Federal employees are eligible for up to $60,000 in student loan repayment from participating federal agencies over 10 years. In 2009, 36 agencies provided over $61 million to repay loans for 8,454 employees. To qualify, employees must commit to staying at the agency for 3 years. The most common jobs that received repayment in 2009 were attorneys, criminal intelligence analysts, and contract specialists. Eligible degrees are not regulated but agencies often focus on hard to fill positions.

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Federal Student Loan Repayment Program
Federal employees are eligible to receive up to $60,000
QUICK FACTS
($10,000 a year) from participating agencies in this
program towards the payment of their educational loans.  In 2009, 36 federal agencies provided 8,454
employees with more than $61.8 million in
This program requires the employee to make a three year
student loan repayment benefits.
commitment to the agency/department that provided the
repayment. If a student transfers to a different agency  Agencies may offer student loan repayment
benefits in conjunction with recruitment and
while benefiting from the program, the new employer is
relocation bonuses and retention
not required to continue financial support. Should the allowances.
employee become unemployed by the agency during the
three year timeframe, the recipient is required to pay back  Some agencies also have tuition assistance
Who is Eligible?
programs. Contact an agency representative
the amount in full to the agency. to find out if their organization participates in
such a program.
For more information, visit:
www.opm.gov/oca/pay/studentloan/index.asp
• Permanent employees (including part-time employees)
• Employees serving on excepted appointments with
conversion to term, career, or career conditional TOP LOAN REPAYMENT AGENCIES
appointments (including, but not limited to, Career Intern or In 2009, 23 of the 36 agencies that participated
Presidential Management Fellows appointments) in the Federal Student Loan Repayment Program
invested more than $200,000 in their employees;
• Temporary employees who are serving on appointments including (in order of amount paid):
leading to conversion to term or permanent appointments
• Justice
• Term employees with at least three years left on their • Defense
How Do I Apply?
appointments • State
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• Government Accountability Office
• Health and Human Services
Current or potential federal employees may contact their
employing agency for further information. Each participating • Agency for International Development
agency must develop a plan that describes how the agency • Veterans Affairs
What Academic Areas Are Covered?
operates its repayment program.
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• Homeland Security
• Energy
There are no laws regulating which degrees can and cannot be
• Agriculture
covered by this program; however, agencies are encouraged to
tailor their plans to recruit highly qualified candidates for hard to • Housing and Urban Development
fill positions. Therefore, an agency may specify the types of
Jobs that Get the Most Assistance
degrees and levels necessary to participate in the program. • Interior
• Transportation
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Treasury
Number of federal employees who received student loan aid in
2009: • Office of Special Counsel
Attorney 810 • Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Criminal Intelligence 748 • Labor
Miscellaneous Administration 542
• Government Services Administration
Intelligence 456
Contract Specialist 435
GAO Analyst 364
Management and Program Analysis 345
Source: “Federal Student Loan Repayment Program Calendar Year 2009: Report to the
Congress,” Office of Personnel Management, August 2010.
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