While a range of federal student loans are available directly for students, parent PLUS loans are more geared toward parents (biological or adoptive) of students pursuing a higher education. While most student loan forgiveness programs are only available for direct student loans, there's a workaround that allows some parent PLUS loans to be forgiven after 10 years. Read on to learn how this process works for your student loans and what steps parents can take to qualify.

Understanding Parent PLUS Loans

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Parent PLUS loans are a type of federal student loan that’s geared toward the biological or adoptive parents of students pursuing a higher education. These 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:direct PLUS loans are unique from federal student loans taken out by students themselves in a few different ways, including the fact they require a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit check for approval.

The borrowing limit on parent PLUS loans is also significantly higher than the loan limit on other types of federal student loans. In fact, the maximum amount parents can borrow is "the cost of attendance at the school your child will attend minus any other financial assistance your child receives," according to the Federal Student Aid.

However, parent PLUS loans have higher 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:interest rates and more stringent terms than most other types of federal student loans. For example, parent PLUS loans never have 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:subsidized interest, whereas some direct loans to students do.

Loan Forgiveness Overview

There are several types of student loan forgiveness available, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for those who work in public service positions and Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF). A range of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果🍃体彩网:income-driven repayment (IDR) plans also lead to total loan forgiveness after 20 to 25 years of payments made under these plans.

PSLF is one of the more popular studeಞnt loan forgiveness plans for federal student loans, as it leads to forgiveness after 10 years of on-time payments on an IDR p🉐lan. This forgiveness program is also available for workers across a wide range of industries that provide a direct benefit to the general public.

Parent PLUS Loans and the 10-Yea🦹r Forgiveness Rule

While the vast majority of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:forgiveness programs for🐽 federal student loans are for students and not parents, there's a wor🐠karound that can allow parents to get their parent PLUS loan balances forgiven after 10 years of payments.

It's important to note that 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:forgiveness of parent PLUS loans through PSLF is based on the parent being employed in a public ꦡservice position, not the student. Additionally, parents are ineligible for most IDR plans that would qualify for this program, with the exception of the Incom൲e-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan.

Parents who want to have their parent PLUS loans forgiven through PSLF may be able to do so by taking the following steps:

• Work in an eligible public service position: Eligible employment needs to last for 10 years, or 120 months, at a minimum.
• Consolidate the parent PLUS loan into a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:direct consolidation loan: This step will make borrowers eligible for repayment under the ICR plan (the only income-driven plan available to parents).
• Make 120 on-time payments through the ICR plan: Monthly ICR plan payments are based on the lesser of 20% of your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:discretionary income or how much you would pay with a fixed payment over 12 years, based on your income.
• Have loans forgiven after 10 years: Forgiveness of student debt under PSLF requires borrowers to make 10 years of on-time payments on their student loans through an income-driven repayment plan during periods of eligible employment.

The Bottom Line

While most forgiveness plans are intended for student borrowers and not parents, it's definitely possible to have parent PLUS loan balances forgiven after 10 years. The borrowing parent must work in a public service position for this to be possible, and they’ll also have to consolidate their parent PLUS loans into a direct consolidation loan and then make payments under an ICR plan for 10 years. PLUS loans also 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:can be discharged if either the student or the parent passജes away.