What policy changes went into effect on July 1, 2026 and what do I need to do about them?

If you plan to apply for PSLF

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program has stayed the same (so far). Although the Department is making student loans even less affordable, it has indicated that it has no plans to eliminate PSLF, which would require an act of Congress. We recommend that eligible borrowers continue to apply annually.

If you currently hold student loans

You may need to select a new payment plan. The SAVE Plan has ended. All current enrollees will receive a letter from the Department of Education this summer giving them 90 days to choose a new repayment plan or you will automatically be assigned to the Standard Tiered Repayment Plan, which does not qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.  

If you are a new borrower

There are new restrictions on federal loans and grants.  

• On July 1, the administration will launch new limits on graduate and Parent PLUS loans. Borrowing limits will be placed on federal loans for “professional” and “graduate” degrees, with lower limits of $20,500 a year or $100,000 aggregate applying to most education-related degrees. Parent PLUS loans to be capped at $20,000 per student per year or $65,000 per dependent in aggregate. This change does not apply to students who took out loans before July 1, 2026 and are actively studying in the same program at the same school.  

• Fewer students will be eligible for Pell Grants. Students who receive grants or scholarships (institutional, state, or private) that cover their entire cost of attendance—regardless of financial need—will no longer be eligible for Pell Grants. Students with Student Aid Index (SAI) equal to or greater than $14,790 (SAI is the number calculated by using your FAFSA data to determine your eligibility for financial aid) will also no longer be eligible. This change applies to new and existing students.  

The new limitations on federal loans and Pell Grants make college harder to afford and will likely drive many people to borrow from predatory private loan servicers. Private loans don’t qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness or other federal programs.  

If you have further questions

The experts at NEA are working hard to create the tools you need to navigate your student loan repayment options.

• Expert Webinars: NEA experts host regular webinars to highlight the information they want you to know about student loan repayment options. Our most recent webinar discussed the July 1 changes and what you can do to prepare.
• The NEA Student Debt Navigator: NEA has partnered with a company called Savi to offer an online student debt navigator tool, free for one year for NEA members.

Do the new student loan caps apply to me? 

It depends. As part of the “One Big Beautiful Budget Act,” also known as H.R. 1, Congress imposed student loan caps on graduate students. Students enrolled in a so-called “professional” graduate degree program may borrow up to $50,000 a year in federal loans with an aggregate limit of $200,000. Students enrolled in all other graduate programs may only borrow up to $20,500 a year in federal loans with an aggregate limit of $100,000. As of July 2026, litigation is pending over what degrees meet the definition of “professional.” Most education-related degrees do not qualify, with the exception of speech language pathologists and school audiologists.   

In addition, Congress has imposed new limits on Parent PLUS loans: a parent may only borrow $20,000 per student per year, with a lifetime aggregate of $65,000 per student.  

These caps do not apply to students who took out federal loans before July 1 and are still studying the same program at the same school. 

I enrolled in the SAVE Plan and my loan was in forbearance. What can I do now?

As of July 1, 2026, loan servicers began sending out notices to all borrowers still enrolled in the SAVE Plan, informing borrowers that they must enroll in a new repayment plan within 90 days of receiving the notice or they will be automatically enrolled into either the Standard Repayment Plan or the new Tiered Standard Plan, neither of which are based on your income or eligible for PSLF. As discussed above, you can review income-driven repayment plans, and calculate your estimated payments under each plan, on the website of the Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid. 
 

What are the new eligibility rules for Pell grants?  

If you receive grants or scholarships that cover the entire cost of your attendance, you will no longer be eligible for Pell grants, regardless of your financial need.  

What types of degrees are eligible for forgiveness under PSLF?

The type of degree does not matter. In fact, you can qualify even if you did not graduate. The requirements are based on your years of service and the number of payments you have made.  It also only forgives federal direct student loans.

How many loans can be forgiven? Is there a limit on the dollar amount that can be forgiven?

There is no limit to how much can be forgiven by PSLF. The program forgives the remaining balance of your federal student debt after 10 years of service and 120 payments to your federal student loans. We have seen NEA members receive forgiveness on loans with balances of $20,000, $100,000, and even more.

Do the years of public service have to be consecutive? What if you have a break in employment or transfer jobs?

Employment does not have to be consecutive. As long as you make a total of 120 payments after October 1, 2007, while working for a qualifying employer, you are eligible. Note that payments made while working for a non-public-service employer do not count towards PSLF’s 120 payments.

Do all my 120 monthly payments need to be made on time to get credit towards PSLF? 

Yes. As of July 1, 2026, a payment must be made "on time" (on or before the due date) to count as a qualifying payment under PSLF. Previously, there was a 15-day grace period, but that has been eliminated.  

How Do I Find Out the Types of My Federal Student Loans?

If you are unsure what type of student loan you have, you can find out easily by logging onto studentaid.gov with your FSA ID and visiting your aid summary page.

Direct Loans begin with the word “Direct,” Federal Family Education Loans are indicated by “FFEL,” and Perkins Loans include the word “Perkins” in the name. 

If any of your loans say “Perkins,” “FFEL,” or “Parent Plus” you will need to consolidate into a Direct Loan prior to applying, as only Direct Loans qualify for forgiveness under PSLF.  

Consolidate Your Loan

When your consolidation is processed, your PSLF qualifying payment count may temporarily reset to zero. This is normal. After consolidation, your loans may receive an updated payment count. See our other FAQ on loan consolidation for how Direct Loan consolidation affects your qualifying payment count. 

How Do I Know How Many Payments I Have Made Toward PSLF?

If you have applied for PSLF before, you can log into studentaid.gov and find out how many qualifying payments you have made on your account.

If you have not applied for PSLF yet, you will need to fill out an application. You can apply with your FSA ID through the Department of Education's PSLF Help Tool. Help is also available through NEA's Student Debt Navigator, which provides NEA members with free individualized support.

Do Plus Loans qualify for forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

Grad PLUS loans may be repaid under any existing income-driven repayment plan and therefore qualify for PSLF. 

Unfortunately, as a result of changes that Congress made to student loan plans as part of its July 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” also known as H.R.1, which took effect July 1, 2026, Parent PLUS loans are no longer eligible for loan forgiveness through the PSLF program.  

A payment must be made under an income-driven repayment plan to count as a qualifying payment under PSLF. Before July 1, 2026, a Parent PLUS loan borrower could consolidate their loan into a Direct Consolidation loan and repay the loan under the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)Plan, qualifying them for PSLF. As of July 1, however, a borrower cannot enroll a Direct Consolidation loan into the ICR or any other income-driven repayment plan if the consolidation loan includes a Parent PLUS loan.

Please beware that even if you consolidated a Parent PLUS loan prior to July 1, 2026, and have begun repayment under the ICR plan in order to earn credit towards PSLF, if you take out a new loan or consolidate a loan after July 1, 2026, you are no longer eligible for any income-driven repayment plan on your new OR existing loans and will therefore no longer be eligible for PSLF. 

Which income-based repayment plans qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

All income-driven repayment plans qualify for PSLF. There are three existing plans and one new plan: 

• Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan) 
• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan) 
• Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan) 
• The new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) 

Borrowers with loans disbursed before July 1, 2026 can enroll in any of these plans. But please note that on July 1, 2028, the ICR and PAYE plans will be phased out, leaving only the RAP plan and a modified version of the IBR plan. More information on these plans, as well as a payment estimator under each plan, is available on the website of the Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid. 

I have student loans from a private bank. Can those get forgiven through Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

No, Public Service Loan Forgiveness only provides forgiveness for federal student loans under the Federal Direct Loan program.

Does the age of the loan matter to qualify for PSLF?

Loan age has never mattered for the PSLF program. Only payments for periods of repayment after Oct. 1, 2007 are qualifying, since that is when the PSLF Program began.

Loan age only matters for Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF), which is a separate federal program from PSLF.  Loans for that program cannot be older than October 1, 1998.

My student loan payments were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. How does that affect my PSLF payment count?

From March 13, 2020 to September 1, 2023 student loan payments, interest, and collection efforts were paused for most federal student loan borrowers.

The months during the payment pause count toward PSLF for Federal Direct Loans, even if you were not making payments and even if you do not meet the 120 payment threshold until after the pause expires.

I have a joint spousal consolidation loan, can I receive Public Service Loan Forgiveness? 

The joint application option requires each joint consolidation co-borrower to request separation of the joint debt into new, individual Direct Consolidation Loans by completing and submitting an application and promissory note that is used only for this purpose. The separation of the joint consolidation loan and creation of two new, individual Direct Consolidation Loans will not proceed unless completed applications have been received from both borrowers.

The separate application process allows just one of the joint consolidation loan co-borrowers to apply for separation of the joint debt, without regard to whether or when the other co-borrower applies to separate the debt. In this situation, the borrower who applies to separate the joint debt will have their portion of the debt converted into a Direct Consolidation Loan. The borrower who did not apply to separate will continue to be responsible for the original joint consolidation loan with a remaining balance equal to that borrower’s portion of the remaining balance.

Under the terms of the JCLSA, a separate application is permitted only if the individual co-borrower who is applying certifies that they have been a victim of domestic violence by the other borrower, have experienced economic abuse from the other borrower, or are unable to reasonably access the other borrower’s loan information, or if we otherwise determine that it would be in the best fiscal interest of the federal government to permit separate application.

All necessary application forms and additional information can be found on the Federal Student Aid website here. 

I am an adjunct or contingent faculty member, am I eligible for PSLF?

Yes! In the past, PSLF has been a struggle for most adjunct and contingent faculty members because of a full-time employment requirement. Some employers refused to certify their adjunct or contingent faculty as full-time employees, others struggled to determine how many hours to credit their adjunct or contingent faculty to get them up to full-time. 

Now, they credit their adjunct and contingent faculty at least 3.35 hours of work for each credit hour taught. In addition, regulations have defined full-time employment as 30 or more hours per week at one or multiple jobs. This means that teaching a total of nine credit hours per semester at any number of institutions equates to PSLF eligibility! This should simply PSLF eligibility for many adjunct and contingent faculty. 

At what point should I apply for PSLF? Can you apply retroactively as an educator who has been working for years?

Some public service workers like to apply each year to certify their employment and check on the progress of their payment count towards PSLF. Others apply when they have reached the 10-year mark and believe they have made 120 payments.

Submitting the application yearly will help confirm that you are on the right track by ensuring you are making qualifying payments and working for a qualifying employer. It will also allow Federal Student Aid (FSA) to alert you if any changes are necessary.

What is an Employment Certification Form (ECF)?

To apply for PSLF, the U.S. Department of Education requires public service workers to file an Employment Certification Form (ECF) to show they work for a qualified employer. The ECF is included in Section 4 of the PSLF application.

You can use the Department’s PSLF Help Tool to fill out your PSLF form and ECFs or seek assistance from NEA Member Benefits through our Student Debt Navigator - neamb.com/Savi.

Note that the ECF must be filled out by an official who can access your employment/service records––usually someone in your human resources department.  Some school districts even have an HR person designated to handle ECFs.

I need my employer to verify my employment on my PSLF application. What are acceptable methods to receive their signature?

Before you submit your form(s) to the Department of Education, your employer(s) must verify your employment by signing Section 4 of your form. There are two accepted methods to complete this step:

1) Digital Signature

To get a digital signature from your employer, you will need the correct email address for an “authorizing official.” An authorizing official is someone who has access to your employment or service records and is approved by your employer to certify your employment. This is usually someone in your human resources department, though in some cases your direct supervisor or another person may be authorized to certify your employment.

Tell the authorizing official to expect an email from the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid via DocuSign ([email protected]) on your behalf. Once your authorizing official certifies your employment by signing digitally, your form will be electronically submitted to the PSLF servicer for processing.

2) Print & Sign Manually

You may also submit a PSLF form by downloading the PDF and completing all the sections manually. You will still need to print out the form, sign yourself, and have your employer(s) sign Section 4 of your form.

If you submit a manual PSLF form, digital signatures from you or your employer must be hand-drawn (from a signature pad, mouse, finger, or by taking a picture of a signature drawn on a piece of paper that you then scan and embed on the signature line of the PSLF form) to be accepted. Typed signatures, even if made to mimic a signature, or security certificate-based signatures are not accepted.

Once signed you may mail the form to this address:

U.S. Department of Education
P.O. Box 300010
Greenville, TX 75403

or fax your PSLF form to 540-212-2415

What is the PSLF Buyback program? 

If you are working towards PSLF, you can earn additional credit towards making 120 qualifying payments by making monthly payments for months that your loans were in forbearance or deferment. You can buy back those months, but only if doing so would put you over the 120-payment limit. For instance, if you have made 110 qualifying payments, and your loans were previously in deferment or forbearance for 10 months, you can apply to make those 10 payments in order to reach 120 payments. For additional program details and to submit an application, visit FSA’s buyback webpage. 

About the Program

I Applied for Consolidation, What Happens Now?

Borrowers applying for PSLF may consolidate Direct loans (including Grad PLUS loans), FFEL loans, and Perkins loans, into a Direct Consolidation loan in order to be eligible for PSLF. When you consolidate, your PSLF payment count may be TEMPORARILY reduced to zero. This is normal.  

As discussed above, please be aware that as of July 1, 2026, you can no longer consolidate a Parent PLUS loan in order to be eligible for PSLF, and that if you have previously consolidated a Parent PLUS loan, you will lose your eligibility for forgiveness of that loan if you take out a new Parent PLUS loan.  

When you consolidate, you will receive credit for the "weighted average" of your payments, which is based on the number of payments made on each loan and the amount of each loan. For example, a borrower with 60 qualifying payments on a $30,000 loan and 10 qualifying payments on another $30,000 loan will have a new payment count of 35 payments.   
 
Additionally, since only IDR payments on Direct loans count towards PSLF, borrowers who consolidate a combination of Direct loans and FFEL loans will receive a new payment count based on the number of qualifying payments under a Direct loan, divided by the number of loans being consolidated. For example, a borrower with 60 qualifying payments on one Direct loan and 0 qualifying payments on a FFEL loan will have a new payment count of 30 payments.  

Because of reductions in force (RIFs) implemented by the second Trump Administration, response time on IDR plan applications may take longer than usual. 

Consolidate Your Loan 

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that processing and servicing for Public Service Loan Forgiveness is being moved from MOHELA to StudentAid.gov. What does this mean?

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is no longer managed by MOHELA and is now managed by the U.S. Department of Education. 

Borrowers can now:

• Submit PSLF forms on studentaid.gov;
• Track their progress towards receiving PSLF on StudentAid.gov; and
• Get support through ED FSA contact centers.

What is Teacher Loan Forgiveness? Is it the same as Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) is a separate federal program from PSLF. If you serve as a full-time classroom teacher for five complete and consecutive academic years at a low-income school, the program provides forgiveness of either $5,000 or $17,500 for Federal Direct or Stafford Loans, depending on the subject area you teach.  

Under PSLF’s requirements, your five years of employment used to receive Teacher Loan Forgiveness cannot be credited to PSLF, as you cannot simultaneously qualify for both programs due to the “double benefits” provision. 

Teachers should seek help by going to the NEA Student Debt Navigator to determine which forgiveness program is right for them. Teacher Loan Forgiveness does not apply to education support professionals, specialized instructional support personnel, or higher education faculty. 

Please note that to be eligible for TLF, you must not have had an outstanding balance on Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans as of Oct. 1, 1998, or on the date that you obtained a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan after Oct. 1, 1998.  

I already received Teacher Loan Forgiveness. Can I still qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

Under PSLF’s requirements, your five years of employment used to receive Teacher Loan Forgiveness would not be credited to PSLF, as you cannot simultaneously qualify for both programs due to the “double benefits” provision.

Teachers should seek help by going to neamb.com/Savi to determine which forgiveness program is right for them.

NEA Student Debt Navigator

Teacher Loan Forgiveness does not apply to education support professionals, specialized instructional support personnel, or higher education faculty.

What are the repayment plan options and how do I choose the one that is best for me?

• Income-Based Repayment Plans: These plans base your monthly payment amount on how much money you make and your family size. The Repayment Assistance Plan is the administration’s new income-driven repayment plan. Until July 1, 2027, existing borrowers can also enroll in IBR, PAYE and ICR plans, though PAYE and ICR will sunset on July 1, 2028. These plans qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.  

• Standard Tiered Repayment Plan: Under this plan, your monthly payment is a fixed amount calculated using your total balance, interest rate, and term limit. It does not fluctuate based on your income. For example, if your balance is less than $25,000, you will be given 10 years to repay the loan. If you owe $25,000-$50,000, you will be given 15 years. If you don't pick an income-driven repayment plan, you will automatically be placed in this plan. This plan does NOT qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. 

Choosing the best option for you will differ based on several factors. These include your income, debt amount, whether you plan to receive PSLF, and more. We recommend working with the NEA Student Debt Navigator to review your options and choose your plan. You can switch your plan through the NEA Student Debt Navigator (free for NEA Members) or through your StudentAid.Gov account. 

What is an income-driven repayment plan?

An income-driven repayment (IDR) plan bases your monthly student loan payment amount on your income and family size or number of dependents. For some people, payments on an IDR plan can be as low as $0 per month.

There are several income-driven repayment plans:

• Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)
• Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan*
• Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Repayment Plan*

To repay your federal student loans under an IDR plan, you need to fill out an application. Not all borrowers are eligible for all (or any) of these plans. *Important: OBBBA eliminates the ICR and PAYE Plans in the future (no later than July 1, 2028). 

We recommend working with the NEA Student Debt Navigator to review your options and choose the plan that is best for you. You can switch your plan through the NEA Student Debt Navigator (free for NEA Members) or through your StudentAid.Gov account. 

What is the Repayment Assistance Plan? What is the Standard Tiered Repayment Plan?

The Repayment Assistance Plan is the administration’s new income-driven repayment plan. 

Standard Tiered Repayment Plan is the new default student debt repayment plan. Under this plan, your monthly payment is a fixed amount calculated using your total balance, interest rate, and term limit. It does not fluctuate based on your income. For example, if your balance is less than $25,000, you will be given 10 years to repay the loan. If you owe $25,000-$50,000, you will be given 15 years. If you don't pick an income-driven repayment plan, you will automatically be placed in this plan. This plan does NOT qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. 

What is the NEA Student Debt Navigator? How do I access it? 

NEA has partnered with Savi, a student loan startup, to offer an online student debt navigator tool, free for one year for NEA members. Sign up to receive personalized advice from student debt experts and gain access to Savi’s e-filing function, which helps eliminate the common mistakes that bar many applicants from receiving forgiveness.

ACCESS THE NAVIGATOR