Employees may be eligible for federal student loan forgiveness.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Student Loans for borrowers after they have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working for an employer who meets certain qualifications, such as Missouri State University.

Whether you have made 120 qualifying payments, or not, you should fill out and submit the PSLF form annually.

Qualifying for PSLF

To qualify for PSLF, you must

• be employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or qualifying not-for-profit organization (federal service includes U.S. military service);
• work full-time for that agency or organization;
• have Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct Loan);
• repay your loans under an income-driven repayment plan or a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan; and
• make a total of 120 qualifying monthly payments that need not be consecutive.

How to Apply for PSLF

To be considered for PSLF, you only need to submit a PSLF form. The easiest way to do this is by using the PSLF Help Tool. The PSLF Help Tool allows you to:

1. Check to see if your employer is already in our employer database.
2. Request that your employer’s eligibility be reviewed if it is not already in our database or has not yet had its eligibility determined.
3. Prepare and sign your PSLF form, and request certification and signature from your employer—all electronically.
4. Generate your PSLF form for manual signature and submission to the PSLF servicer (if electronic submission isn’t possible).

Top tip: Certify your employment every year and any time you change employers. This lets you confirm you’re on track toward forgiveness.

Visit Studentaid.gov to find out more information and to apply for PSLF.

Additional Resource

Student debt Solutions provided by Corebridge Financial, one of MSU’s has 403b providers, has engaged Savi – a social impact technology firm – to help non-profit and public service workers take control of their student loans

• For $60 a year you can use Savi’s service to navigate the process for applying for public service loan forgiveness and access their analysis of government rules concerning student loan debt.

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