Employees with the State of Maryland are eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. ​Participants that meet all requirements may qualify for forgiveness on the remaining balance on his or her Direct Loans after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time in a qualifying public service position. 

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a Limited Waiver to federal PSLF program rules, which allows borrowers who had the wrong type of loans or payments to get credit for past periods.  This means current and former State employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness under federal PSLF, even if the employee was previously unqualified or denied under the program. The waiver is available to borrowers until October 31, 2022.  

You can learn more about the waiver and if it applies to you here.

For additional guidance, please refer to the PSLF Help Tool.

Please read the FAQ linked below for additional guidance.

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Frequently Asked Questions​

Agency HR Contacts ​

Questions About Employment Verification?

DBM.PSD@maryland.gov 

Please Remember:  this opportunity is time sensitive.  Some borrowers will need to consolidate their loans before submitting a PSLF form.  All borrowers need to submit the PSLF form to their appropriate agency HR contact for certification before submitting the form to the U.S. Department of Education for processing.  It’s important for you to take the steps necessary to qualify for the Limited PSLF Waiver before October 31, 2022. Learn more about the Limited PSLF Waiver at StudentAid.gov/PSLFWaiver.

The SmartWork Student Loan Repayment Plan (SLRP) is a program that financially assists eligible State employees with one of their biggest financial burdens – repaying their student loan debt. This program was implemented in June 2018 when Governor Hogan issued an Executive Order directing the establishment of the SLRP to offer assistance to employees in certain hard-to-hire and hard-to-retain job classifications within State government.   

Effective June 30, 2021, SLRP has been closed to new applicants.

Employees who were accepted prior to July 1, 2021 may contact the SLRP Team at SmartWork.SLRP@maryland.gov​ for further assistance. 

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