Postal Employees Qualify for Student Loan Forgiveness

Full-time United States Postal Service employees can have their federal student loan debt written off after 10 years of work. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is open to all borrowers who spend at least a decade working for government agencies or certain nonprofit organizations and make 120 qualifying monthly payments on their federal Direct Loans.

The PSLF Program is the main forgiveness option for most postal employees, but it isn’t the only one. The Education Department offers other student loan forgiveness programs that wipe away the remaining balance USPS employees owe on their federal loans. The best choice for you depends on your loan balance and your work history with the post office.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The US Post Office is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, so postal workers are eligible for tax-free student loan forgiveness after 10 years of work.

The precise eligibility requirements of the PSLF Program, which was created in 2007, are complex. To qualify, you must work for the postal service and:

• Work full-time. Postal employees are considered full-time if they’re assigned to work schedules of five 8-hour days in a service week. Part-time workers can qualify for relief if they work two part-time jobs simultaneously with a combined average of at least 30 hours per week at a qualifying employer (for example, law enforcement, military service, public health, and so on). Use the PSLF Help Tool to check your employer’s eligibility.
• Have eligible loans. Only loans made under the Direct Loan Program qualify, including Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Direct Consolidation Loans, and Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS Loans. Federal Family Education Loans are eligible if consolidated.
• Make 120 qualifying payments. Payments must be made on time, for the ​full amount due, and under a qualifying repayment plan — the Standard Repayment Plan or one of the income-driven repayment plans (for example, the income-based repayment plan).

For years, these unusually complex rules and poor customer service from the program’s previous administrator, FedLoan Servicing, frustrated thousands of student loan borrowers and locked many out of relief.

But the Biden administration has ​worked to change that.

Last October, the troubled program got a temporary overhaul. The Education Department announced that for a limited time, it would soften the rules to count payments made toward the wrong loans, under the wrong plan, and those that were late or for less than the ​full amount due.

You can apply for the Limited PSLF Waiver and the PSLF Program by submitting an employment certification form to the new company handling the program, MOHELA.

Learn More: Changes to PSLF