Student Loan Help

If you have federal student loans, the first step in making your payments more affordable should always be applying for an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. IDR plans are based on your income rather than your loan debt, resulting in smaller payments for most borrowers.

The IDR application pulls from your most recent tax return if you authorize IRS data retrieval. To keep your payments as low as possible:

• Apply for IDR with a tax return showing your previous (lower) income instead of your current (higher) income.
• Recalculate your IDR plan immediately if you’re unemployed, between jobs, on unpaid leave, or have transitioned to a lower-paying role. 
• Only recertify your income when required annually; you don’t need to recertify if you get a salary increase.

Applying for and/or recalculating your IDR plan to get a small ($0-$10) payment is the most strategic option if you can’t afford payments, because you’ll enter a 12-month long plan that will count toward PSLF if and when you reenter PSLF-qualifying employment. However, if you’re not able to secure a monthly payment that’s low enough for you, you can request a forbearance or deferment from your loan servicer to pause repayment.

• Deferments can be granted in certain circumstances like cancer treatment, military service, or unemployment. Most deferments are time-limited and do not count toward PSLF.
• Forbearance can be granted in certain circumstances or when you request one from your servicer (called a discretionary forbearance). Usually borrowers request forbearance for financial difficulties or while waiting for their PSLF application to be processed. Servicers can also opt to place your loans in forbearance if they need time to process your IDR request, or if there’s been a declared disaster in your area. Forbearances are usually shorter than deferments and most do not count toward PSLF, but some may count in the future under the PSLF buyback.

You may be eligible for supplementary or alternative LRAP assistance through a program run by another organization. Here are some alternative LRAP programs:

• Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program (PIALR) for CA attorneys working 4+ years in legal aid, public defense, or other public interest areas.
• California Access to Justice Commission LRAP for legal aid attorneys
• DC Bar Foundation LRAP for legal aid attorneys
• New York District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness (DALF)
• Federal Student Loan Repayment (SLR) for federal employees
• Legal Services Corporation LRAP for LSC-funded legal service employees
• John R. Justice (JRJ) Grant Program for public defenders and prosecutors
• State-based LRAPs

Some employers and fellowship programs also offer their own LRAPs. Feel free to reach out to discuss how these programs interact with PSLF and Berkeley Law’s LRAP.

If you have issues with your loan servicer, you can:

• Contact Berkeley Law’s Financial Aid Office
  • We can help answer common questions or help you find loan records.

• Contact your loan servicer
  • You can contact your loan servicer via their online portal or their customer service phone number.
    • Document your conversation and ask for the employee’s ID number. Don’t be afraid to ask for a manager or hang up and try again if the staff member you’re talking with isn’t knowledgeable.
  • Many loan servicers also have their own ombudsperson’s office to deal with escalated issues. Consider contacting the ombudsperson if dealing with a long-lasting issue.

• Contact California’s Student Loan Ombudsperson, Celina Damian, at Celina.Damian@dfpi.ca.gov, or submit a DFPI Complaint.

• File a complaint with Federal Student Aid. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, reach out to the Federal Student Aid Ombudsperson online or by email.

• File a complaint with other regulators, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, your state Attorney General’s Office, your state’s consumer protection or financial services agency (e.g. California’s Department of Financial Protection & Innovation or New York’s Department of Financial Services), or a Congressional representative.

Have further questions? Additional PSLF information can be found here:

• Join our PSLF Google Group 

• Federal Student Aid
  • PSLF website
  • PSLF Help Tool
  • PSLF Employer Search
  • FAQs

• Protect Borrowers
  • Webinars and FAQs

• forgivemystudentdebt.org
  • Step-by-step PSLF instructions

• Equal Justice Works
  • Webinars and guides

• For UC employees
  • UCnet contains instructions for UC employees to complete the PSLF Form.

• California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
  • Student borrower resources

• NY Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program
  • Student loan assistance