the requirements. I consolidated all the loans into one Direct Loan after my second child graduated in 2015 and started making on time payments in June 2016. I made monthly payments of approx. I had 170 qualifying payments and was forgiven for the remaining balance. While that process would be automatic for many borrowers, others would have to successfully apply for debt cancellation first. Im wondering if you have any updates or additional information about refunds based on the forbearance steering announcement from DoE on April 19, 2022. outstanding balance if applicable. Variable APR means that your interest rate can fluctuate over time, which can increase or decrease your monthly student loan payment. In January 2023 I received a letter from Mohela saying that due to the limited PSLF waiver I had received credit for past payments (I made no payments prior to June 2016 but was in either deferment or forbearance, starting in 2008, Im not sure which) and that they determined I had met the requirements of PSLF Program and my loans had been forgiven. Qualifying monthly payments do not need to be consecutive. He has helped borrowers navigate life with student debt since 2013. Cecilia has also worked in post-secondary education, elevator operations management and sales and military nuclear command control, maintenance management and public affairs. And if youre one of the 40 million Americans eligible for cancellation under President Bidens plan, you may also qualify for a refund of $10 to $20 thousand. All Rights Reserved. fill out this form See your spending breakdown to show your top spending trends and where you can cut back. Received the refund for my overpayment! Tweets. Loan Forgiveness and Discharge Programs Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) If you work in certain public service jobs and have made 120 payments on your Direct Loans, you may be eligible to have your loans forgiven. I pray people remember this at election time, real change in the lives of real people. ET on If this situation applies to you, there is no refund available for previous payments. Some, like my sister who is a social worker for the Department of Veterans Affairs, even get a refund check for overpayments in addition to full cancellation. Courts have issued orders blocking student debt relief. up-to-date status of your payment count, we recommend periodically checking MOHELAs borrower portal for real-time actions. list of our trusted federal student loan servicers, which transferred to mohela)there could be a refund due? Second, I have deposited the refund check but do not intend to spend it in case it also is a mistake and they come back and say I must repay it. If you have an overpayment on loans forgiven under TEPSLF, that overpayment will be applied to any other loans with an After they verify your account and identity, let them know you want to request a refund on payments made during the interest-free forbearance period. An overpayment refund can take 6-8 weeks to be applied. Direct PLUS Loans for parents are not eligible for IDR plans that allow borrowers to benefit from the PSLF program. They consolidated their FFEL and Perkins Loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan in 2010. If you want to see your payments progress in the program, you can find this number by signing in to Account Access. Starting the process for getting a refund on payments is relatively simple if you have the right information handy. Apply for a refund before you request any student loan debt forgiveness, according to Katherine Welbeck of the Student Borrower Protection Center. The website was processed on 8/10/2022, but I have yet to receive any information. Borrowers who asked for refunds on student loan payments they made during the pandemic pause are beginning to see checks in their mailboxes. If you made student loan payments before the start date of March 13, 2020, those payments wouldn't be eligible for a refund. Section 3. For the most part, my work has helped . The U.S. Department of Education will write off her remaining balance and issue her a refund for the 23 extra payments she made. Very happy to hear, thanks for posting! Another leading proposal would wipe away $50,000 worth of debt. No contact. Although the 10-year Standard Repayment plan is eligible, if you were to stay on this plan, your loans would be paid She will get a refund for the payments made after February 2019, but she wont get a refund for the payments made before she consolidated. You can only receive a refund on student loan payments made between March 13, 2020, and the end of the payment pause (the latest would be 60 days after June 30, 2023). If you ask for a refund . While I think my overpayment is actually almost $2,000 higher (which I plan to follow up on), I consider this a huge step. The Biden administration temporarily relaxed the programs eligibility requirements to allow borrowers to consolidate and getretroactive PSLFcredit for the monthly payments they made before consolidating, and some of the time that their loans were in deferment or forbearance. In the end, the forgiveness is by far the bigger deal in all of this. Repayment plan, you should switch to an IDR plan as soon as possible. IDR plans offer loan forgiveness after you make a specific number of payments! Every detail that you have mentioned so far sounds like this is a legitimate and final discharge. However, if the refunds work like the Covid-19 refund requests, the refunds will be issued via the original payment method. Note:Your refund may be offset if you owe the federal government another debt, such as unpaid child support or taxes. MOHELA, or the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, services both federal student loans for the U.S. Department of Education and private student loans. Repayment (IDR) plan. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer and developed communications strategies for cybersecurity firms. Those who made more than 120 payments will receive a refund for the extra payments. qualify for forgiveness of your Direct Loans after 120 qualifying payments and employment. Further clarification on my previous comment: I have not received PSLF yet. Interestingly, both my eligible and qualifying payments changed from April to August. That all said, given that you made 189 payments, it is definitely worth giving it a shot to see if you can get those extra payments refunded. on the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan. If you need a lower monthly payment or need to temporarily postpone your payments, learn more about options that might work for you. For this The PSLF Program takes ten years of payments and employment. Under the revised criteria, some borrowers will have qualified for PSLF many years ago. Your loan servicer should be able to talk you through the entire process to make sure you qualify and dont miss the important deadline. That is an excellent question, and I suppose the technical answer may depend on where you live. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The Biden-Harris Administration is seeking to overturn those orders. PSLF allows federal student loan borrowers to get their loans forgiven after 120 "qualifying payments," which is a payment made (a) on a Direct federal loan, (b) under a repayment plan based . If loans have the same interest rate and subsidy, the excess amount will be applied in proportion to those loans with a regular monthly payment. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Repayment Plan for Direct Consolidation Loans. for the completed document. Qualifying repayment plans for TEPSLF include the qualifying repayment plans for PSLF, as well as the StudentAid.gov/pslfwaiver. State of Massachusetts- Ombudsmans Student Loan Assistance Unit If you have FFEL, Perkins, or other loan types that are not Direct Loans, your consolidation application must have been Private student loan payments aren't included. Check the status of your PSLF form. Alternative repayment plans do not qualify for PSLF. the U.S. Department of Education (ED) completes its review of your employers eligibility, you will be notified. Des Toups joined NerdWallet in 2015 and now supports the student loans and auto loans teams. A government organization, including volunteering with AmeriCorps or Peace Corps, A not-for-profit organization that is not a 501(c)(3) organization and which provides certain qualifying services. Sorry, let me clarify previous comment. To receive loan forgiveness under PSLF, you must make 120 qualifying payments. Even if you get a refund, youll still get credit towards PSLF for each month your Direct loans were in forbearance Mar. Why would I ask for a student loan refund check? Official Servicer of Federal Student Aid. I received this letter and did not have FFEL loans. Loan servicers' phone numbers: FedLoan Servicing: 1-800-699-2908 . You should receive refund checks in six to 12 weeks, though some borrowers say they were quoted longer processing times. As of July 2022, MOHELA became the student loan servicer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Department of Education Servicer will take 10-12 weeks. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. For the latest information regarding the status of student debt relief, visit StudentAid.gov. SEARCH TO SEE IF YOUR EMPLOYMENT QUALIFIES. Once the debt falls off your credit report, I think you are probably on solid ground to move forward free from student debt. I had 181 qualifying payments and called MOHELA this morning to check on the status of refunds on . Likes. Borrowers who have reached the required number of payments for IDR forgiveness will begin to see their loans forgiven in spring 2023. If you are struggling with your student loans, please You are just a click away from easy access. The address where you want your refund delivered. Each payment has a unique identification number that will allow the servicer representative to apply your refund accurately. You may qualify for a $0.00 monthly payment. Also, congrats on getting PSLF and your refund! I was concerned a week or two ago when my negative balance (after my loans were forgiven) disappeared from mohela. It is my understanding that the Dept of Education would be tallying up all the approved, certified, eligible, qualified, dates? Top editors give you. This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific products site. Our opinions are our own. I then provide proof of employment for the waiver. But it sure sounds like you are someone who should benefit from the limited waiver. Hi Erica, congrats on getting PSLF! how Federal Student Aid partners with loan servicers That forbearance was extended once again on Nov. 22, possibly until as late as August 2023, depending on the outcome of pending lawsuits. Even though you and your employee already know whether the APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the price you pay to borrow money. We were forgiven a few weeks ago (yay!). And if you havent applied for forgiveness yet, use thePSLF Help Toolon the Federal Student Aid website,studentaid.gov, to generate the form. Once Pre-qualified offers are not binding. Daniel borrowed Parent PLUS Loans for his daughter. Post consolidation, you made a total of 80 payments. Information and advice about Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a forgiveness program for US federal student loans. Each year I submitted PSLF qualifying forms signed by my employer. access to the borrower's employment or service records, and is also authorized to assist in the borrower's completion of However, if the refunds work like the Covid-19 refund requests, the refunds will be issued via the original payment method. re-consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify for repayment under the ICR plan. Was on hold almost an hr. This For many years, advocates have been calling for PSLF changes to help borrowers who had issues with repayment plan or loan eligibility. Copyright 2023 Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri(MOHELA). Ive seen processing times all over the place, but its now been four months for you, which is a really long time. (Part of the /r/StudentLoans network), Press J to jump to the feed. Thanks so much for the reply. Then, the representative will submit the request on your behalf and provide you with a confirmation. borrower's employer to certify the employment status of a current or former employee or service member. As your dedicated resource expert we will ensure you have an accurate understanding of your account so you can successfully repay your loans. We recommend that you submit a PSLF form annually.