Open Forum

Hello!  I am curious if anyone has successfully had your student loan forgiven for being in education/non-profit and paying on your loan for over 10 years.  I hope someone here has and can help me figure it out!

Thanks!!

Dulcie

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Dulcimer Hause
Museum Educator
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
Jacksonville FL
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Hi - for the public service forgiveness, you have to have made 120 monthly payments AFTER October 1, 2007 (when the law went into effect), which means we're not eligible for the forgiveness until October 2017.

There's good info here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

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Sandra Smith
Director of Education and Visitor Services
Senator John Heinz History Center
Pittsburgh PA
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I am in the same process of applying to get mine waived...10 years down the road. I'm slowly learning a little about the plan, such as how the waived amount is included on your taxes. I think I'm still going to do it though to keep my payments down. 

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Sarah Arntz
Program Specialist
Nashville TN
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You should complete the paperwork now.  Once you submit it, you'll get updates along the way.  For example, I've been notified that my paperwork has been accepted and how many qualifying payments I've made.  It's a great way to keep track.  Also, this way, 10 years down the road, you don't have to go back to previous jobs to have them verify your employment.

The other thing to note is how 'full time' is defined; two part time jobs counts!

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Gretchen Armitage
Volunteer Program Manager
Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee WI
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Thank you for the input, everyone!  I had spent the better part of yesterday evening perusing the loan forgiveness website.  I don't think my current repayment plan qualifies.  However, I am so lucky that I only have 38 payments left!  I have been paying on it since 2003 and was blessed to have free tuition-- so I know I could be in a worse situation.

Thank you all again!

Dulcie

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Dulcimer Hause
Museum Educator
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
Jacksonville FL
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The only catch that I have learned about with this payment option is that at the end of 10 years, the amount they waive of your loans is tacked on as income and you will end of paying on that amount when you go to file your income taxes. I have a relative that used to work for a loan company and she informed me of this, but she also thinks that this law will be changed before 10 years is up from now. Otherwise, to me, that seems quite counterproductive. What you don't pay now you will have to pay in the end. 

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Sarah Arntz
Program Specialist
Nashville TN
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I ignored your original post...  but the financial adviser in me is coming out!  We work in a not-for-profit environment.  You might be working a wage lower than you would in the for profit world. But what is going to change?  Rather than deferring your debt, maybe you buckle down on your monthly budget, and pay your student loans.  THEN when you're done with the loans, put that money in your 401K or an IRA. 

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Debra Michael CPA
Director of Finances & Admin
Adventure Science Center
Nashville TN
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It's worth noting that the program that the original poster is interested in requires ten years of consecutive payments in order to qualify.  She's been making payments since 2003.  So she IS paying her student loans.  My guess is that like many who graduated within the last 10-15 years, she's come to the realization that working in her chosen career path, retiring her educational debt on her current payment schedule will come at the expense of buying a home, starting a family, and saving for retirement, and that her current salary will not enable her to make larger payments in order to retire the debt more quickly. 

And while the non-profit world may have a reputation for offering lower salaries than the for-profit sector, there are many working in the for-profit sector who are in the same financial position, as overall wages have not kept up with living costs or the cost of higher education for many years.  The problem of student debt reaches far beyond the non-profit world, and the macroeconomic repercussions of it are becoming increasingly significant. 

      Michael

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Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions
Bozeman MT
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I think the fact that museum professionals have the need to ask about this says something about the museum sector (and about the cost of the education needed to work within it).   

     Michael

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Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions
Bozeman MT
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There is a lot of confusion about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) and after helping a friend enroll I can tell you the whole thing is indeed a very confusing process.

I would not rule yourself out just because you think the payment plan you are currently on wouldn’t count. I would need to learn more about your specific situation, but my understanding is that most people on most plans would be able to get at least some past payments counted towards PSLF if they enroll and qualify. If you would like help feel free to contact me at my personal email address: thomasgokey@gmail.com

For some people PSLF is the least bad of many bad options. It all depends on the specifics of your personal situation, how much debt you have, how long you have worked for qualifying non-profits and how long you plan to (and how secure your current job is), and how much you make. For some people PSLF doesn’t make sense and would end up costing them more in the long run. At one point there was a proposal to cap the amount “forgiven” to $57,000 although I’m very confused about that cap and who it would apply to. I know many people with so much debt that getting $57,000 relieved wouldn’t help very much.

In my personal work I am a visual artist whose recent work has revolved entirely around debt. I’m an organizer with Strike Debt which researched and wrote the “Debt Resisters’ Operations Manual” available for free here: strikedebt.org/drom and has a chapter on student debt. We've also created the Rolling Jubilee (rollingjubilee.org) which to date has purchased and abolished nearly $32 million of medical and student debt, and the Debt Collective (debtcollective.org) which is currently organizing former Corinthian College students in the first ever student debt strike, with some initial success.

-Thomas

thomasgokey@gmail.com

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Thomas Gokey
Public Relations and Digital Engagement Manager
Anchorage Museum
Anchorage AK
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Jobs With Justice is hosting a free webinar about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program on July 1. The webinar will have people from the CFPB and the Department of Education to help explain the program and answer questions. You can sign up for the webinar here: http://forgivemystudentdebt.org/student-loan-forgiveness-101/

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Thomas Gokey
Public Relations and Digital Engagement Manager
Anchorage Museum
Anchorage AK
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