PSLF Adjustment Question and IDR Application Timing Question
Background: I graduated in May 2014 and entered the Peace Corps in March 2015, which ended in May 2017. I then started my job at the non-profit I currently work at in March 2018. After graduation, I deferred my loans knowing that I was entering the Peace Corps and didn't have a job. Throughout Peace Corps, I also deferred my loans under economic hardship as I didn't understand the whole process of making my Peace Corps time eligible for PSLF. When I started my job at the non-profit, I used the IDR calculator and found that my IDR estimated payment would only be like $7 cheaper per month, so I stuck with the standard repayment plan. Throughout the COVID forbearance, I did not make a payment. I applied for PSLF August 2023.
Question 1: Right now on MOHELA's tracker, I have 41 months towards PSLF (during the pandemic) and my other payments are ineligible (Peace Corps months say Typically months in deferment or forbearance do not count and my non-profit working months say No bill was due for this period). From my understanding, the IDR adjustment will count my months in economic hardship deferment in Peace Corps and that the standard repayment plan counts for PSLF purposes. So if both are true, I should have 94 months towards the 120 of PSLF. Does anyone know otherwise? I think I'm just waiting for the adjustment to occur, but I am also a bit anxious.
Question 2: When I use the loan estimator now, it appears that my repayment under ICR is actually $70 less than my standard repayment plan (which is strange because I have 2/3 of my balance and nearly double the income from when I first checked). If I am actually close to PSLF forgiveness, I think entering ICR for the remaining 26 months would be great, however, I am worried that if I enter into ICR before the PSLF count adjustment, I might mess things up. Should I wait for the count adjustment to apply for ICR or am I worrying about nothing and I should apply now?
Thanks in advance!
Posted Nov 1, 2023, 4:00 PM UTC