is expected to meet with President Biden to push for student loan forgiveness. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)" width="880" height="587" />is expected to meet with President Biden to push for student loan forgiveness. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)" width="880" height="587" />
Thanks again for joining us! This is our last blog post of the day, but NPR's coverage of student loans is far from over. We'll keep answering your questions and bringing you the latest updates.
Christian W. is asking, "Are Parent Plus loans eligible for forgiveness?"
If your Parent Plus loan is held by the Department of Education (not commercially), then, yep, it is indeed eligible for relief.
The StudentAid.gov website clarifies that this includes "consolidation loans," if "all of the underlying loans that were consolidated were ED-held loans and were disbursed on or before June 30, 2022."
And one more caveat to keep in mind on eligibility, which answers another question from one of our readers (Manuel, who asks, "Do the loans have to be a certain age in order for them to be forgiven?): The loan must have been disbursed on or before June 30, 2022.
Chris H. wants to know about income verification: "What if there wasn't a tax return filed by the applicant this past year? Will income be verified in some other way?"
The short answer? We're not sure yet. The Biden administration hasn't provided a ton of information about how income verification will work.
But last week, a senior administration official told reporters, including NPR's Cory Turner and Elissa Nadworny, that the Department of Education will "work with borrowers to secure additional documentation" if it can't match the loan and income information it already has on file. As long as you can honestly check the box saying you "certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that all of the information provided on this form is true and correct," you should be OK to go ahead and submit the application.
The official also said roughly 95% of borrowers should meet the income thresholds (less than $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples).
Carole B. asks, "If you apply for this forgiveness now, does that make the rest of your loan ineligible for public service loan forgiveness?"
If past is precedent, then questions and concerns about Public Service Loan Forgiveness are well-founded. It's supposed to be that those who work in public service — federal, state, local or tribal government, as well as nonprofits — are eligible to have all their student loan debt canceled after making payments on their loans for 10 years.
But NPR's Cory Turner has reported time and time again that flaws with the system have historically prevented public servants from seeing their debt erased. In October 2021, the Biden administration tried to overhaul the system with a limited-time waiver that essentially relaxed the rules retroactively, allowing previously disqualified payments to be counted toward the 10-year count.
That waiver is still open and, according to Cory's latest interview with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, may still close at its scheduled date: Oct. 31, 2022. Cardona said more than 175,000 people have benefited from that waiver so far.
The StudentAid.gov website says you can absolutely apply for both the PSLF waiver and this round of one-time relief:
"We'll identify any borrower who submitted both a Student Loan Debt Relief Application and a PSLF form. If you receive one-time student loan debt relief and are then determined to have been eligible for forgiveness under PSLF, we'll adjust your loan and apply the PSLF discharge. The PSLF discharge may include a refund on certain eligible payments made after you have already made 120 payments."
