Savi Student Loan Assistance

The Federal Government has a program specifically for people who work for nonprofit, government or public sector employers. If you work for one of these employers, have Direct Loans, and make 120 monthly on-time payments, you may be eligible to have your remaining federal student loan debt forgiven tax-free.

Entering into PSLF or another forgiveness program requires a commitment to see it through to the end. Switching to an income-driven repayment plan (required if you are working towards PSLF) may actually cause your student debt to increase over time, which can be problematic unless you get forgiveness at the end. If you know you will not be working fulltime in a non-profit for 120 months, then forgiveness may not be the right path for you. Individuals may want to consult their personal tax or legal adviser before making any decisions regarding the status of their student loans.

PSLF is necessarily paired with an income-driven repayment plan. These are repayment plans that take into account your income, student debt, and personal situation and may result in lower monthly payments. The plans that qualify you for PSLF include IBR, ICR, PAYE, and REPAYE. The Standard repayment plan technically qualifies as well, but since this plan spans only 10 years, you wouldn’t have any balance left to forgive after 120 qualifying monthly payments.

Savi was started as a social-impact public benefit company. The people behind it are student loan experts, advocates and borrowers who have been fighting for many years to improve the broken student loan system. Savi realized that the 44+ million student loan borrowers needed better and more personalized information about how to manage and repay their debt. Savi helps people navigate the valuable but complicated federal programs available to people who work in public service. TIAA has a minority ownership interest in Savi.

SAVI is available to all regular benefit eligible employees.  While the Savi tool is being brought to NAU by TIAA, there is no connection to the retirement plans. You do not need to be a participant with TIAA now, or in the future, to take advantage of this service.

Between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, based on Savi’s internal measurements, Savi users saw average projected savings of $1,880 per year.

There are two service tiers available to borrowers. 1. A free calculator to assess their situation and get guidance on the best options available. 2. An optional fee-based service to administer the program’s ongoing paperwork requirements including annual reenrollment, employer certifications, and filing for PSLF credits with the DOE. This service helps borrowers avoid common and not-so-common errors and to stay in compliance with exacting rules. A portion of the fee may be shared with TIAA to offset costs to support the program.

Starting October 17, 2022, if you want to pursue PSLF, you may enroll in SAVI Essential concierge service to complete and manage the paperwork for the duration of the program at no cost.  You only need to provide your NAU email  to qualify for the service.

The annual fee for this service is normally $60, but NAU will pick-up the fee each year. This benefit is taxable, so employees who enroll in the Essential Service will see $60 added to their annual taxable income.

Student debt you’ve incurred on behalf of children (Parent PLUS loans) may qualify for relief. You may need to first consolidate them to Direct Consolidation loans; the tool will help steer you in the right direction.

To be eligible for forgiveness, you must be a full-time employee of an eligible public interest employer, that is, at a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit school, university or hospital; in government or approved governmental entities; or at a few other public interest organizations.

You need to recertify your income annually, but if your income decreases at any point OR you added a dependent (or even become pregnant), you can submit IDR paperwork to have your payment recalculated immediately to try to lower your monthly payments.

No. Once you’re a registered user on Savi’s website, you can try out the free tool first, and decide later if you’d like to take advantage of the optional administrative services available in the Savi Essential.

Starting October 17, 2022, if you want to pursue PSLF, you may enroll in SAVI Essential concierge service to complete and manage the paperwork for the duration of the program at no cost.  You only need to provide your NAU email  to qualify for the service.

The annual fee for this service is normally $60, but NAU will pick-up the fee each year. This benefit is taxable, so employees who enroll in the Essential Service will see $60 added to their annual taxable income.