The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) has just been targeted at clergy and … [+]
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Members of the clergy and other student loan borrowers doing religious work can now qualify for the Public Service Loan Program (PSLF) after being excluded for over a decade. New regulations that went into effect today extend PSLF eligibility to this new class of workers.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness enables federal student loan borrowers to redeem their student loan after serving in government or nonprofit positions for at least 10 years. The program requires 120 “qualifying payments” to qualify for loan waiver. These payments must meet several criteria:
- Payments must be made on a. respectively Direct student loan from the federal government. Not all federal student loans are granted under the direct loan program.
- Payments must be made under one Income-based repayment plan like IBR, PAYE or REPAYE. Payments under the standard 10-year plan also qualify, although that would repay the underlying federal loan in full within 10 years.
- The borrower must make timely payments while working full-time for either a government agency or agency or non-profit organization under 501 (c) (3).
Since the program was launched in 2007, religiously-oriented work such as conducting church services or attending religious education was expressly excluded from PSLF eligibility, even if the borrower was a full-time employee of a non-profit organization under 501 (c) (3), such as z as a church, synagogue or mosque. Under former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the US Department of Education drafted new regulations to remove this exclusion, arguing that excluding religiously-oriented work from PSLF eligibility could violate the founding clause of the US Constitution. “With current regulations discriminating against religious groups and denying individuals participation in key government programs because of their religious status, the current regulations are likely to place a significant burden on the worship of these institutions,” the Department of Awareness wrote in comments on the final provisions.
The new regulations will come into force on July 1, 2021. The Department of Education updated its website to confirm that: “If you are employed by a nonprofit organization, time spent in religion classes, church services, or any form of proselytizing as part of your professional responsibilities may count towards fulfilling full-time employment requirements . “
While the expansion of the PSLF for clergy and other religious workers may be welcome news to some student loan borrowers, the program continues to grapple with problems such as application backlogs, low approval rates, and poor management by student loan administrators. Student loan advocacy groups and progressive lawmakers in Congress have urged the Biden administration to end the current hiatus on most of the federal student loan payments, which are currently on 30. The Department of Education has so far taken no action. The Biden government recently announced the start of a lengthy rulemaking process to review and possibly revise major federal student loan programs, including public sector loans. But all other significant changes could be years away.
further reading
New federal report: Student loan service providers often harm borrowers who seek forgiveness for public service loans
New data shows that most who apply for this student loan program are turned down
Over 500,000 are eligible for student loan waivers, but the government has not acted, the group says
The Biden government announces a major overhaul of its income-based repayment and student loan programs
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/public-service-loan-forgiveness-expanded-today-for-clergy-and-religious-workers/
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