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Stanley Tate #1 Student Loan Lawyer Published on May 12, 2022 Frontline health care workers qualify for student loan forgiveness after 10 years if they work at a government or nonprofit medical facility or after making 20+ years’ worth of payments under an income-driven repayment plan. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, frontline health care workers have continuously put their lives on the line. As an acknowledgment of their bravery, lawmakers have tried to pass legislation that would wipe out the federal and private student loan debt tax-free of any healthcare professional or other essential worker battling the coronavirus. But those proposals have yet to become law. Even if that doesn’t change, health care workers qualify for three main student loan forgiveness programs:
Keep reading to learn how frontline healthcare workers can get their student debt eliminated. Latest on student loans
Public Service Loan ForgivenessWorks best for: Medical personnel and essential workers employed by a nonprofit or government institution with federal student loans. Nurses, doctors, interns, and other frontline healthcare personnel who work full-time for a nonprofit or the government can qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The PSLF program grants tax-free forgiveness to borrowers regardless of whether they treat coronavirus patients. You’ll need to clear four hurdles to qualify:
How to apply: Use the PSLF Help Tool to check if your employer qualifies for the program. If it does, complete the PSLF Employment Certification & Application form. Submit the completed form to FedLoan Servicing for processing. PSLF Limited Waiver OpportunityWorks best for: Medical personnel and essential workers with Federal Family Education Loans. The PSLF Program was plagued with problems almost from its start in 2007. Thousands of healthcare workers and other public service workers dutifully made payments for 10 years, thinking this would qualify them for student loan forgiveness, only to find out they had the wrong kind of loan — Federal Family Education Loans. Last October, the Department of Education announced it was temporarily softening the rules to count payments that were too small, too big, and too late, and payments made toward FFEL Loans. Over 70 thousand borrowers have had their debt forgiven under the Limited PSLF Waiver, which expires Oct. 31, 2022. But people with Parent PLUS Loans and joint spousal consolidation loans have been shut out of this temporary expansion thus far. Read more about Parent PLUS Loan forgiveness options.
How to Apply: Visit studentaid.gov to consolidate your FFEL loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. You’ll also need to submit a completed PSLF Employment Certification form for every qualified employer you’ve worked for since Oct. 2007. Income-Driven Repayment Plan ForgivenessWorks best for: Essential workers and front-line health care workers in private practice. Another forgiveness option for health care workers is IDR forgiveness, which wipes out a borrower’s remaining balance after making at least 20 years’ worth of payments under an income income-driven repayment plan. To qualify, you have to switch from the Extended or Graduated Repayment plan to one of the income-driven repayment plans. The payments you made before switching don’t count for forgiveness. You’ll need to make payments for the next 20 or 25 years before your debt is erased, depending on the repayment plan you choose and whether you borrowed debt to pay for graduate school. How to Apply: Contact your student loan servicer when you’re close to making your final monthly payment to qualify for cancellation. Your servicer will tally your payments to confirm you’re about to cross the finish line. Keep in mind the earliest you can apply is 2028, which is 25 years after the income-contingent repayment plan started. Learn More: 20 Year Student Loan Forgiveness Will essential workers get student loan forgiveness?Early in the pandemic, congressional Democrats and Republicans introduced two bills designed to eliminate federal and private student debt specifically for first responders, essential workers, and frontline health care workers.
Student Loan Forgiveness for Essential Workers ApplicationLooking for help beyond health care loan forgiveness? Let’s talk.Are healthcare workers eligible for student loan forgiveness?The payment pause and interest waiver is part of a COVID-19 relief measure that is in effect through at least January 31, 2022. When the relief period is over and they have made 120 qualifying payments, healthcare workers may qualify for Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
Do nurses qualify for student loan forgiveness 2022?There is no federal student loan forgiveness for nurses because of COVID-19, but students are eligible for a no-interest payment freeze through August 31, 2022.
Who qualifies for the student loan forgiveness program?To be eligible, your annual income must have fallen below $125,000 (for individuals) or $250,000 (for married couples or heads of households). If you received a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt relief.
Is there a student loan forgiveness program for nurses?Registered nurses who work at least 32 hours a week at a qualified facility can get 60% of their student loans paid off over two years of employment. Borrowers have the option of getting an additional 25% of their loans paid off by the Nurse Corps program for a third year. Applications are only accepted once a year.
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