Zack Friedman | Forbes
It’s no secret that student loan forgiveness is a hot topic.
When it comes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, in particular, the requirements can be tricky. That’s why it’s critical to ensure you know the details and are not headed down the wrong path.
Here are the 10 most common public service loan forgiveness mistakes to avoid at all costs.
1. Thinking Public Service Loan Forgiveness is automatic
Nope. Thinking that you work in “public service” and are performing a “public service” job won’t cut it.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is a federal program that forgives federal student loans for borrowers who are employed full-time (more than 30 hours per week) in an eligible federal, state or local public service job or 501(c)(3) non-profit job who make 120 eligible on-time payments.
Those “eligibility” requirements bring us to our second common mistake.
2. Not completing the Employment Certification Form
The number one thing you can do to ensure you’re on track for public service loan forgiveness is to complete the Employment Certification Form.
The next question is: how often should I submit the employment certification form for public service loan forgiveness?
You should submit this form:
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when you begin a job in public service
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when you switch employers
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annually
It’s important to submit this form annually to keep the U.S. Department of Education aware of your employment to ensure you’re on the right track.
3. Submitting an Employment Certification Form with errors
This sounds like a no-brainer, but your employment certification form could be rejected if there are errors.
Here are a few common mistakes:
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information on one form that does not match previous forms
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missing information such as an employer address
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not completing all the required fields
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correcting errors on the form, and then failing to place your initials next to the corrected errors