Jessica Buck got some welcome news when she logged into her federal student loan account March 30: Her $275,000 loan balance had officially been wiped out four days earlier under the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
Jessica Buck
Buck, a 2010 graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law, has been working as a public defender in Danville, Kentucky, for the past decade and making payments on the $179,000 in loans she took out for law school. (The amount increased over time due to interest, though she paid nearly $26,000 toward them.) Under PSLF, which was created in 2007 to encourage people to pursue public service careers, federal loan borrowers who work in qualifying jobs and make qualifying payments on their loans for 10 years will have their remaining balance forgiven. (Monthly payments are capped at a percentage of the borrower’s income.) But actually obtaining that forgiveness has proven difficult for the earliest participants in the program. According to the most recent information available from the U.S. Department of Education, fewer than 3% of those who have applied for PSLF have been approved.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
