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Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program deadline approaching

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program deadline approaching
Posted at 12:05 PM, Aug 08, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-08 16:27:52-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Thousands of Californians with student loan debt could have it wiped away. State leaders are coming together to encourage people to take part in the California Student Debt Challenge.

Attorney General Rob Bonta joined state leaders and advocacy groups for a virtual meeting on Monday to launch the challenge. It works to distribute key information about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).

Right now the rules for PSLF are a little more relaxed but the October deadline is slowly approaching.

State leaders say roughly 1 million Californians may qualify, but only around 10,000 have applied and had their loans forgiven.

The PSLF program cancels a remainder of the borrower’s federal student loan debt after they make 10 years of monthly payments while doing public interest work, or 120 payments over any span of time while doing public interest work.

Teachers, librarians nurses, public interest lawyers, military members and more can apply.

If you are or were previously employed at least 30 hours per week with the following types of organizations, you qualify:

  • Government organizations at any level (U.S., Federal, State, Local or Tribal). This includes the U.S. military and all work in public education.
  • Any not-for-profit organization that is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
  • If you work for a not-for-profit organization that is not tax-exempt, you may still qualify for PSLF if the organization provides certain types of qualifying public services such as emergency management, legal aid, and legal services, early childhood education, and more.

The deadline is October 31.