Your Stanford service may help you qualify for federal student loan forgiveness program
As a Stanford employee, you may be eligible to have the remainder of your student loans forgiven as part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).
This U.S. Department of Education program eliminates the remaining balance on eligible federal student loans after you have made 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for certain government employers and not-for-profit organizations, such as Stanford.
While you can complete the PSLF form at any time, there is a temporary waiver of some program rules that may allow you to receive credit for past periods of payment that otherwise would not have counted, if you submit the PSLF form by Oct. 31, 2022.
When to submit the PSLF form
Even if you don’t qualify for forgiveness yet or aren’t sure how many qualifying payments you’ve made, you should submit the PSLF form annually or when you change employers to ensure you’re on the right track making qualifying PSLF payments. There is a wealth of information on the PSLF program website, but here are some program definitions to get you started:
- Eligible loans: Direct Loans or other loans such as the Perkins that are consolidated into Direct Loans
- Payments: 120 qualifying payments since Oct. 1, 2007 but they do not have to be made consecutively. Only payments under certain payment plans qualify; be sure to check all of the details.
- Full-time: Must be working at least 30 hours per week
- Qualifying service: Other employment outside of Stanford may also count toward your service
Limited waiver Deadline of Oct. 31, 2022
The program’s rules say that for payments to qualify, they must be the total amount due and no later than 15 days after your due date, among other things. However, the program is temporarily suspending those rules to give you credit for past periods of repayment that otherwise would not qualify. To take advantage of this temporary waiver, you must generate a PSLF form through the Department of Education’s Help Tool by Oct. 31, 2022, or manually complete the form and have it signed and dated before that deadline. You can find more information about completing the temporary waiver on the PSLF website: https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/pslf-limited-waiver. Note that Stanford’s Employer Identification Number is 94-1156365.
Who can verify your employment at Stanford?
You can email your fully completed and signed PSLF form to Stanford’s Payroll Office (payroll@stanford.edu).
Visit the PSLF website to see if you meet all the eligibility requirements and for more information, including the application process, how to submit and contact information.
Stanford Financial Aid can also provide general advice. However, for eligibility questions, contact your loan servicer.
