The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program can help employees pay off their student loans. This program forgives the remaining balance on qualified federal loans after borrowers have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer, such as the University of Wisconsin System. Further information can be found at the Department of Education website at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service.
There are a number of federal income-based repayment plans, including the Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE) and the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE), both of which has monthly payments of ten percent of discretionary income (the difference between your annual income and 150% of the poverty guideline for your family size). Whether the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is right for an individual can vary. A student loan borrower needs to work for ten years in a public service qualifying employer to receive the loan forgiveness benefit. Therefore, for many borrowers, the standard 10-year repayment option may be the best option and examining the total cost of different federal repayment options can be helpful.
The above information was provided by the UW-System Office of Academic and Student Affairs.
The Department of Education recommends that if you would like to qualify for this program now or in the future, you would complete the Employment Certification form as soon as possible. You would complete sections 1 and 2 of this form, as well as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness fax cover sheet (https://uwservice.wisconsin.edu/docs/publications/voe-uws-pslf-request.pdf), and fax or mail (don’t email due to the confidential information on the form) the forms to the UW-Service Center.