PSLF qualifying attending jobs

[RookTookIt]

Does anybody have insight into how common it is for ophtho attendings to work somewhere that qualifies for PSLF? Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Equality]

Most academic institutions qualify.

 

[hoosierdude]

I know the scope of this thread doesn't include much for opinions, but I think the prospect of PSLF panning out for ophthalmology looks somewhat grim. Sure, there are academic positions, and most fellowships should count towards your ten years. However, I'd imagine they are fairly scarce compared to other hospital-oriented fields of medicine such as int med, gen surg, etc... and some would probably require a fellowship before you could be appointed. I'm not saying you shouldn't do a fellowship, but it's just a potential added hoop to jump through to possibly get the PSLF benefit.

 

[airplanes]

I know the scope of this thread doesn't include much for opinions, but I think the prospect of PSLF panning out for ophthalmology looks somewhat grim. Sure, there are academic positions, and most fellowships should count towards your ten years. However, I'd imagine they are fairly scarce compared to other hospital-oriented fields of medicine such as int med, gen surg, etc... and some would probably require a fellowship before you could be appointed. I'm not saying you shouldn't do a fellowship, but it's just a potential added hoop to jump through to possibly get the PSLF benefit.

There is one thing to note about PSLF. The amount of money that you let sitting there accruing interest will later become taxable income for you (i.e., the amount forgiven will be greater -- but that amount forgiven is considered taxable income once you get the loans "forgiven"). Even though you technically didn't get "paid," you received that forgiveness as a sort of government-sponsored gift.

Another item is that nobody, in any field of medicine, has actually benefited from the PSLF yet because it hasn't been present for 10+ years yet to pay out. Once the government realizes how much money they are forgiving (albeit it is taxable income as per above), I honestly think the government will stiff us because I don't think we were designed to be in that category of citizens that need a lot of aid (however, I would argue that we are, but politicians and the public likely don't). It's going to be very hard to believe the government will be true to their word when they are wanting to cut costs in any way possible to mitigate that hefty deficit we have. And, DJT wants to spend a HUUUGE amount of money on military spending and divert money from other government funds towards that. So, you can hope that it pans out, and I hope it does. However, I'm pretty skeptical right now, and I will be paying off my government loans ASAP when I can instead of letting them sit there.

Bump from the past because there is a some misinformation in this post, and also an update as the first set of physicians are starting to receive forgiveness:

Any amount forgiven under PSLF is NOT considered taxable income. Loans forgiven after 25 years of payments under IBR or other income-based plans are taxable but not PSLF. Source: Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Here is a doctor from Reddit who received ~185k in forgiveness.

There was also talk of ending PSLF late last year but it was never really brought to the table and no serious discussions were held. It would take an act of congress to rescind it, and even then, current borrowers enrolled in the program have a decent chance of being grandfathered in. If you are interested in PSLF, one way to hedge your bets would be to save as if you were paying off your loans and keep it aside in case the program falls through.

With regards to academic/501c3 positions in Ophthalmology, I agree they are certainly out there but likely are not for everyone. If however, you're dead set on academics, PSLF is a viable option and should certainly be considered. Of course, everyone's personal and loan situation is different so do your due diligence.

 

[Equality]

Thank you for that post.

To clarify, working the following employers qualify for PSLF.

• Government organizations at any level (federal, state, local, or tribal)
• Not-for-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
• Other types of not-for-profit organizations that are not tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, if their primary purpose is to provide certain types of qualifying public services

Source: studentaid.ed.gov

So you could work for the VA system, native american reserve, or academic institutions after training to continue the PSLF 120 payments.

 

[MstaKing10]

There have been lawsuits against lenders regarding misleading information that led some to believe they qualified for pslf when in fact they didn’t. The program itself seems to be a patch for a much larger problem: govt backed loans driving up college and professional school costs to ridiculous levels. The solvency of the program seems questionable. I hope college and medical students are not planning their finances based on this program. Moreover, keeping debt for so long and working relatively lower paying public sector jobs may not be the wisest financial decision. Understandably finances should not be the only factor in job choice so those interested in public sector jobs should certainly take advantage of the program. But as has been mentioned before, due diligence is critical to assure things play out as anticipated. Just my 2 cents

 

[hoosierdude]

Bump from the past because there is a some misinformation in this post, and also an update as the first set of physicians are starting to receive forgiveness:

Any amount forgiven under PSLF is NOT considered taxable income. Loans forgiven after 25 years of payments under IBR or other income-based plans are taxable but not PSLF. Source: Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Here is a doctor from Reddit who received ~185k in forgiveness.

There was also talk of ending PSLF late last year but it was never really brought to the table and no serious discussions were held. It would take an act of congress to rescind it, and even then, current borrowers enrolled in the program have a decent chance of being grandfathered in. If you are interested in PSLF, one way to hedge your bets would be to save as if you were paying off your loans and keep it aside in case the program falls through.

With regards to academic/501c3 positions in Ophthalmology, I agree they are certainly out there but likely are not for everyone. If however, you're dead set on academics, PSLF is a viable option and should certainly be considered. Of course, everyone's personal and loan situation is different so do your due diligence.

Thanks for clarifying. I think when I posted that original post, the PSLF website did not address that issue, but it looks like it has clarified. I will update the original post as to not confuse people in the future.