Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Limited Waiver by Department of Education

As part of our commitment to the financial health of our team members, we wanted
to make you aware of a limited opportunity for student loan borrowers to qualify for
the Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.
PSLF is a program that provides full forgiveness of student loan debt to employees
at a Qualified Employer (defined below) after 10 years of service or 120 qualifying
payments.

As a qualified employer, employed team members are eligible to apply for
participation in this program. Action must be taken by the limited waiver
deadline of October 31, 2022, to make sure past payments count as
qualifying payments toward forgiveness.

Below is an overview of the PSLF Program and this limited waiver opportunity.

Program Overview
For a limited time, borrowers may receive credit for past payments made on loans
that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF during the time in which they have been
working for a Qualified Employer.

In the past, student loan borrowers working toward PSLF have struggled to
navigate the program’s complex rules and requirements. However, this limited
waiver of specific PSLF program requirements through October 31, 2022, expands
the program to more borrowers than ever before.

Background
In 2007 Congress created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program
to encourage individuals to accept and continue to work in full-time public service
jobs. The program is designed to benefit those who work full- time (30 hours a
week) for an eligible federal, state, or local government, or for public service or
certain non- profit organizations. The PSLF program forgives the remaining
balance on a Federal Direct Loan (loan made directly from the Department of
Education) after 120 qualifying payments (10 years) under a qualifying repayment
plan. The individual must have worked for a Qualifying Employer throughout those
10 years to qualify for forgiveness.

Qualifying employers
These organizations are considered Qualifying Employers:
   • Government organizations
   • 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations
   • Other non-profit organizations
         •   A not-for-profit organization that is not tax-exempt under section
            501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code must provide one of the
            following public services:
                • Emergency management
                •   Military service: service on behalf of the U.S. armed forces or
                   the National Guard
                • Public safety
                • Law enforcement: crime prevention, control or reduction of
                   crime, or the enforcement of criminal law
                • Public interest law services: legal services provided by an
                   organization that is funded in whole or in part by a U.S.
                   federal, state, local, or tribal government
                • Early childhood education: includes licensed or regulated
                   childcare, Head Start, and state-funded prekindergarten
                • Public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly
                • Public health: includes nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a
                   clinical setting, and other full-time professionals engaged in
                   healthcare practitioner occupations (Bureau of Labor Statistics
                   SOC Code Series 29-1000), health support occupations
                   (Bureau of Labor Statistics SOC Code Series 31-0000), and
                   certain community and social service occupations (Bureau of
                   Labor Statistics SOC Code Series 21-1000)
                • Public education
                • Public library services
                • School library services
                • Other school-based services

Source: https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.
Qualifying Employer information can be found at https://studentaid.gov/.

Note: The organization must not be a business organized for profit, a labor union,
or a partisan political organization.

Who can qualify for PSLF?
To qualify an individual must:
           • Be employed full time (30 hours per week) by a Qualifying Employer
           • Have Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a
              Direct Loan)
           • Repay loans under an Income Drive Repayment (IDR) plan (This
              provision is being waived through October 31, 2022, as part of the
              PSLF limited waiver, see below for more information.)
           • Make 120 qualifying payments
The Department of Education requires public service workers to file an
Employment Certification Form (ECF) to document their employment with a
qualified employer.

PSLF program limited waiver
This temporary policy is only in effect through October 31, 2022. After this date,
borrowers will only be able to receive credit toward debt cancellation under PSLF if
they meet the traditional eligibility requirements (above). However, any credit
borrowers receive as a result of the waiver will remain on their accounts.
Unique opportunity for borrowers who:
          • Were only ineligible for PSLF because some or all their payments
              were not made under a qualifying Income-Driven Repayment Plan
              (IDR)
          • Have had years of full-time employment with a Qualified Employer
              that can be certified and have been making consistent payments
During the current waiver period, the Department of Education is allowing
borrowers to receive credit toward loan forgiveness for any months since October
1, 2007, during which:
          • They worked full-time for a Qualified Employer (FMOLHS is
              considered a qualified employer).
          • They also were in repayment on any federal student loan they took
              out for their own education

CARES Act implications
As part of the CARES Act, the federal government paused payments for most
federal student loan borrowers since March 2020. These months will count if the
loans were in repayment status, but not if they were in a deferment, forbearance,
or default status.

How to Take Action:
  • Review the PSLF Program Limited Waiver.
  • Go to https://studentaid.gov/pslf/ to being the application process
         o Note: You will need your W2 available to know FMOLHS Federal
            Employer ID Number (EIN)
  • Submit your application by the October 31, 2022 deadline.
  • For account specific questions – contact FedLoan Servicing, by
     clicking here.
  • Other questions can be directed to the Federal Student Aid office,
     clicking here.

Submitting PSLF Forms for Approval and Signatures:
  • Team members can submit their completed PSLF Forms for approval and
     signature to askHR through email at askHR@fmolhs.org or by submitting a
     service request in Oracle. Team members should allow for 7 business days
     for review and signed return of their form.
  • If you have additional questions, please contact askHR at
     askHR@fmolhs.org.

Additional information
A Quick Note About Signatures:
While we understand and agree with your desire for electronic signatures, right
now the Department of Education can accept only these types of signatures:

   •   A wet signature that was drawn in ink and sent to us in its original format;
   •   A wet signature that was drawn in ink and then digitized (for example,
       drawing your signature and taking a photo of it and placing that photo in the
       signature block); and
   •   A digital signature that was drawn with your hand using a pointing device
       (like a mouse or trackpad) or a finger (like on a smartphone).
The Department of Education can’t accept signatures that are font-based,
regardless of whether they are made to mimic a signature through the use of a
cursive-style font; digital certificate-based signatures; and digital signature services
that don’t require you to draw your signature with your hand or pointing device.

Helpful resources

   •   Take Advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Waiver by Oct. 31
       – Federal Student Aid
   •   PSLF waiver landing page: PSLF Waiver Offers Way to Get Closer to Loan
   •   Forgiveness | Federal Student Aid Fact Sheet: Public Service Loan
   •   Forgiveness (PSLF) Program Overhaul | U.S. Department of Education
   •   Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool | Federal Student Aid
   •   Become a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool Ninja –
   •   Federal Student Aid
   •   6 Things to Know About Public Service Loan Forgiveness During the
   •   COVID-19 Emergency
   •   The landing page for the consolidation application:
       StudentAid.gov/consolidation
   •   PSLF Limited Waiver Fact Sheet - PSLF Coalition
   •   FAQ - PSLF Coalition
   •   Testimonials - PSLF Coalition
   •   Accessing Public Service Loan Forgiveness - Student Borrower Protection
       Center (protectborrowers.org)

Definitions of key terms:
Federal Student Loan: A loan funded by the federal government to help pay for higher education
A loan made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program
Direct Loan: A loan made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program
Debt Consolidation: Debt consolidation is a method of debt refinancing that involves taking out
one loan to pay off others.
Direct Consolidation Loan:
A Direct Consolidation Loan combines multiple federal education loans into one loan for free.
Income-Driven Repayment Plan: Federal programs designed to make student debt more
manageable by reducing monthly payment amount based upon an individual’s income. There are
four types: Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE), Pay As You Earn Repayment
Plan (PAYE Plan), Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan), and Income-Contingent Repayment
Plan (ICR Plan).
Qualifying payments: Student loan payments an individual has made that count toward the 120
payments needed to qualify for loan forgiveness