YOUR MONEY: More than 600,000 in La. could qualify for public service loan forgiveness, study says

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - If you have a public service job and you’ve been denied for Public Service Loan Forgiveness it’s worth checking your eligibility status again.

The U.S. Department of Education announced changes in the Fall of 2021 but many borrowers have not yet taken advantage of it.

Student Loan Hero by Lending Tree just did a study and found nearly 23 percent of borrowers are potentially eligible to get their federal student loans forgiven.

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That’s roughly 9.3 million people across America.

In Louisiana, there are roughly 600,000 borrowers that could become eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness if you work for a government or nonprofit employer in the state.

If you’ve tried to apple for PSLF a while ago but did not qualify, Andrew Pentis, a certified student loan counselor and Senior Writer with Student Loan Hero by Lending Tree, explains why you should try again.

“In recent years we saw approval rates for that relief at close to 1 or 2 percent so what the Biden administration has done most recently is to make it much easier for borrowers who have a variety of types of loans and repayment plans to be able to qualify for PSLF,” he explained. “Essentially easing the restrictions on the confusing jargon that are the eligibility rules for this program.”

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If you’re a teacher, government, or nonprofit employee, you’re encouraged to contact your federal student loan servicer to see whether you’re eligible for PSLF.

“If in the past you have not been eligible because you had an older type of federal loan such as a FFEL loan or perhaps you were paying your loans on the wrong repayment plan you would now be eligible under this temporary waiver that lasts a year,” Pentis said.

There is a deadline on this. This is a temporary waiver that lasts through October 2022 so go ahead and fill out the form to see if you’re eligible to qualify.

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