Question:
Dear Steve,
Why is it that there is all of this relief for educators under so many different student loan acts, but when I attempt to follow through with them, I never seem to fit the parameters, even though their guidelines say I am qualified? I can never get a federal reprieve, nor one from the private lender that holds my loan. I was told that I can reduce payments and then told that because I did so, I am not eligible for forgiveness. Why is this so complicated for a public servant to have their loans forgiven?
Dante
Answer:
Dear Dante,
There are some different types of federal student loan forgiveness programs for teachers. You can find the federal programs online here.
The most popular teacher forgiveness program is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The PSLF program is not without its own issues and problems. You can read more about PSLF programs here.
There is no private student loan teacher forgiveness program that I’m aware of. The only exception to that would be if your state offers some sort of local state based program.
For federal loans you should consider getting on an income driven payment program to lower your federal payments as low as possible while you make payments towards the PSLF program.
On private loans the only available reduced payment programs they are are, well, none.
