Does your California job qualify you for this student debt relief? How to know
Time is running out for the roughly one million Californians who work in public service to apply for federal debt relief.
The deadline for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is Oct. 31 — less than three months away.
What exactly qualifies as job in public service? Here’s what the U.S. Department of Education requires:
Which jobs qualify?
According to Federal Student Aid website, qualifying jobs have more to do with who you work for rather than what you do.
Qualifying employers include not-for-profit agencies or government organizations operating on any level, whether state, federal, local or tribal. Working in any capacity for the U.S. military also meets eligibility requirements.
Other government organizations include public elementary and secondary schools, public colleges and universities, child service and family service agencies and other governmental departments, such as transportation, water and housing authorities.
Not-for-profit groups must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
However, other select nonprofit organizations may qualify as well, so long as they provide other “qualifying public services.”
These services include emergency management, military service, public safety, law enforcement, public interest legal work, early childhood education, senior or disability care services, public health, public library and other school library or school service.
Occupations can range from teachers and nurses to firefighters and military members, depending on the employer. Full-time AmeriCorps or PeaceCorps volunteers are also eligible for debt relief.
To help determine qualifying employers, Federal Student Aid encourages interested applicants to use its employer search tool.
What jobs don’t count?
Employers that do not qualify for PSLF include labor unions, partisan political organizations and for-profit groups.
How long must you be in public service?
Federal student loans may be canceled after working in public service for at least 10 years.
In order to qualify for PSLF, applicants must have made 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for a qualifying employer — which takes at least 10 years.
These payments do not have to be consecutive, so long as they accumulate to 120. They also must have been made after Oct. 1, 2007, and no later than 15 days after their due date.
What loans are forgiven?
After paying the monthly obligations, PSLF forgives the remaining balance from applicants’ direct loans, which are the only loans eligible for the program.
Loans that do not qualify for the program include the Family Education Loan Program and the Federal Perkins Loan Program, but they may be included if consolidated.
According to Forbes, the program had forgiven an average of $82,804 as of April 2021.
How much do I have to work?
Applicants must work on a full-time basis with their employer or at least 30 hours a week — whichever is greater.
Working multiple part-time jobs also qualifies for the program, so long as employees still work a combined average of 30 hours a week.
Those who work under a contract directly under a qualifying employer also qualify for the service debt relief.
How to apply
Applicants must fill out the PLSF form and mail it to MOHELA, the U.S. Department of Education’s federal loan servicer, or fax it to 866-222-7060.
The address for MOHELA is 633 Spirit Dr., Chesterfield, MO 63005-1243.
Digital signatures are not accepted by PSLF, and forms must be sent by mail or fax.
Meeting these specific criteria for payment is essential for loan forgiveness approval, and more details on the program are available on the Federal Student Aid site.
This story was originally published August 9, 2022 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Does your California job qualify you for this student debt relief? How to know."