As a teacher, it’s easy to qualify for PSLF since your job is in public service no matter where you work and live. You don’t have to work in a low income or public school, for example. According to the U.S. Department of Education, most full-time teachers should meet the employment requirements for PSLF.
When Teacher Loan Forgiveness Makes Sense
According to financial attorney and student debt expert Leslie H. Tayne, the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program may be better for teachers who have lower loan balances.
“Paying for five years can make a decent-sized dent in the balance, and then even the small $5,000 payout can be significantly beneficial,” she says. “And then teachers don’t have to wait until they’ve made 120 payments.”
Tayne says it’s also important to remember that teachers are only eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if they have Direct loans. As a result, teachers who have Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) may have to consider Teacher Loan Forgiveness instead of PSLF, although they could also consolidate their loans into Direct loans and get on an income-driven repayment plan before getting started with PSLF.
When Public Service Loan Forgiveness Makes Sense
Tayne says that Public Service Loan Forgiveness is usually better for teachers with larger loan balances, and it’s easy to see why.
“Even though teachers have to make more payments and on an income-driven repayment plan, having their loans 100% forgiven will likely still save them more than the Teacher Loan Forgiveness,” she says.
Additionally, under PSLF, your payments while working for an eligible public service employer don’t need to be consecutive, she says. If you switch from an eligible employer to a non-eligible employer, for example, you don’t lose the payments you’ve made and can continue to add to them if you switch back to an eligible employer.
With the Teacher Loan Forgiveness, on the other hand, you need to have worked in an eligible role for five consecutive years with no exceptions for family or medical leave.
“Even switching subjects or moving to a non-TLFP school can affect your eligibility,” says Tayne.