There are many people who are on the verge of going into debt because of their student loans. Oftentimes, many individuals acquire a loan in order to pay for education but the price of learning is getting to be quite expensive for the majority of people who want to increase their qualifications.
Due to this, the government has developed various federal student loan forgiveness programs for people who are currently in debt. The most sought after forgiveness program is the
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program where borrowers are offered with the option to get their debt amount written off. This can be availed by people who hold employment in non profit organizations, government agencies, military, armed forces, educational institutions and other public sector jobs.
However, not everyone will qualify for the PSLF forgiveness program, for those who do not, they can pick from a range of other forgiveness programs. A few of these are listed below.
- Debt Forgiveness Programs.
- Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness Programs.
- Military Student Loan Forgiveness Programs.
- Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Programs.
What is the Right Loan Forgiveness Program for You?
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The list of forgiveness programs above is only a small handful of the most common ones. For people who do not hold employment in those fields need not worry as there are many other programs they can choose from.
If you are having trouble paying for your existing loan amount due to financial hardships, it is advisable to check the numerous forgiveness programs that are available. Each state has their own programs for this purpose regardless whether you are in debt of a few thousand dollars or hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 2020 alone, there were over 50 new forgiveness programs that were added.
Some of The Latest Student Loan Forgiveness Programs in 2020
The United States federal government now has many significant loan forgiveness benefits that can help anyone who is having a hard time making loan repayments. The latest programs are listed below.
- If you have acquired your student loan on or after the 1st of October, 2007; you will be eligible to apply for the Obama Loan Forgiveness program and also the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) student loan repayment plan.
- Your existing loan amount will either be reduced or cancelled altogether if you have or are willing to enroll in any of the income based student loan repayment plans such as the Income Contingent Repayment Plan, Income Based Repayment Plan, or Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) student loan repayment plan.
- If you currently hold employment in a public service job, you are eligible to apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
- If you currently hold employment as a nurse, consider applying for the Nurse Corps Loan Forgiveness Program. If you are a licensed medical technician, then the Perkins Loan Forgiveness program will be better suited for you.
- For people who are in debt and hold employment as a medical professional such as a doctor or dentist, you will be eligible for the Service Loan Repayment Program. These also come with numerous benefits that can help you clear your debt much faster.
- If you currently work in an educational institution as a teacher, you can apply for the PSLF program, Perkins Loan Forgiveness, Stafford Loan Forgiveness program or pick from the various federal TEACH grants that are available.
- If you are a borrower who has served in the military, there are a list of Military Student Loan Forgiveness programs that you will be eligible to apply for.
- Similarly, if you have served in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, you can apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
- If you are able to prove that the loan you acquired for a specific purpose was mishandled or you were lied to, let’s say for example that you were promised something which you failed to receive, were deceived or were legally taken advantage of in a specific way, you can apply for the Borrower’s Defense Against Repayment program.
What is The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?
To apply for PSLF, the borrower must first have made loan repayments for over a 10 year period or made 120 monthly repayments towards their existing debt. This is twice as fast as other forgiveness programs such as PAYE, REPAYE and the standard Obama loan forgiveness plans.
Once you have made 120 payments on your existing loan, the remaining amount you still owe will be forgiven, irrespective of how large the debt amount is. To qualify for the public service loan forgiveness program, the borrower must hold full time employment in any of the following fields.
- As a government employee working in state, federal or local agencies.
- Working in a Non-Profit Organization, this includes all the 501(c)(3) organizations.
- Working as a teacher in public schools.
- Serving in any of the branches of the military, including reservists.
- Working as emergency management personnel in organizations such as FEMA, etc.
- Working in law enforcement and public safety, this includes firefighters, police, park rangers, etc.
- Working in public health services, this includes doctors, nurses and people who prepare medical records.
- Working as teachers in early childhood education fields such as daycare, kindergarten and preschool teachers.
- Employment as a public service worker for the elderly, this includes nursing home personnel, healthcare workers, etc.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program is considered to be the best federal forgiveness program available right now because it has a large number of benefits. It also offers borrowers who qualify with 100% forgiveness without any tax liabilities.
Raj Kumar is a qualified business/finance writer expert in investment, debt, credit cards, Passive income, financial updates. He advises in his blog finance clap.
