My wife and I both have student loans under IBR. They are all direct loans, but there are a whole bunch of them—my wife has 6 and I have 13. We have separate servicers: edfinancial and myedaccount.

Paperwork is burdensome, and the more loans you have the more chance the servicers will mess something up (been there done that). So, we’re really interested in consolidating loans. I know we can’t consolidate together. I mean just consolidate hers and consolidate mine separately so we only have two loans—one for her and one for me.

I should be eligible for PSLF in 9 years, my wife will be eligible for IBR foregiveness in 21 years (she’s been paying $0 for 4 years now).

The question: if we consolidate, do the clocks reset? Will I lose my 1 year of PSLF, and will my wife lose her 4 years of IBR payments?

Are you really a judge?

The clock metaphor is useful for the longer-term IBR forgiveness, but NOT for PSLF.  PSLF is measured by number of qualifying payments towards forgiveness (you need 120 which takes at least 10 years to make).  BEWARE that consolidating a loan upon which the borrower had already made qualifying payments is likely to be interpreted as wiping out those previously made qualifying payments and putting that borrower back to square one.  Now, that’s not the only possible interpretation but the Dept of Ed has indicated that they plan to go that way (in spite of my protestations).  See, consolidation repays the underlying loans and a new loan is issued.  Upon its birth, there would have been no payments made on the brand new consolidation loan.

Good question.  This situation is what I like to call a trap for unwary borrowers.  Not cool.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to this and my other question, and for doing so in such clear and direct language.

It’s quite a headache to try and navigate this stuff, and finding answers in government documents is near impossible.