The Institute for Student Loan Advisors (TISLA), a leading provider of fair, free and expert student loan advice to consumers, today announces the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Lines for Life, and The Family Institute at Northwestern University have all joined its Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Peace of Mind™ program.

“We are thrilled to join with more nonprofit employers to give their public service workers Peace of Mind on their student debt,” said Betsy Mayotte, TISLA president. “As a nationally recognized expert in PSLF, TISLA gives employers a powerful employee recruitment and retention tool, by providing confidence to their employees that they are on track to receiving the student loan forgiveness they deserve. Especially during these economically trying times, we can give public service workers peace of mind that they don’t have to leave the field they love for a higher paying job in the private sector.”

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is meant to be a strong incentive for college-educated workers with federal student loan debt to enter and remain in public service. After a borrower has made 10 years of payment while working at an eligible nonprofit employer, generally defined as government employers (federal, state, local or tribal) and 501(c)(3) non-profits, the program promises the federal government will fully forgive the balance on certain federal student loans.

However, in the five years since borrowers first became eligible for PSLF, government data shows that only 1% who applied for the program have actually received forgiveness of their debt. A complex application process, confusing program rules and misinformation to consumers have all combined to stymie millions of borrowers from receiving the loan forgiveness they earned. While the federal government announced several temporary waivers in 2022 to help make the program more accessible, these waivers have only added additional levels of confusion and anxiety.

TISLA’s Peace of Mind program provides guidance and a level of comfort to employees who wish to pursue the PSLF program. POM provides education, content and counseling at both the employee and employer level while allowing the employer to utilize PSLF as a powerful recruitment and retainment tool.

The program can only be utilized by PSLF eligible employers and consists of a robust on-boarding component as well as on-going support. Services include:

•  Live PSLF training and counseling for employees

•  Continuous content to ensure employees stay on track

•  Annual email campaigns to remind staff of their recertification requirements

•  Interactive training modules that can be integrated into new employee orientation

•  Training for HR staff on their role in employment certification

•  Dedicated counseling via email and phone

•  Special counseling geared towards older borrowers and those with Parent Plus loans

•  Add-on tools that outline additional strategies for repaying student and parent loans

“Our people are getting expert, independent advice for navigating the maze of student loan repayment,” said Dwight Holton, CEO of Lines for Life, a regional Oregon non-profit dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide. “Betsy and her team bring a combination of expertise and passion that is helping our team get peace of mind in the very nerve-wracking work of dealing with student loans.”

Lines for Life joins the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and The Family Institute at Northwestern University, one of the nation’s leading relationship-based behavioral health organizations committed to strengthening and healing children and adolescents, couples, families and individuals, to become the most recent nonprofit employer partners with Peace of Mind. To date, TISLA has helped thousands of student loan borrowers successfully pursue student loan forgiveness, whether through PSLF or other federal student loan options that offer forgiveness, such as Total and Permanent Disability Discharge and Income-Based Repayment.

To learn more about PSLF Peace of Mind, employers can contact Betsy Mayotte at betsy@freestudentloanadvice.org. To learn more about TISLA and access free student loan information and advice, visit www.freestudentloanadvice.org.