Jamie (not their real name) is a University employee who has worked at the University on and off for more than 35 years, with nearly 20 years of continuous service. Through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, they had nearly $250,000 of loans forgiven.
Jamie always knew they wanted a Ph.D. “As a child, I dreamed of being called ‘doctor,’” they said. After they went through a divorce, their dad told them, “Well, get your Ph.D.” They had already completed a master’s and figured, why not?
Many people take doctoral classes but don’t finish their degree, and Jamie was determined to avoid the “all but dissertation” status. But as the loans piled up, they started to get worried. While they achieved their goal of earning their doctorate, they also faced mounting financial hurdles due to homeownership and other factors. And this was even though they had also used the Regents Tuition Benefit Program for their master’s and doctorate degrees. “I think [student loan] interest about doubled everything,” they noted.
After graduation, Jamie faced the reality of repaying their student loans. “I was drowning. I didn’t know what to do,” Jamie said. Upon recommendations from LSS Financial Counseling and attorneys, they filed for bankruptcy. Student loans are not typically discharged in bankruptcy, but bankruptcy does provide seven years of student loan forbearance (a grace period allowing people to delay payments without accruing interest).
After the bankruptcy-related grace period ended, Jamie’s student loan payments were paused due to pandemic forbearance. When the pandemic forbearance was scheduled to end in 2022, they realized, “I’m in the same place I was before the bankruptcy.”
Jamie called LSS again in October 2022. “They told me to file paperwork immediately since a provision was about to sunset. It was much easier than I thought it would be. … Soon after filing, I went to my [federal student loans] account to see if my paperwork had been processed, and it said I had been accepted into the PSLF. I had made 3 payments with 117 left to go.”
But then, pandemic forbearance was extended. Jamie breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t log in to their account until July of the next year, once the forbearance was scheduled to end again. They were shocked to find that the numbers were reversed: 117 payments and 3 left to go.
Thinking it must be a mistake, Jamie called the Federal Student Aid Office. It was real. The years they had worked at the University after graduating with their Ph.D. (but before applying to the PSLF) had been added to the total. This is because the months in bankruptcy and pandemic forbearance still counted as payments for the PSLF.
Jamie only had to refile the employment verification paperwork to count the months they had worked since October 2022, and the 3 payments would be done. “I emailed the paperwork to OHR [for employment verification] and had it back in 10 minutes.” They refiled in July 2023 and had their federal loans forgiven as of December 2022, 3 months after they had first filed in October 2022. “[The debt] was nearly a quarter of a million.”
Now Jamie is looking into retirement, thanks to their Minnesota State Retirement System pension and long tenure with the University. Their goal is to retire in 2026.
Jamie’s Advice to University Employees
“If you’ve got student loans, don’t hesitate. Call LSS Financial Counseling. It’s definitely worth it to find out what your options are. Although filing the paperwork can seem overwhelming, it was so much easier than I thought it would be."