{"id":1041,"date":"2026-06-18T15:05:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wyomingtraining.com\/subject-matter-minute-blog\/?p=1041"},"modified":"2026-06-18T15:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:05:35","slug":"subject-matter-minute-episode-76-public-service-student-loan-forgiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wyomingtraining.com\/subject-matter-minute-blog\/subject-matter-minute-episode-76-public-service-student-loan-forgiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Subject Matter Minute, Episode #76 – Public Service (Student) Loan Forgiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"

The below post is taken from the Video Blog, the Subject Matter Minute. You can view the episode on YouTube if you would like. Find it here:\u00a0Episode #76 – Public Service (Student) Loan Forgiveness<\/a><\/p>\n

If YouTube is blocked for you or your agency, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to view it from Google Drive. (I would prefer you view it on YouTube, so I know how many people have watched)<\/p>\n

You can also listen to an audio version<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Subject Matter Minute.<\/p>\n

Before I get started talking about loan forgiveness, I wanted to tell you about my latest big fat loan. This story is a bit long, so feel free to scrub forward!<\/p>\n

It all started because my youngest daughter just graduated from UW. We are very proud. Leading up to it, my wife mentioned that she wanted to give our 2015 Highlander to her as a graduation gift. My first thought was, wow, that\u2019s pretty generous. It does have 190,000 miles on it, but it drives like it\u2019s new. But anyway, as we talked about it, I realized that there was more motivation than that. Tanna wanted a new car. Since we had always said that we would drive the highlander till the wheels fell off, it took me some time to come around. But my youngest had never wrecked a car, while my oldest had totaled 2, and she had also found a way to go to graduate school for free. So I said, all right, let\u2019s do this. We ended up with a plug-in hybrid Rav4. I\u2019m honestly embarrassed to say how much it was, but you can certainly research that in a jiffy. It\u2019s a sweet car, but I do wish I could get this loan forgiven.<\/p>\n

Segue, much?<\/p>\n

I want to talk about something today that I think a lot of you might be leaving on the table \u2014 and by that I mean real money. Potentially tens of thousands of dollars. Technically, it’s loan forgiveness, but it’s still money!<\/p>\n

It’s called the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or PSLF. And if you have federal student loans, you’re going to want to pay attention.
(music sting)<\/p>\n

Here’s the basic idea: Because you work for the State of Wyoming \u2014 a government employer \u2014 you may qualify to have the remaining balance of your federal student loans completely forgiven after 10 years. Tax-free. Gone.<\/p>\n

And this isn’t just theoretical \u2014 Director Bach, the Director of the Department of Administration and Information, went through this program herself. Between her undergraduate and law school debt, she had over $50,000 forgiven. That’s a real person, in Cheyenne, who benefited from this. It’s worth paying attention to.<\/p>\n

So why is this even a thing? Public service jobs don’t always pay what the private sector does. PSLF exists specifically to offset that.<\/p>\n

Now let’s talk about how it actually works, because there are a few boxes you need to check.<\/p>\n

Number one: You need the right loans. (Not Rav4 loans) Only federal Direct Loans qualify. If you have older federal loan types \u2014 like FFEL or Perkins loans \u2014 don’t panic. You can consolidate those into a Direct Consolidation Loan to make them eligible.<\/p>\n

Number two: You need to be on the right repayment plan. You’ll need to be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan \u2014 there are a few different flavors, and StudentAid.gov can help you figure out which one is right for you. These plans base your monthly payment on your income, which is often lower than a standard payment. That’s actually a good thing here, because the goal is to have a balance left to forgive after 10 years.<\/p>\n

One important note: if you’re on the Standard 10-Year Repayment Plan, your loan will likely be fully paid off right around the time you’d hit 120 payments \u2014 which means nothing left to forgive. If you’re not sure what plan you’re on, don’t worry \u2014 StudentAid.gov will show you, and I\u2019ve been told that switching is straightforward.<\/p>\n

Number three: You need to make 120 qualifying payments. That’s one per month for 10 years. They don’t have to be consecutive \u2014 life happens \u2014 but they do need to be made on time, for the full amount due, while you’re working full-time for a qualifying employer. Which, again, you already are.<\/p>\n

Number four: Certify your employment. This is the step people skip, and it’s a big mistake. You’ll submit an Employment Certification Form through the PSLF Help Tool at StudentAid.gov. Technically, you’re not required to do it on a strict yearly schedule \u2014 and here’s some good news if you’re just now hearing about this program: you can certify employment at any time, even retroactively covering past years. So if you’ve been with the state for five years and didn’t know about PSLF, that time may not be lost. That said, trust me, you want to stay on top of it going forward. The last thing you want is to find out at payment 119 that something didn’t count. Do it every year, and definitely do it any time you change jobs. It takes about 30 minutes and it keeps you on track.<\/p>\n

Once you hit 120 payments and meet all the requirements, you apply for forgiveness and whatever balance is left \u2014 whether that’s $5,000 or $50,000 \u2014 is wiped out.<\/p>\n

One thing to keep in mind: this program is managed by the U.S. Department of Education through Federal Student Aid \u2014 not by the state. Your agency HR can help with employment verification, but everything else \u2014 the application, your payment count, repayment plan changes \u2014 all of that is handled through StudentAid.gov.<\/p>\n

Head to StudentAid.gov\/PSLF to use the Help Tool and get started. The links are in the show notes!<\/p>\n

If this Subject Matter Minute helps anyone, I would really like to know about it. Please make a comment below, or email me. Oh, and I\u2019ve also added a link down there to donate to my Rav4 debt forgiveness program.<\/p>\n

Alright, see you next time!<\/p>\n\n\n