Postdoc Appointees and Federal Student Loans
There are two main types of postdoctoral appointments within IU:
- FLP (FEL) awardees: externally funded awardees. They have a graduate student-like status. They are rare at IU Indianapolis except in the Schools of Medicine (IUSM) and Nursing. They are not considered employees/appointees.
- AC1/RSP: Full-time academic appointees. They are employees, and eligible for employee benefits: insurance and retirement. RSPs are not eligible for family formation leave.
In brief, FLPs as students but not employees, may be eligible for loan deferment, but not for loan forgiveness; AC1/RSPs as employees but not students may be eligible for loan forgiveness but not for loan deferment.
Relation to Student Loans
Public service forgiveness can be (possibly) used for full-time employees, that is, AC1s/RSP, not FLPs. Indiana University is a qualifying employer. Candidates would need to be full-time (30+ hours per week), and make payments on loans. After 120 months (10 years) of work for a qualifying employer and making payments and having the right types of loans, the balance may be forgiven [Summer 2023: federal rules about loan forgiveness are in flux].
For deferred payment of student loans, there are two options:
- Half-time or more student status. This requires being registered for at least 4 graduate credit hours, in a specific program. (In-School Deferment; half-time is sufficient for Direct Loans or Perkins Loans but full time (8 credits) is required for other types.)
- Graduate Fellowship status
According to U.S. Department of Education, Graduate Fellowship Deferral application, a qualifying fellowship involves:
- An initial application which includes statement of goals
- Periodic reports on progress towards those goals
- A specific start and end date (and at least 6 months long).
Special case: externally-funded postdoc fellowships (FLP status):
- NIH individual NRSA recipients, NIH training grants
- Fellows receive a modified, graduate student-oriented benefits plan
- These are more likely to qualify for loan deferment.
If an IU Indianapolis post doctoral appointment is not part of a particular externally funded program, in order to be considered for deferment their position needs to include:
- An application process, with a position (opportunity) description that specifies the period of time for the appointment (6 months to 3 years maximum), and requires the submission of a statement of goals by candidates. Templates available for IUSM.
- Periodic reports of progress towards goals; final report.
Provide copies of the application, reports and final report with dates to the post-doc for his or her future documentation, and to the school HR contact.
It is important to check federal government sources as to exact rules. View details about federal loan deferment. For postdocs with questions about what status you personally have, ask your department or school HR staff.
Reviewed and revised: 7/2023.