Heather, if a person takes a 6 month unpaid leave of absence from a full-time public service job, does that mean the 120 payments clock starts all over?

Heather’s Helper here. No need to worry, the 120 payments don’t have to be consecutive. Your qualifying payments will just start where they left off as soon as you are back to work full-time.

Hope that helps!

-Heather’s Helper

Heather’s Helper-
I’m hoping to utilize PSLF for debt I’ve acquired in getting my Bachelor’s & Master’s Degree. I’ve been paying back w/ IBR for almost a year. Here’s my current status:
I’ve worked fulltime for almost 11 years in the same public service job. State of the state may cause me to be laid off. So, my “Plan B” is to try to transition to a public school teaching position which will force me back into school to obtain my initial teaching license! My questions are:

1.) If I get laid off & therefore not employed anywhere but still pay on my loan, will my no-work status (or even part-time work status) knock me out of public loan forgiveness?

2.) Will the federal gov’t allow me to borrow more money for college even though I’ve achieved a bachelor’s & a master’s degree? If so, can the new borrowed money be consolidated for PSLF?

BTW-I just found this website & truly appreciate it! Navigating the system is very stressful!