Offsite . If you submitted your PSLF form to MOHELA on time, be assured your PSLF form will be evaluated under the limited PSLF waiver rules.
You may be eligible to submit a PSLF form to MOHELA after October 31, 2022, and continue to qualify for the benefits of the waiver if you met certain criteria. For more information, see StudentAid.gov Offsite
Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Forgiveness
If a borrower’s federal student loans aren’t fully repaid at the end of the repayment period (either 20 or 25 years, depending on the type of plan), any outstanding balance is forgiven under Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans.
Economic hardship deferment periods, periods of repayment under specific other repayment plans, and times when you have no required payments will all count toward your overall repayment period for any IDR Plan. Your ability to repay your debt in full at the end of your repayment period will depend on a number of variables, including how quickly your income increases and how much of an impact that has on your debt-to-income ratio. These reasons make it possible for you to pay off your loan in full before the end of your repayment period. When you are approaching the point at which you would be eligible for the forgiveness of any outstanding loan balance, Great Lakes monitors your qualifying monthly payments and years of repayment and will let you know.
Account adjustments for IDR and PSLF qualifying payment counts are scheduled for fall of 2022. On April 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced several changes and adjustments that will bring borrowers closer to IDR forgiveness. Other borrowers not currently enrolled in an IDR plan who have accumulated time in repayment for at least 20 or 25 years may also qualify for forgiveness as a result of this initiative. ED will conduct a one-time revision of IDR- and PSLF-qualifying payments for all Direct Loan Program and federally managed Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans. If you have commercially held FFEL loans, you can only benefit from the IDR account adjustment if you consolidate before we complete implementation of these changes, which is estimated to be no sooner than Jan. 1, 2023. If you have made qualifying payments that exceed forgiveness thresholds (20 or 25 years), you will receive a refund for your overpayment. Learn more about this initiative. Offsite
If you teach full-time for five complete and consecutive academic years in a low-income elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency, you may be eligible for forgiveness of up to $17,500 on your Direct Loan program loans. See StudentAid.gov/teach-forgive Offsite for more information and a form you can fill out when you have completed your teaching service.
Search for your school in the Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits Offsite . You can also get the full list of eligibility requirements for this forgiveness program at StudentAid.gov/teacher Offsite .
Find out more about the requirements for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, as well as how to apply. (If you haven’t logged in already, you’ll be prompted to do so.) ).
You might be qualified for a discharge of your federal student loan if your school closes while you’re still enrolled or soon after you withdraw. Consider the recent closures of ITT and Corinthian College, where qualified students could have gotten their loans forgiven. Learn more about the procedure, prerequisites, and application process Offsite.
Borrower Defense to Repayment
If you believe that the school you attended misled you or engaged in misconduct in violation of certain laws, the federal student loans you obtained to attend that school may be eligible for forgiveness, called Borrower Defense to Repayment. Learn more about the process, eligibility requirements and how you can apply Offsite .
Total and Permanent Disability Discharge
Learn more about the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge process Offsite , eligibility requirements, and how to apply.
Note: Another federal student loan servicer is in charge of managing the servicing for this procedure. Your eligible loans will be transferred from Great Lakes to that servicer if you submit an application for a total and permanent disability discharge.
Not Eligible for Total and Permanent Disability?
Fill out and submit an application for loan forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge if you believe you are eligible for one of the programs other than the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge. (If you haven’t logged in already, you’ll be prompted to do so.) ).
All forms are in Portable Document Format (PDF). In order to view PDF files, you must first download the free Acrobat Reader software. Detailed instructions for downloading and installing the Acrobat Reader are located on the Adobe website Offsite .
Not finding the right repayment option?
Not everyone travels the same path while in school or after graduation when it comes to repaying loans.
Find the repayment option that best suits your needs by learning more about the available alternatives.
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Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. 2401 International Lane Madison, WI 53704 Toll-free: (800) 236-4300.
FAQ
Is there a forgiveness program for parent PLUS loans?
Parent PLUS Loans: Public Service Loan Forgiveness Parent borrowers may qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) after ten years and 120 qualifying payments. Parent PLUS loans that are part of the Direct Loan program or a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan are eligible.
Will loans through Great Lakes be forgiven?
Your remaining Direct Loan balance will be forgiven by Public Service Loan Forgiveness with Great Lakes PSLF once you’ve: Made 120 qualifying payments Made the payments under a qualifying student loan repayment plan. when you made the 120 payments, you were employed full-time by an acceptable employer.
How do I get rid of my parent PLUS loan?
You have the right to cancel all or a portion of your loan at any time by notifying the school before the money is disbursed. Within a certain window of time following the disbursement of your loan, you may cancel all or a portion of it.
Will student loan forgiveness affect parent PLUS loans?
The debt forgiveness program is available for so-called Parent PLUS loans, which parents can obtain through the federal government in order to assist their dependent children in paying for college.