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Public Service Loan Forgiveness has had a lot of information and misinformation in news and other sources. I have recently finished my 10 years (120, actually 121 payments in my case). Understanding it should not require the combination of a business and a law degree, but these helped me navigate some of the problems and help others. I am not the first person I know who succeeded, and I have built my knowledge with others over the last decade. I want to give some of the knowledge I have gathered in the last decade in a way that people can understand. I am splitting this into multiple parts to keep this readable.

This isn’t just for doctors or lawyers. I know there are a lot of profession-specific programs. I can’t cover them all here, and I’m focusing on the more generic Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

To those who say the best answer to student loans is to never take one, I can agree. I didn’t take loans until law school. I also hold great respect for trades who can make a materially comfortable living with less expensive and often very valuable training.

However, that does not reflect the reality or those who already have substantial student loan debt. I know people who were working to provide themselves and a family with a materially comfortable life who instead created a debt load that is likely to burden them for 30, 40, 50 years, or simply plan to make payments until they die. I wish this on no one. This is mostly aimed at those already in debt with eligible loans who may be eligible or on their way to eligibility.

There are lots of confusing things in the news. Anyone who watched the news saw the Biden Administration’s attempt at unilateral forgiveness was rejected by the US Supreme Court.

As to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, there appears to be consistent bipartisan support, and a low probability of it be subject to elimination in the near future. I have seen no serious proposal to eliminate the program, but I admit it is exceedingly difficult to predict political tides or changes over a decade necessary to start and finish the payments.

My objective is to limit political commentary and focus on the issues regarding the program. However, because it is a federal program with a lot of public attention and changes, it is not possible to properly explain certain parts independently of actions by politicians or bureaucrats. I’m hoping to help people avoid common pitfalls I have observed for myself and others.

​I am hopeful that the information I can provide is helpful to others either to address their student loans or convince those who have not taken loans to find ways to avoid going into student debt in the first place.

​The first thing I suggest is to immediately fill out an employment certification form. This was the most recent version https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/public-service-application-for-forgiveness.pdf. First, the form explains some of the rules, which might someone understand a little more about the current status of the program.

Second, you can find out what loans are eligible, and what can be made eligible. In my case, I submitted my first form shortly after being hired for my first public service job after law school. Most of my loans were eligible, a couple could become eligible with a consolidation.

I started the consolidation immediately. It took (3) three months for the feds to process the consolidations, putting those loans four months behind. The government did a one-time fix that counted three (3) of those months for the consolidated loans. I was making payments in those months, and I still made 121 payments at the end.

I have seen people lose years of qualifying payments because they didn’t certify early and find an issue.

Third, you can confirm your employment and hours are eligible. This was never an issue for me. My employers were governmental entities. Non-profits are usually eligible, but some kinds have limitations. Each time I changed jobs I would get a final form from my prior employer and a new form from my new employer to make sure there was no issue with the new job.

The minimum hours are at least 30/week. I Two part-time employers where you work at least 30 hours in total together will qualify. I had two jobs at one point that were less than 30 hours/week each for two employers, but 40 hours/week combined. Those counted.

If you are seeking public service loan forgiveness and haven’t filed an employment certification form, fill out and submit one today to make sure you aren’t making mistakes or a costly miscalculation.

This is for informational purposes. Michael Bear is a Magistrate in Marion County who lives with his wife in Galion.