PSLF

Last Nations seeks to assist ministers of the gospel to go to the unreached with a solid plan for their student debt. Therefore, Last Nations receives tax-deductible donations for those within the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and invests them tax-free through low-risk methods. If the student’s debt is forgiven, these donations will be used to advance the gospel among unreached peoples, per the donor’s delegation. If the student’s debt is not forgiven, these donations will be used to help offset the student’s loan burden in exchange for a certain time of service living among unreached peoples overseas.

Background

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is a United States governmental program offered to people with student debt who will pay an income-based minimum monthly payment on their loans while working for a nonprofit for a total of 120 months, then their entire governmental student debt is forgiven. 

There are many aspiring and active missionaries who are signed on with this program yet do not have assurance that the United States government will keep this program alive throughout the decade of them being in it. If the program falls through, those with potentially $200,000+ in debt will be in quite a predicament.

Without a sure plan in place, some mission agencies and churches delay missionaries from going because of their student debt. 

Last Nations’ Program for PSLF

Last Nations seeks to assist ministers of the gospel to go to the unreached with a solid plan for their student debt.

Here is how it works:

Step 1 - Receive the Donations - Last Nations receives donations on behalf of those in PSLF who are aspiring to work or actively working among unreached peoples overseas. Churches, friends, family members, and even the students can donate, indicating which approved student they would like to sponsor. 100% of the donations (i.e., 0% goes toward overhead) is kept for those bringing the good news of Jesus and His saving grace to those who have never heard. In general, students are expected to raise their own funds.

Step 2 - “Package” the donations - Donations are “packaged” into $10,000 Last Nations Accounts. If a donor gives $10,000, then the donor remains the Delegate for that Last Nations Account.

Step 3 - Invest - Last Nations invests the donations in low-risk investment methods— allowing the donations to grow tax-free. 

Step 4a - If the US government does away with the PSLF program and the PSLF missionaries are NOT “grandfathered-in,” then these invested Last Nations funds will help offset the cost of student loans as long as the missionaries are living and working among an unreached people group overseas. 

Depending on the amount received and the income potential if worked in the USA: In-debt missionaries are contracted to continue to serve as missionaries overseas among an unreached people group for a certain number of years.

  • For example, if their trade on average would earn less than $50,000/year in the USA, then every $10,000 they receive in debt repayment will equal 1 year of committed service. 

  • Or, if their trade on average would earn between $50,000 - $100,000/year in the USA, then every $20,000 they receive in debt repayment will equal 1 year of committed service. 

  • Or, if their trade on average would earn above $100,000/year in the USA, then every $50,000 they receive in debt repayment will equal 1 year of committed service. 

Step 4b - If the missionary’s student debt is forgiven, then the Last Nations Accounts are transferred to the normal Last Nations Investment funds with their designation still attached and can be distributed according to the Last Nations Distribution Plans.  

How do you track the money and its growth?

As an example…

(a) Imagine there were a total of 100 PSLF accounts with each having the $10,000+

(b) Now imagine that ONE student’s debt is forgiven by PSLF and that student had been sponsored by 10 Last Nations accounts.

(c) Now imagine, because of tax-free growth throughout the years without taking money out, the entire amount that is in the Last Nations PSLF-designated money market fund is $1,300,000.

(d) Divide the total money by the 100 total accounts = $13,000.

(e) Now multiply $13,000 x the 10 accounts assigned to this student = $130,000 to get the *Total for this Student.* Now divide the *Total for this Student* by $10,000 to make the number of *New Last Nations accounts for this Student* accounts and you get 13 *New Last Nations accounts for this Student.* The money originally given to the student ($100,000) will have grown (now $130,000).

What if PSLF falls through but the missionary is no longer serving among the unreached overseas?

If the missionary is no longer serving among unreached peoples overseas, then the donations will be distributed to other missionaries who are. If a donor gave $10,000, then he/she gets to decide to which Last Nations approved missionary the donation goes. For the accumulation of smaller donations that reach $10,000, the originally sponsored student will decide which missionary. 

How could the Sponsored Student use the funds if his/her loans are forgiven by PSLF?

Each Last Nations $10,000 account will be used per the advice of the donor (or delegate donor, which would likely be the Sponsored Student in this case), all this within the scope of the Last Nations Distribution Plans.