1. If you’re like most people during open enrollment, you simply sign up for whatever you did the prior year without giving it much thought.  The next go around, consider reviewing your benefit options to ensure you are maximizing your benefits (and minimizing taxes!)
   
   
2. Submit the PSLF Employer Certification Form (https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/public-service-employment-certification-form.pdf) each year to ensure all your payments are being counted.  You will receive a letter in the email detailing the number of qualified payments you have made.  Additionally, you can check on the MyFedLoan website under loan details.  Once you get to the end of the ten years, the heavy lifting is done as all your payments will have been reviewed. 
   
   
3. If you have questions and you call Fed Loan Servicing, corroborate the information with online resources (https://studentaid.gov/h/manage-loans). When I was learning the ends and outs of the repayment plans and PSLF program, I would also call multiple times to ensure I was getting a consistent answer.
   
   
4. If you work at a clinic, make sure you are paid by the hospital or the tax ID listed on your W2 is considered a not-for-profit (NFP).  I had a client who worked for a large hospital system but the tax ID on his paystub tied to the clinic and Fed Loan didn’t count the payments as it wasn’t considered a NFP. 
   
   
5. After re-certifying your IDR plan each year, double check the amount is correct by going to https://studentaid.gov/app/repaymentEstimator.action.  I recently had a client who sent me his updated loan payment and after recalculating, I came up with a different monthly payment.  We called Fed Loan Servicing and after speaking to a supervisor, realized he filled out the IDR recertification form incorrectly.  He forgot to include his wife’s federal loans (this reduces your payment as it’s look at on a household basis) and select the option that said he had access to his wife’s income (reduces the number of people in your household thereby increasing your payment).

If you would like additional guidance, we would be happy to help. Sign up for our complimentary loan analysis.

WM

Weston is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner^TM, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Weston earned his master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Missouri – Columbia. Weston is active in the St. Louis community and board member of the Anti-Defamation League.

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