Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program
UW, as both a state government institution and a public university, meets the federal requirement of a “public service organization” as defined by the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. You may qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balances due on your William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program loans after you have made 120 qualifying payments on those loans while employed full-time by certain public service employers. The following information will help you understand if you qualify and the terms and conditions of the program.
UW Employees have two options for participating in the PSLF program:
1. You can manage the process on your own by completing the required forms annually and requesting that the Integrated Service Center (ISC) verify your UW employment for continued eligibility in the PSLF program.
The ISC certifies employment for UW employees participating in the PSLF Program. If you are eligible to participate, please visit their website for instructions on how to complete your PSLF form.
Due to security requirements, the ISC cannot return the form to you by e-mail or campus mail. Please be sure to include contact information in case the ISC has any questions.
2. Alternatively, UW employees can utilize Savi to process their PSLF application and complete the annual verifications for an annual fee. Savi will complete all required forms and employment verifications on your behalf.
Who is eligible?
The PSLF program requirements are summarized below. Eligibility is based on these and several other factors, including income, debt amount, number of dependents and other personal information. Even if your income is high, you may still be eligible. In less than 20 minutes, Savi can help determine your eligibility and assist in the enrollment process.
Employment in public service: At UW you must work full time (30 or more hours per week or 75% FTE) for each month you hope to count towards your 120 qualifying payments. Other employment, at a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, government organization or another select not-for-profit, may count towards your 120 qualifying payments, as well. Please contact your former or current employer to understand their definition of full time work.
Loans through the federal Direct Loan Program: You must have a federal student loan issued through the Direct Loan Program of the U.S. Department of Education. You may also qualify if you consolidate any of the below federal student loans into a Direct Loan by October 31, 2022.
• Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans, including subsidized and unsubsidized loans, made to undergraduate and graduate students
• Federal Perkins Loans
• Direct Loan (DL) Program Loans, including subsidized and unsubsidized loans, made to undergraduate and graduate students
• Graduate PLUS Loans made to students
• Note: Parent PLUS Loans are not eligible under the limited PSLF waiver, even if you consolidate them into a new Direct Consolidation Loan by Oct. 31, 2022.
Enrollment in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan: You must enroll in an IDR, which bases your payment on your income, debt amount, dependents and other criteria.
10 years of monthly payments: You have to make 120 on-time monthly payments in the IDR, though not necessarily consecutive or with the same employer. Payments before you switched to an IDR may also count toward forgiveness.
Enrolling in PSLF
If you decide to enroll in the PSLF program, you will need to complete the proper paperwork and meet several ongoing requirements to receive the full benefits. We’ve been hearing from UW employees that this process is very challenging to complete. To help with this, UW has partnered with SAVI, who can help UW employees navigate the PSLF program by offering a service to help you enroll and stay compliant with all of the program rules.
Introducing Savi
Savi works with borrowers by helping them discover new repayment and loan forgiveness options. Founded by long-time student loan experts and advocates, Savi is a public benefit corporation that has identified more than $200 million in projected forgiveness for student loan borrowers. If you choose to pay the annual fee, Savi will do the heavy lifting for you to move through the PSLF program. A free account provides you limited access to Savi, but does include access to the Savi PSLF Calculator.
To get started, visit the TIAA/Savi webpage. It will take around 15 or 20 minutes to answer the questions and get your results*. The results will show you:
- The optimal repayment plan and your estimated monthly savings.
- Whether you qualify for a forgiveness plan, how much could be forgiven, and when.
*Please note that when you are setting up your profile with Savi you will need to select the verified University of Washington employer from the drop down menu. The verified University of Washington will have a blue check mark next to it to identify it. This will ensure that your application is properly routed through Savi, failure to select the verified University of Washington employer may lead to processing delays.
How does the service work?
For an annual fee of $60 Savi covers:
- Generation of all forms electronically and checking them prior to submission.
- Tracking applications and forms with loan servicers and UW.
- Providing payment and application filing reminders to ensure deadlines are met.
- Tracking PSLF credits.
Information you’ll need to get started:
Personal information: Such as salary, number of dependents and how you file taxes.
Student loan information: The service lets you sync (or link) a read-only version of your loan information to the Savi calculator to provide results based on actual data. Just input your login information for your student loan servicers—such as Navient, Nelnet, Great Lakes—including your username or email, password and anything else required to log in to your loan servicer’s website.