Public Service Loan Forgiveness PSLF Program documents.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program has continued to receive attention for high rejection rates. Of course, that doesn’t tell the full story as most of the rejections are due to applicants not qualifying for the program—at least not yet. New data released from the Department of Education show progress for the programs with many borrowers receiving relief.
According to the new data, more than 161,000 applications have been sent for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. These applications came from about 127,000 individual borrowers. The Department has processed approximately 151,000 applications. Of those, 76% of them were rejected because they were deemed ineligible, not having met the requirements of the program. Another 22% of the applications were considered ineligible because their form had missing or incomplete information.
The good news for applicants is that 2,246 applications for PSLF have been approved. Those 1,565 borrowers have had their federal student loans forgiven. That totals up to $99.2 million in discharges for PSLF applicants.
In 2017, Congress created an expansion of PSLF known as Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF). This was created to help those borrowers who should have qualified but didn’t due to poor communication and implementation. Many were public servants who applied to PSLF but were rejected because they were in the wrong repayment plan, though they thought they were on track for the program.
Approximately 24,000 borrowers were deemed ineligible for TEPSLF. However, a third have not been in repayment for 10 years, a minimum requirement of the program. Another fifth do not meet the TEPSLF payment requirements for payments during the last 12 months. About ten percent of them don’t have eligible loans.
This shows that progress is being made. As more time passes, it is very likely more borrowers will receive forgiveness. The focus on the program will hopefully help student loan servicers make the application process smoother. But also with time, more applicants will have likely become eligible after they’ve made the required number of payments.
