Here’s how civil servants can get closer to forgiving student loans

• Biden implemented a waiver of the public service loan forgiveness program.
• It will bring borrowers closer to relief and currently expires on October 31, 2022.
• If you are a government official, here’s what you need to do to gain access to this denial.

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Civil servants such as teachers, firefighters, military and non-profit students with student debt have just under five months to take advantage of an exemption that could bring them closer to loan forgiveness.

In October, President Joe Biden’s education department announced a series of reforms to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), which forgives student debt to government employees after ten eligible payments.

These reforms include a time limit until October 31, 2022, which allows borrowers to report payments from any federal loan programs or repayment plans to repay loans through the PSLF, including programs and plans that did not previously comply with conditions.

According to the department, this refusal alone is intended to automatically bring 550,000 borrowers closer to the forgiveness of student loans. Other changes to the PSLF include making it easier for service members to receive credit for the program, reviewing all previously rejected PSLF applications to identify and address errors, and improving the scope of those who may be eligible for the program.

“The system has not kept that promise to date, but it is about to change for many borrowers who have served their communities and their country,” then-Education Minister Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

But according to a recent analysis by the Student Borrower Protection Advocacy Group, while 9 million civil servants are eligible for student loan repayments, only 2% have actually destroyed their debt – and less than 15% of 9 million borrowers have submitted documents to track their progress in the PSLF.

If you are a civil servant with student duties, here are the things you need to do to take advantage of the exemption, which expires after 5 months:

1. First, confirm that you are eligible for the PSLF by making sure you are employed by a federal, state, local, or tribal government or nonprofit organization and work full-time.
2. Submit this form on or before October 31st to be eligible for prepayments, such as those made under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, to be considered a loan repayment if you currently have a federal direct loan.
3. If your loans are not direct loans (for example, you may have student loans from a number of different loan companies), you need to consolidate them into a federal direct loan. Once done, you can submit the PSLF form.

Once you have submitted the documents, the education department must inform you of the relief you are entitled to. However, as Insider reported earlier, married couples who are civil servants who have combined their loans into joint loans to consolidate spouses are currently not eligible for the PSLF, as the law prohibits them from splitting their loans into direct federal loan.

The education department did not respond immediately to Insider’s request for comment on further extending the PSLF exemption.