|
I was doing some basic math last night to try to figure out what's most advantageous for me - most of which hinges on whether the new IDR plan will retroactively count prior payments. I've been paying on my loans since early 2013, the whole time in a IDR/IBR plan. I made about 7 years' worth of payments between ~Feb 2013 and March 2020 when the pause started. So, assuming those are retroactive, I could get on the new IDR plan to cap my payments at 5% discretionary income and then only have to make 13 years' worth of payments before I'd qualify for forgiveness. Alternately, after the $10K and reamortization of my loan total, I could afford my monthly payment at the base 10 year payoff rate, but it would still be significantly more expensive than the 5% IDR plan, and paid off in 10 years versus forgiven in 13. So, if I'm doing my math correclty, I don't think I have any real incentive to not go for the new IDR plan, unless I just really want to strike that loan balance completely off my books ASAP (FWIW, my credit score is still excellent even with my current balance so... not feeling a ton of pressure to pay it off ASAP). Of course, this all gets more complicated if enrolling on the new IDR plan resets the clock and doesn't retroactively count past payments. I also need to see if I fall under the more generous PSLF interpretation before the waiver expires. I work at a not-for-profit hospital in a non-clinical role. I always assumed I didn't qualify prior to the Biden admin's waiver but their PR communications keep calling out 'forgiveness for nurses', so I'm not sure if my employer does or doesn't qualify at this point.
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2022 11:55
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 21, 2024 06:43 |
|
|
Two dumb questions, not important enough to call my servicer over ATM but figured I’d ask here amongst knowledgeable people: 1. What exactly is the difference between IDR and IBR? Are they just interchangeable terms or are there specific differences? 2. As mentioned above I’d been doing IBR since early 2013, and I’m pretty sure my payments were being calculated at the old 15% discretionary cap (although to be honest I’m not completely sure - I originally applied, and the servicer just returned a monthly payment rate and I ran with it). The news yesterday kept referencing the existing 10% cap, so would I have needed to specifically reapply for the 10% plan to have my payments capped at that rate instead of 15%? I’m guessing that will be the case for the new 5% plan as well. If anyone has any info, I’d appreciate it. (And yes I’m planning to talk to my servicer soon once the traffic has died down).
|
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2022 19:40
|
|
|
Thanks!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2022 19:51
|
|
|
Been doing some more investigating the past couple days. Here's some hopefully helpful info I've obtained: DoE has a PSLF Help Tool at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/employer-search/search-tool - this allows you to check your employer's EIN to see if they are eligible. [According to the tool, my employers from Dec. 2013 onward *are* eligible. Hot drat!] However, FFEL loans (even federally-held ones from what I gather) aren't eligible for PSLF. You have to consolidate them into a Direct consolidation loan before 10/31/22. Two of my existing loans are FFEL from 2009 (just before the switchover to full-direct) so I'll probably be consolidating these ASAP and pursuing PSLF. For IDR, I've found Ben White's blog to be a good resource, particularly this page about IBR vs PAYE: https://www.benwhite.com/finance/switching-from-ibr-to-paye/ His blog is tailored toward medical students, but still relevant to other borrowers. In particular this was interesting: quote:However, to switch from IBR to PAYE, this annoying thing happens: Obviously we're still TBD on more details from the Biden IDR plan, but I'll be curious if these same limitations apply. The other huge TBD is if existing IDR payments will count toward the 20 year forgiveness on the new IDR plan, or if the clock 'resets' when you switch plans.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 26, 2022 12:31
|
|
|
One catch about consolidating (as they warn you on the student aid.gov page) is that it apparently wipes out prior payment history you had toward the loans with IDR. In other words if you’re already on IDR for FFEL loans, consolidate and get back on an IDR plan, you’re resetting the clock for those loans as far as IDR forgiveness. That said, this doesn’t apply to the PSLF waiver if you’re consolidating your FFEL loans for that reason.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 29, 2022 03:06
|
|
|
Sheesh. My head is spinning after spending half of today navigating my options for pursuing PSLF. I seriously begrudge anyone who claims that pursuing loan forgiveness is 'lazy'. Currently, I have 6 outstanding loans, two of which are FFEL and the other four are Direct (conveniently, I was in school right in the middle of the switch to direct lending). Both of my employers since Dec. 2013 are eligible for PSLF according to the studentaid.gov help tool, so in theory, if approved I'll only need to continue making payments through Dec. 2023. However, I need to consolidate the two FFEL loans to qualify. The catch (for me) is, consolidated loans must be on an IDR plan to qualify for PSLF - but if I only consolidate the two FFEL loans, then the balance of that 'new' loan limits which IDR plans I qualify for (whereas currently, all six of my loans are on the old 15% IBR plan). Meanwhile, if I consolidate *all* my loans, then the balance will qualify for any of the existing IDR plans, including the cheapest PAYE plan (and probably the new Biden IDR plan, I'm assuming). The downside is that my unpaid interest will be capitalized, which sucks - but I guess will ultimately be moot due to PSLF. For anyone else interested in consolidating for PSLF, my loan servicer advised me today that the application takes about 30-45 days to process, and you can't apply for PSLF until after the consolidation is complete. The current waiver expires on 10/31/22, so don't waste any time. Also of interest - normally, consolidating your loans will wipe out your prior IDR payment history toward forgiveness, but apparently that has been temporarily waived by the ED as part of this communication from April '22: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-education-announces-actions-fix-longstanding-failures-student-loan-programs
|
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2022 03:43
|
|
|
The Cubelodyte posted:My loan consolidation with MOHELA just went through. That was faster than expected, so that’s nice. I’ve already filed for PSLF but I am still anxious I didn’t do something right, since there really is no clear, published order of operations. How long did your consolidation process take? I submitted mine last week but was told 30-45 days.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 7, 2022 14:01
|
|
|
The Anime Liker posted:I tick all the boxes (poor,pell grant received, etc) If your loans were owned by the ED, then you can call your loan servicer to request a refund of that final payment. Any payments made after the pause started on March 13 2020 onward are eligible to be refunded. Then, if the balance on your loan account after the refund is below $10k (or $20k in your case as a Pell Grant recipient), it will get forgiven at a later date as part of the Biden forgiveness plan. ---------- I requested a refund of my 2020 payments from Nelnet about 3 weeks ago, however it's complicated by the fact that my loans transferred from FedLoan in late '21 so Nelnet was going to have to work with Fedloan to confirm the amounts and dates. This is further complicated since I'm consolidating my loans for PSLF, and they'll transfer to MOHELA once that's finished. I'm really hoping my refund request doesn't get stuck in limbo because of all that.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2022 11:44
|
|
|
The Anime Liker posted:So, to be perfectly clear, I need to get $78 from MOHELA and then the other $19,922 will be sent out from the fed, even though my balance is now $0? If I'm understanding you correctly, then the $78 you paid after the 03/13/20 payment pause is the only amount eligible to be refunded, and then the $78 loan balance you will have after that refund will be forgiven at some point in the future. You won't qualify for any additional $19,922, since that was presumably paid prior to 03/13/20 and therefore not part of the Covid payment pause. Sorry if I got your hopes up, but enjoy the extra $78 at least. 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2022 22:40
|
|
|
Framboise posted:god drat it why does this all have to be so complicated? You will have to log into studentaid.gov to look at the breakdown of what types of loans you have. Who the servicer is doesn't necessarily matter, they can service both FFEL and Direct loans. However as Leon Trotsky has been saying, FFEL loans haven't been issued since June 2010, so you should be good if they're newer than that. If they're all direct loans already, then you don't have to consolidate for PSLF. Consolidation itself is pretty easy, you also submit the request through studentaid.gov and it takes around 30 minutes. That said the process is quoted as completing "within 30 days" so you'd probably want to start that now if PSLF is the goal. It may also be a good idea to call your servicer to talk about PSLF (the employees at my old servicer, Nelnet, were actually quite helpful). For reference, I applied for consolidation (to pursue PSLF) on 09/02 and on 09/27 my balance with Nelnet was zeroed out. I still haven't heard anything from Mohela about my new consolidation loan.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 30, 2022 11:51
|
|
|
Still waiting on Mohela for my consolidation to complete. My Nelnet balance got zeroed out two weeks ago (it's a nice change seeing $0 on my studentaid.gov page), and Mohela quotes "4 to 6 weeks" for the process, with this Friday the 14th being 6 weeks since I applied. And since that's not complete, I can't start on the PSLF application yet. I know they're swamped with last-minute applications but I'm still not a fan of this going down to the wire. Have there been any more mentions of extending the PSLF waiver past Oct 31st? I haven't heard any rumblings since August when the $10K relief was announced.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 12, 2022 12:07
|
|
|
Finally got my confirmation from MOHELA that my consolidation loan was disbursed, just in time to finish my PSLF application next week. Just for my own paranoia, do you all think it's a better idea to submit the application via certified mail, or via fax? I've used faxes in the past for IBR application/renewal, but even with a confirmation that it went through I wonder how well it's being received on the other end. (why can't they just accept these documents electronically?!)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2022 19:16
|
|
|
Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:Fax is probably faster and should be fine. Thanks! And will do. Now to just track down a fax machine at my work.  Happy Noodle Boy posted:When did you apply for the consolidation? I applied on Friday 09/02/22, so about 7 weeks. They quote 4-6 weeks but I'm guessing they got slammed with the deadline for PSLF coming.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2022 19:47
|
|
|
Framboise posted:Mailed in my PSLF form. Kinda pointless if I get a new not-nonprofit job, but whatever. Good luck! Does anyone know if there’s a deadline for refunds on Covid-pause payments? Nelnet denied my request because they didn’t start processing it until after my Nelnet account was zeroed out for consolidation to MOHELA.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 22, 2022 18:19
|
|
|
Also of note, there are some rumblings of possibly extending the repayment freeze further past 12/31/22 while the $10K/$20K forgiveness is in legal limbo.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2022 12:53
|
|
|
Well that was announced sooner than I expected.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2022 22:03
|
|
|
Framboise posted:Well, that's one piece of the puzzle explained, so that's good. I'll file that away under "watch and wait". I was not billed for my consolidation.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 6, 2022 06:10
|
|
|
Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but last week the Biden admin laid out further details of their new IDR plan: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-relea...st-accumulation Interestingly, they are intending to revise the existing REPAYE IDR plan instead of creating a new plan. I assume that’s easier to implement legally, and also the REPAYE plan was available to anyone who had federally-held loans so this should also cover the most people as a result.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2023 16:26
|
|
|
TheScott2K posted:No troll here. The ‘temporary relief’ is the ongoing payment pause due to Covid that started in March 2020, wholly separate from the Biden $10K forgiveness plan. Have you logged into your account with your loan servicer? There should be a $10K balance waiting for you after that refund (that may or may not be later forgiven depending on how Biden’s court case goes) The Illusive Man fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Jan 28, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2023 22:16
|
|
|
The Cubelodyte posted:Well, this is crappy, if I’m reading this correctly. MOHELA states that while Im technically eligible for PSLF, I can go gently caress myself for the foreseeable future. Not sure if you're still looking at this thread, but did you ever get any update to this? My PSLF application finally processed, but so far is only showing payment history from after I consolidated to Mohela. I'm assuming they're still working through my payment history with prior servicers but I wish the language were a little more clear.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 4, 2023 16:33
|
|
|
Yeah I’m not sure what ‘new actions’ are actually available. The new IDR plan is already on the cusp of rolling out and the authority to extend the pause was ceded for the debt ceiling.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 30, 2023 16:22
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 21, 2024 06:43 |
|
|
Posting a quick question here in case anyone has any prior experience or insight. For PSLF re-certification, is there a firm limit on how frequently you have to re-certify your employment? I ask because I originally applied in late October '22 and had my application approved. The student loans website recommends re-certifying annually (i.e. October '23 in my case) however I will actually meet the full 120 payments in November or December '23. Basically, just wondering if there's any problem with waiting until November/December to re-certify instead of doing so in October. I need to call Mohela to confirm for sure, just asking here out of curiosity.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 3, 2023 00:43
|
|