confused about PSLF on already consoidated loans

[pedsmd]

I have a bunch of sub and unsub stafford loans which I consolidated back in 2005 with Sallie Mae (now Navient) over a 30 year term. I currently owe 115k and my interest rate is 2.125%. At this rate I should have them paid off by 2031. I have not been aggressive about paying these off and making the standard repayment. My reasoning is that at that rate I'd rather invest extra money which I do. I'm debt free except for these loans and our mortgage.

I tried to investigate this whole PSLF deal. I work for a nonprofit hospital. From what I was told my payments with Navient do not count and I would have to refinance with the federal goverment and then 10 years later I could get PSLF. Is this true? I was under the impression that since my original loans were Stafford my payments count but apparently this is not the case?

[cubic.q]

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/public-service-loan-forgiveness-common-questions.pdf

 

The above link for the PSLF FAQ has a lot of great information. I think the answer to your question is under question #6 in the FAQ. Hope this helps.

[remapthesoul]

Hi pedsmd, looking at the FAQ linked by cubic.q and from what I understand about the program, the payments you have made up to this point unfortunately do not count towards PSLF. You are correct in stating that in order to qualify for PSLF you would have to consolidate your current loans with Direct Loans and then essentially start there towards the 120 payments required to qualify for loan forgiveness.

[Ben]

If your consolidation loan is a DIRECT consolidation loan, then the payments would count. The original makeup off the loans (e.g Perkins etc) is not relevant once you've consolidated. That said, a consolidation loan is a weighted average of the loans that compose it, so reconsolidating shouldn't affect your rate.

However, you have to make qualifying payments under an income-driven repayment plan or the standard 10-year repayment to qualify for PSLF. I don't know your salary, but my guess is there is close to zero chance of you not paying off the balance during the qualifying term in this context.