The Office of the Student Loan Advocate (SLA) and the Office of Financial Management (OFM) are looking for feedback from Washington public service employers and student loan borrowers about their experience with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. They hope to have survey responses from employers and borrowers by July 31.
The PSLF Statewide Initiative has prepared surveys for both public employers and public employees to help them better understand the barriers to access for the PLSF program and work to address them. Survey responses are anonymous, and both surveys are short and should take only a few minutes to complete.
Public employers can complete their survey here.
The PSLF Statewide Initiative asks employers to share this student loan borrower survey with employees.
Help your employees receive Public Service Loan Forgiveness
June 13, 2024
Note: This article was provided by Kaity Cazares of the Washington State Office of Financial Management. Kaity can be reached at pslf@ofm.wa.gov.
As a public service employer, your employees may be eligible for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF) to forgive their student loan debt. PSLF can be an extremely valuable and life-changing benefit to your employees at no cost and very little involvement from you, the employer. Use the PSLF Employer Search to see if you are considered a qualifying employer for the PSLF program. All city governments should be considered a qualifying employer under the program.
In Washington state, 20,680 borrowers have received over $1.4 billion of student loan forgiveness through the PSLF program between October 1, 2021, and May 16, 2024.
The Washington State Office of the Student Loan Advocate (SLA) in collaboration with the Office of Financial Management (OFM) have developed resources to help you notify your employees of your possible qualifying status and their potential PSLF eligibility. You can access letter templates and additional information on the PSLF webpage. Click on the “Information for Employers” tab underneath the “How do I apply for PSLF?” section.
PSLF eligibility notification letter templates
- PSLF notice for new employees: OFM recommends sharing this letter (web or print version) with employees upon hiring, during the onboarding process to introduce the PSLF program and process.
- PSLF annual notice: OFM recommends sharing this letter (web or print version) with employees on an annual basis and any time PSLF regulations change (see below) to continue raising awareness of the program and the resources available.
- PSLF notice for separated employees: OFM recommends sharing this letter (web or print version) with employees during the separation process, so they know which steps to take to receive and potentially continue receiving PSLF credit.
PSLF webinars
PSLF surveys
SLA and (OFM are sourcing feedback to help Washington state continue to address barriers and expand access to the PSLF program through the PSLF statewide initiative (RCW 43.41.425). These surveys are short and should only take a few minutes to complete.
- PSLF survey for Washington state employers: This survey is intended to be completed by the current authorized official(s) to sign PSLF forms at your organization or agency. If no current authorized official(s) is appointed, then someone acting in a Human Resources capacity may also complete the survey.
- PSLF survey for Washington state borrowers: This survey is intended for Washington student loan borrowers about their experience with the PSLF program. Please consider sharing this survey with your employees.