With FFEL $100,000 and climbing, paid tens of thousands already; have public service employment, but consolidating is not recommended with any of the loan help sites explored; the PSFL workup doesn’t offer help; no relief was given for this during the pandemic and the annual IBR application is due soon. Any help on this is appreciated.
Hi @merrystiches, if you are a public service worker and you work for a qualifying employer, I’m not sure why consolidating and applying for PSLF through the waiver would not be in your best interest. It is true that if you have been paying under IBR you will lose all past credit towards IBR when you consolidate, but given that it takes significantly fewer qualifying payments under PSLF than it does under IBR it seems like it would by far be better to make that switch. The only danger is if something goes wrong, or if you don’t actually qualify for PSLF for some reason.
More info here:
https://forgivemystudentdebt.org/
Here is a webinar about accessing PSLF through the waiver.
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The information and perspective is appreciated, thank you. I will review the pslf updates and consider the consolidation risks.
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