US Department of Education Announces Changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

The US Department of Education announced changes to a federal loan forgiveness program called the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program today. According to the agency, the change could bring relief to more than 550,000 borrowers working in government and nonprofit sectors including about 22,000 borrowers who will automatically be eligible for student loan forgiveness without taking additional steps. Through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, the government forgives remaining federal student loan debt for qualifying public-sector workers after they’ve made monthly payments for 10 years.

In the statement released today the education department said it will ‘restore the promise’ of the debt relief program through a series of actions that will be implemented ‘over the coming months’. The actions include offering a time-limited waiver authorizing prior payments from borrowers to count towards the program, including loan types and payment plans that didn’t previously qualify for forgiveness. The waiver will continue through October 31st of next year. More than 1 million borrowers have made at least 1 payment and roughly 5,500 people have seen their debt wiped away through the program.