How do the PSLF servicer officials check whether your employer qualifies for PSLF? While researching the recent PSLF statistics from the GAO Report, we found that the following sources are used: IRS list of 501(c)(3) organizations, government websites, and private websites:
“Education directs the PSLF servicer to review the Internal Revenue Service’s public list of 501(c)(3) organizations to identify qualifying nonprofit employers. Since this list does not capture all potentially qualifying nonprofits, the PSLF servicer supplements this with other sources that have not been fully reviewed or assessed for accuracy by Education. For example, PSLF servicer officials told us they use an online directory of nursing home facilities to help determine if certain nursing homes are nonprofit employers. However, this website explicitly states that it does not guarantee that the information it provides is accurate or current. PSLF servicer officials also said they sometimes use state government websites to research organizations’ nonprofit status, but they only have access to the relevant information from states that provide it for free. For assessing government employers, Education directs the servicer to www.usa.gov, an official federal government website that describes government agencies and services, but this source provides limited information on state and local government employers. In addition, PSLF servicer officials said it is particularly difficult to assess certain types of employers, such as quasi-governmental entities and charter schools. PSLF servicer officials said that when they are uncertain whether an employer qualifies, they elevate the assessment to Education, but they generally try to resolve as many employer determinations as possible by using supplemental sources to research employers.” Page 18 of GAO Report. (https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/694304.pdf)
The GAO Report also touched on the possibility of creating a database of qualifying employers:
“Education officials said they are considering creating their own list of qualifying employers and are investigating how to leverage information from other federal government agencies that could be useful for categorizing employers. In particular, Education officials said they have reached out to the Internal Revenue Service to explore the feasibility of obtaining relevant data on employers. Education could also expand and improve on a database that the PSLF servicer created based on its prior assessments of employers.” Page 19 of GAO Report. (https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/694304.pdf)
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