PSLF Weighted Average Rule Explained

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) has long been a lifeline for teachers, nurses, social workers, and other public sector employees carrying student loan debt. But the rules around consolidation (the process of combining multiple federal loans into one Direct Consolidation Loan) have shifted over time, often leaving borrowers confused.

Under earlier rules, consolidating wiped out your progress entirely, resetting your PSLF payment count to zero. Then came a one-time PSLF waiver, which let borrowers lock in the highest count from any loan - a major win for those with older debts.

That waiver ended in 2023. Now, as of Sept. 1, 2024, the Department of Education has adopted the weighted average rule as the default. This new rule assigns a weighted average of your PSLF payment count to your new consolidation loan.