PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Summer 2020 - 30

8 Common Mistakes
Made When Using the
Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program
By Evaristo "Ever" Gonzalez, CFP, CLU, RICP
Financial Advisor, First Financial Group

If you are employed fulltime by a government or not-for-profit
organization, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness after
making 120 qualifying payments (10 years), thanks to the
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.
But loan forgiveness is not automatic. There are a number of
specific requirements you must meet. If you want to make
sure you're on the right track, avoid these common mistakes:
1. Not submitting an Employment Certification Form each
year
Submitting an Employment Certification Form (ECF) is the
single most important thing you can do to make sure you're on
track for forgiveness. You should submit this ASAP.
In order to ensure you're on the right track for forgiveness, it is
important that you submit an Employment Certification Form
(ECF)
*	 As soon as you start your first public service job;
*	

Annually from that point on; and

*	

Any time you switch employers.

We use this form to help verify you're on the right track and
to inform you about anything you should do to adjust to
maximize the amount forgiven in the future.
Since borrowers who are interested in PSLF should be on
income-driven repayment plans, we recommend submitting
your annual ECF at the same time you recertify your incomebased payments.
2. Making mistakes on your Employment Certification Form
Your ECF could be rejected if you make mistakes. Here are
some common mistakes we see:
*	 Missing information: Two of the most common
missing items are the employer's address and
Employer Identification Number (EIN). You can find
30 | Keystone Veterinarian

your employer's EIN on your Wage and Tax Statement
(W-2). Don't submit your ECF without all the required
fields filled in.
*	 Inconsistent information: This occurs when you
provide information on a new ECF that is inconsistent
with info from a previous ECF. Most commonly, we see
inconsistent employment begin dates.
*	 Correction errors: If corrections are made on the form,
initials must be provided next to the change.
	 o If you're correcting the borrower sections 	
	 (Section 1 or 2), we need your initials.
o If you're correcting the employer sections

(Section 3 or 4), we need the employer's initials.

Tip: The ECF requires a signature from an "authorized official"
at your employer. This is typically someone in your human
resources office. Ask your employer who your organization has
authorized to certify employment if you're uncertain.
3. Not consolidating your FFEL, Perkins, and parent PLUS
loans
There are different types of federal student loans, but only
Direct Loans qualify for PSLF.
If you borrowed before 2011, or if you have Perkins or parent
PLUS loans, you may need to consolidate your loans in order
to qualify for PSLF.
*	

To check which types of loans you have, log in to
StudentAid.gov/login. If you see a loan type that
doesn't include the word "Direct," you'll need to
consolidate it to get PSLF for that loan.

*	

To fill out the consolidation application, go to
StudentLoans.gov.

4. Not enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan
You can get PSLF only if you enroll in and make payments
under one of the income-driven repayment plans. While
http://www.StudentAid.gov/login http://www.StudentLoans.gov
PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Summer 2020

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