If you receive a deferment or forbearance during your volunteer service, you can use the transition
payment that you receive after completing your period of Peace Corps service or the Segal Education
Award you may receive after AmeriCorps service to make a lump sum payment on your Direct Loans.
If you use some or all of your Peace Corps transition payment or AmeriCorps Segal Education Award
to make a lump sum payment on your Direct Loans, you will receive credit for up to 12 qualifying
payments for PSLF. The number of payments for which you receive credit is determined by dividing
the amount of your lump sum payment by your scheduled full monthly payment amount, but you may
not receive credit for more than 12 monthly payments toward the PSLF payment requirement.

As an alternative to receiving a deferment or forbearance during your volunteer service and then using
your Peace Corps transition payment or Segal Education Award to make a lump sum payment on your
loans, you could choose to not request a deferment or forbearance and instead make qualifying PSLF
payments during your volunteer service, the same as borrowers who make qualifying payments while
employed by any other qualifying employer. If you repay your Direct Loans under the IBR plan, Pay As
You Earn plan, or ICR plan, your required monthly payment is likely to be an amount that you can
afford even while you are performing volunteer service and receiving very little income. For some
borrowers, the required monthly payment amount under one of these repayment plans may be zero.

If you do not request a deferment or forbearance and instead make payments under the IBR, Pay As
You Earn, or ICR plan while performing your Peace Corps or AmeriCorps service, you may be able to
receive credit for a larger number of qualifying PSLF payments than would be the case if you receive a
deferment or forbearance and then use your Peace Corps transition payment or Segal Education
Award to make a lump sum payment on your Direct Loans. This is because you can receive credit for
a maximum of only 12 qualifying PSLF payments if you make the lump sum payment, but each
payment you make under the IBR, Pay As You Earn, or ICR plan (including a scheduled payment
amount of zero) while you are serving as a full-time Peace Corps or AmeriCorps volunteer would
count as a qualifying PSLF payment if it meets all of the requirements described elsewhere in this
document.

Keep in mind that if you choose to make payments under the IBR, Pay As You Earn, or ICR plan
during the period of your Peace Corps or AmeriCorps service, you will be required to annually provide
updated income information and certify your family size. In addition, if you choose this option and
receive credit towards PSLF for the qualifying payments you made while serving as a full-time Peace
Corps or AmeriCorps volunteer, you cannot receive credit for additional qualifying payments by using
your Peace Corps transition payment or Segal Education Award to make a lump sum payment on your
Direct Loans.

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