Educators,

We hope this email finds you well. We know you’re working so hard and this is a busy time of year, so we wanted to give you a quick update on student loan relief as important deadlines approach.  

Here’s what’s most important to know:

• The application for federal debt relief for $10,000-$20,000 is now open.
• If the $10-20k will cover your debt entirely, you don’t need to apply for PSLF.
• The October 31 deadline for the waiver for PSLF forgiveness is coming up.
• We expect federal loan payments to resume in January. 

As you know, earlier this fall, President Biden announced that the government would relieve up to $20,000 in loans for borrowers that received Pell Grants and $10,000 for others. The application for that debt relief is now open, and it’s quick and easy to fill out. We expect it will be at least a few weeks before you hear back from the government. 

Many of you joined us for our webinars on Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). While, for some of you, the recent forgiveness will wipe out your debt entirely, for others, PSLF remains critical. We want to pass along a section of our broader FAQ about loan forgiveness for those of you who aren’t sure how to navigate the two opportunities, and remind you that, if you plan to take advantage of PSLF through the waiver, the deadline (Oct 31) is fast approaching. 

Should I apply for the recently announced forgiveness if I am pursuing the PSLF Waiver?

• It won’t hurt, but whether or not you need to depends on your situation. If $10k (or $20k, if you’ve received a Pell grant) will cover your full debt balance, you should absolutely apply for this forgiveness. It is quicker and easier than PSLF to apply for–a single application with no signatures to gather. 
• If you are pursuing PSLF and have already made the 120 payments to qualify, you will have your entire debt canceled by that process. You do not need to spend the time and energy into applying for the $10-20k forgiveness. 
• If you don’t know if you are going to pursue PSLF, or if you have a very small debt balance relative to your income (i.e., you owe $10 – $20k, and you make $50k+), you should apply for this forgiveness just in case PSLF doesn’t work out.
• Each circumstance is unique, so if it’s unclear to you which route to pursue, you may want to get a consultation with an expert. 

It’s important to note that federal loan payments resume again in January. Even if your debts will eventually be forgiven by PSLF, you should plan to resume payments in January if your PSLF has not yet gone through. If you make more than 120 payments, you would get the final ones refunded (so, if you pay in January and February and in March, your PSLF goes through, you’d get back those two months of payments.) It’s important to plan now to make sure you have room in your budget to make payments.

We hope this information is helpful! We appreciate you so much and are grateful for the work you do each day for our children.  

Best,

The Teacher Community Team at NSNO