Do you ever feel like you’ll be retired before you have paid off your student loans? Well, in certain situations, you can have your federal student loans forgiven, canceled, or discharged. That means you won’t have to pay back some – or all – of your loans.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is the most common way people apply to have their student loans forgiven. But there are other ways to qualify for loan forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge, including:

• If you are a teacher
• If you are a government employee
• If you work for a nonprofit organization
• If you are a nurse, doctor, or other medical professional
• If you have a disability
• If you repay your loans under an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan

In some cases, your school’s actions could be the basis for discharge of your loans. For instance:

• If your school has closed
• If your school misled you

You might also be able to get your loans discharged in the following situations:

• If you’re a federal Perkins Loan borrower
• If you’re a parent borrower
• If you’re a victim of forgery
• If you’ve declared bankruptcy
• Discharge due to death

More information about loan forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge can be found at https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation.

It is important to know that if you do not qualify for loan forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge, you must repay your loan, whether or not you complete your education, find a job related to your program of study, are happy with the education you paid for with your loan, or were a minor (under the age of 18) when you signed your promissory note or received the loan.

Joel Huffer is Corporate Communications Officer at F&M Trust.