Paying off my student loans forever
Who qualifies for the PSLF?
As a clergyperson, I qualify for Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). As a part-time clergyperson, I do not.
This stinks.
I unfortunately did not get a half seminary tuition bill. I in fact have a full bachelors and masters degree and the student loans that come with them. My student loan debt has been a deciding factor in every adult financial decision I’ve made.
Now, there’s a whole other part of the conversation about if religious workers should be getting student loan forgiveness. Originally religious work was not covered under the PSLF. Those rules only changed in 2021. There’s also other guidelines that might exclude some clergy from accessing this specific form of loan forgiveness. But as it currently stands, the reasoning is that religious organizations that are also 501(c)(3) organizations, like my church, should qualify under the PSLF like other 501(c)(3) organizations.
My exclusion, as I said, comes from the employment hour requirements. The full-time vs. part-time qualifications are fairly specific. Full-time is 30 hours and can be combined from multiple employers. I would have been over this time limit for about five of the past ten years because of a combination of hours between employers. In particular, my church hours were at 28 hours a week from 2017-2022. Two years ago however, those hours dropped to 20. At that level of work, I absolutely would not qualify for the PSLF even though I work for a qualifying 501(c)(3) organization.
So close, yet so far away.
Talking about student loan forgiveness is a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. I was one of those people who when President Biden announced the possibility of more comprehensive forgiveness, I felt deep relief knowing how that would impact the amount of debt my household has. Then I similarly felt dejected when that possibility was taken away.
Not having access to the PSLF is one of the many ways that my part-time status limits my ability to access benefits and resources I would otherwise have as a full-time employee. My multiple jobs and ability to have decent take-home pay each month can sometimes disguise the other benefits I’m missing. I need to maintain awareness of this and the church does, too.
Because maybe your church has an employee that’s at 25 hours a week. Might they benefit from being at 30 hours and then qualifying for loan forgiveness?
Or you’re a part-time pastor negotiating a salary raise. Should you ask for more than just a 50% split of a a full-time salary because of the benefits you don’t have access to?
I write about this because discussions about money can often be shrouded in mystery. Depending on your class status, your education, and your family resources, these questions about the PSLF may not matter to you. I’d love to model in the church how to talk about money and debt openly in a way that is supportive and informative.
If you want to learn more about PSLF and in particular, how to make sure your loans are forgiven as a clergyperson or non-profit employee, I encourage you to check out this training put on by the United Church of Christ led by Attorney Ashley Harrington, a senior official of the Federal Student Aid Office of the US Department of Education.
And for more reading on the topic of clergy debt, read in the New York Times: They Want to Become Nuns and Priests: Student Debt Holds Them Back.
What I’m listening to
Country sounds for hot summer nights. It seems to get better on every listen.
Last chance for a birthday discount!
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What life looks like
This! The rule about full-time work ignores how so many jobs work these days. And I imagine clergy aren't the only ones frustrated by that aspect of the program.