The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid announced changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program on Oct. 28 that increases flexibility for borrowers and simplifies the application for the program.
The department announced borrowers are allowed “to make prepayments or lump-sum payments and have those payments potentially count as qualifying payments (given employment certification is on file and all other eligibility conditions are met) under the PSLF program for up to 12 months or until the next time their income-driven repayment plan is due for certification, whichever comes first.” The policy is already in effect for any loan serviced by FedLoan Servicing, the department’s designated PSLF servicer.
In the electronic announcement, the department also announced that the PSLF employment certification form and PSLF application will be merged into one document. The new format is expected to be in effect for those borrowers applying for the PSLF program in November 2020.