File jointly or separately?

Hello,

I just submitted an application to consolidate my loans and use the PAYE plan, my payments should be $502 a month. I work for local government and I am aiming for PSLF. My husband is in a similar situation, but he is currently sitting in SAVE. He will also be using PAYE and go for PSLF as he also works for local government.

Questions: how can we lower our monthly payment? I have an FSA. Through our jobs, they pay into a state pension for us. We do not have access to a 401k/407b and my understanding is IRA is not pre-tax if you have other retirement options like we do.

We have always filed jointly, is there any benefit to filing separately? We have one child.