PSLF Peace of Mind

Student Loan Information

Important Announcement: Courts Temporarily Stop SAVE Plan

On July 18th, 2024, a federal court decision issued an injunction again preventing the Department of Education (ED) from administering the SAVE plan. Borrowers will be affected in the following ways:

  • All 8 million borrowers currently on the SAVE plan will be automatically put on a 0% interest forbearance – Borrowers on SAVE and pursuing PSLF should not make their August payment even if the forbearance hasn’t yet been processed as it will not count towards PSLF. Borrowers will remain in forbearance until the court issue is settled or “servicers are able to send bills at the appropriate monthly payment amount.”
  • The forbearance does NOT count towards PSLF or IDR forgiveness.
  • Applications for ICR, PAYE, REPAYE/SAVE and IBR – Borrowers can apply for ICR, PAYE, REPAYE/SAVE and IBR but applications are currently not being processed and only the paper application is available.
  • Consolidation applications are also down, unless done via paper.
  • If the SAVE Plan becomes permanently blocked, it is expected that SAVE borrowers will be reverted to the REPAYE plan, which could result in a higher payment than SAVE.
  • Pending SAVE Applications – It is unclear right now how borrowers with pending SAVE applications will be handled.
  • Forbearance opt Out – It is unclear if borrowers can opt out of this forbearance. The Education Department is not allowed to administer the SAVE plan currently. It is likely that the only way to opt out of the forbearance at this time would be to change repayment plans, which could take some months.
  • Payments made during the forbearance – Payments made during the forbearance will count towards future post forbearance payments.
  • The one‐time IDR adjustment – The one-time IDR adjustment is not at risk- but there is speculation that it could be delayed.
  • PSLF itself is NOT at risk.
  • Borrower buyback option – Borrowers may use the buyback option (once they hit 120 PSLF months) for these administrative forbearance months to count.
  • Borrowers have been placed in multiple administrative forbearances recently, some of which count towards forgiveness and some that do not – Payment processing forbearances counts. Servicer platform transition forbearances, the SAVE forbearance, and borrower requested forbearance do not.

Borrowers will be receiving an email in the coming days or weeks giving them the option to opt out of this debt relief with additional information.

For more information regarding the temporary stop to the SAVE Plan, click here.

PSLF Peace of Mind

The PSLF Peace of Mind program  is provided in partnership with The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing expert advice to student loan consumers, which will ensure you have the tools and resources to successfully pursue the PSLF Program.

The PSLF Program grants federal student loan borrowers loan balance forgiveness if they have worked for a qualifying employer such as BU for at least 10 years while making eligible loan payments. This means you are eligible to participate in the PSLF Program after making 120 on-time, monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer.

As part of the PSLF Peace of Mind program, Boston University employees will have access to:

  • A dedicated communications channel to receive one-on-one student loan counseling via phone and email.
  • Reminders to submit all necessary PSLF and repayment plan documentation.
  • Additional support from the Human Resources Service Center team, who will approve and process PSLF forms.

Updates on any program rule changes