Uh oh- don't count on this student loan forgiveness program

[jym626]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/20/your-money/student-loans/they-thought-they-qualified-for-loan-forgiveness-years-later-the-answer-is-no.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Feducation&action=click&contentCollection=education&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&referer=

Hundreds of thousands of people with piles of federal student loan debt had not been too concerned because they were counting on a federal government program that would forgive those loans if they worked at least 10 years in a public service job.

But what happens if the definition of “public service” seemed to change midway through that decade?

On Tuesday, the American Bar Association and four lawyers who thought they qualified filed suit against the Department of Education trying to answer that question. The department had informed several of them that their jobs would make them eligible for loan forgiveness, but they later received letters saying that the ruling had changed.

[kelsmom]

I always counsel my students that rules can and do change at any time. For this reason, I encourage them to pay as much toward their loans as possible — you never know if you will actually get your loan forgiven, tax-free. PSLF can be rescinded, the max that is forgiven can be capped, the program can lose its tax-free status, etc. (After my dad got blindsided by his employer in retirement - retirement benefits he had been promised were taken away - I trust no one!)