I noticed it was very quick for FSA to take away QPs a couple months ago but now that we need our QPs to show up it’s taking 90 plus days. Make it make sense because I am lost!

Woke up today - exactly 1 year and 1 day after submitting my buyback request - to an email regarding an important PSLF update in my inbox. Could it be they processed my buyback?! Could I finally be done?!

NO! Just a reminder to recertify the employment I shouldn’t have to recertify anymore. So to save anyone else the disappointment and frustration, here ya go. The subject line is “Action needed for your PSLF/TEPSLF form” and the body of the email said “There's an update related to your progress toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) that may require you to take action. Log in to My Activity to see the latest information and next steps to take.”

I just spoke with a wonderfully unhelpful agent from FSA regarding my ECF submitted on October 7th.

She simply stated over and over that it takes 3-5 weeks for this paperwork to process. I have never heard of the paperwork taking that long - I have had several instances where I submitted my ECF and it was then updated within the week to reflect it accurately. Was I lucky or is this the same garbage that FSA is now pulling for those of us close to 120? According to them, I am 115/120 but my August and now October payments are not showing up - even though it is screenshotted on Mohela's website that my payments for those months are on time and went through.

My 120th payment should be on December 31st with January being the last month of payment (I like paying a day early so I don't forget to pay on the 1st of each month when it is due). I have gotten notices to "recertify" my income for my IDR plan because January is supposed to be my 12th month. I am worried that I will need to pay 1-2 months of a much higher amount because FSA is so f*cking incompetent and refuses to update months, can't "find" months, or are just criminal and wants to screw us that are close to forgiveness.

For those who are close to 120, is anyone in the same boat? Are you paying an extra month? Is anyone at risk of paying a much higher amount bc of lost months?

This is wildly frustrating being told I need to wait until "paperwork is processed" even though a separate rep told me last week that ECF's should be updated on 10/15.

It feels like a trap....I have read so many horror stories of incorrect payments being processed once you give them access to your checking account for autopay. So, are you taking the 1% autopay discount through June 2028?

Hi there,

I’m 8 days from my 90 days notice expiring and needing to pick a plan. I have hit my 120 months during my SAVE forbearance and am waiting to hear back on a buy back request(submitted January of this year). I’m about to have my first kid and am concerned about having to add an additional monthly payment.

What is the best course of action? Just start paying the lowest monthly payment I can get between the PSLF eligible payments? Any other options? Servicer is Mohela.

Thanks for all advice and guidance!

I have read every post for months and I am still confused and frustrated and overwhelmed.

I am supposed to hit my 120 in November. I plan to apply for buyback 21 months because of the save pause. I plan to continue paying because I think I will hit 120 before I get a buyback offer.

I have seen different answers so my question is if I apply in November for 21 months buyback and continue to pay.. if I ever receive an offer will they take into considering the payments I continued to pay.. or is this an overpayment and I would get a refund someday if I choose to pay the buyback?

How long can we stay in forbearance? Part of me just wants to wait it out and wait for buyback because my payment now is MUCH higher than what it was on the save plan when it was paused.

Can I submit for buyback and then go into forbearance at a later date if I can’t make my payment or it goes up later?

I have had Nov 2026 on my calendar for years.. years it’s been my target goal because that’s when I know I can apply for forgiveness and the stress anxiety and sadness I feel that I am not able to do that because of something out of my control is so freaking frustrating.

In November I will hit 120 with 13 months requiring buyback.

I am weighing options right now on whether to request administrative forbearance or just keep pressing forward with payments to get things over with.

One complicating factor is my first five eligible payments. I consolidated my loans in October 2016 before I started my PSLF qualifying job in November. For the first six months following consolidation (Nov. 2016 - Apr. 2017) the loans were in administrative forbearance and were marked as ineligible for years.

When Biden took office he ordered DoED to review student loan accounts for accuracy. After my review was completed, five of my first six months were suddenly marked as qualifying.

I'm worried that if I request buyback and immediately go into forbearance, I will wait around for two years only to find out I'm five payments short.

Has anyone else dealt with something similar? Am I overthinking things?

I’m very aware of the issue going on with the payments not recording etc. I just made my last payment and I just realized I can’t fill out the Pslf form and put yes I’ve made 120 payments. At this point do I just need to wait till it updates or fill out the Pslf form and say no hoping the system catches it and says oh yea she made 120 payments?

I just cannot. Planned maintenance will end today 11am September 27th. The incompetence is expected. FSA and correct dates are seemingly impossible

Is this the fix we have been waiting for? I’m not optimistic that the fix will happen today but I am holding out hope. What are your thoughts?

Please help. I was set up to start paying back my loans in October under PSLF and PAYE. I recently enrolled into a master’s program and for some reason I automatically got a message stating that my loans were placed on deferment however I never applied to that. I want to pay my loans while in school as they will be cheaper and I am working at a place that counts payments for PLSF.

Why did this happen and how can I switch back? I already sent a message two weeks ago and haven’t heard anything back. What steps should I take next?

I had forbearance from 8/13/26-10/16/26 for processing forbearance for IDR recertification. My autopay still withdrew payments for August and September before I knew I was on a forbearance (wasn’t notified of forbearance until end of September). Turned off autopay and requested refund for August and September payment since I was on a forbearance. Refund processed and now Mohela says I am past due by more then 30 days for those payments. Has this happened you anyone else? Thank you!

As many have asked already about this but looking for clarification. I have scheduled autopayment on the 17th of each month. July, Aug, and Sept payments show as received. Since the 17th of Oct falls on Saturday, i checked my bank account and Mohela and see money hasn't been taken out or posted on Mohela. Should I be worried this months payment is late? and call to make the payment on Monday? I honestly don't want to wait 3 hours on the phone with mohela to get a vague answer.

Hi all,

I could use some advice. I have been working in an eligible job since 2016, have always submitted my employer certification forms each year, and earlier this year I met my 10 years of work. I was on the SAVE plan for 15 months of this time (I was automatically put into SAVE after the REPAYE plan was eliminated). I submitted my buyback request for the 15 months back in June and that is obviously still pending. I was required to choose a new plan by September 1 so I am now in the new RAP plan (I’m ineligible for PAYE based on when I took out student loans), and my first payment of over $1,000 (!) is due in 10 days. I submitted a general forbearance request about two weeks ago and I received an email from the US Department of Education on Friday saying there is a delay in processing general forbearance requests, that it could take 90 business days to process, and I am expected to make all payments until there is an application decision. I can’t afford to devote $1,000/month while this is general forbearance request is pending. Does anyone have advice as to what I should do?

Rant portion: I know this goes without saying, but if they just processed by buyback request, I could pay that amount (which would likely be much less than $1,000/month over the 15 months) and I could be done with this entire ordeal.

Did anyone else have this happen? After choosing a new repayment plan in light of the SAVE mess, I got a letter that said my auto pay was confirmed and that the first payment would be withdrawn on 10/13. That payment has NOT been withdrawn yet. That said, when I log into my account there is no balance due and it just says the next payment will come out on 11/13. I confirmed that autopay is set up and linked to my bank account. So, is this a me problem or a Mohela problem?!

Hello,

It appears I can't upload photos, but back in June my employer verified my public employment with the county where I work. I then received an email that verified this, and said no further actions where. When I login to studentaid.gov, the PSLF bar that tracks months still say that I have made 0 payments, even though I've made 4. Not sure what to do at this points.

The PSLF/TEPSLF Payment Progress tab said last updated August 5, 2026.

Hi all!

Getting ready to apply for PAYE and transition off of the SAVE administrative forbearance. I was working through the online FSA IDR Request Application and got to a field asking "Do you want to leave your loans in deferment or forbearance?" with a caption stating "If you leave your loans in deferment or forbearance, you won't make payments under your IDR plan until the deferment or forbearance ends."

If I say "Yes, leave my loans in deferment or forbearance." would my PAYE monthly payment be calculated now and then only be enforced once FSA moves me off of the SAVE administrative forbearance? I ask because currently my most recent tax return on file is from 2024. My concern is if I voluntarily remain in forbearance then my future PAYE monthly payment will be calculated using my 2025 return/a paystub from 2026 and therefor be more expensive.

More generally, what are the upsides and downsides of leaving my loans in the SAVE administrative forbearance after I submit an IDR request application?

I recently received two documents in my Mohela inbox. The first letter said that I have to pay 228 on 11/22/28. The second letter detailed a payment schedule for the next 195 payments. It said for a year starting from 10/2026 I would pay 228. Then for 166 payments, it will be $600. And for the last 8 payments, it would be $300. This is confusing to me as I am on pslf and already have a 91 payment count. It’s very frustrating because if it wasn’t for the forbearance, I would be 5 payments away from 120. Has anyone else received a letter like this?

I'm so confused...

For background, I made regular PSLF monthly payments (enrolled as soon I started my nonprofit job) starting in 2017, but then didn't pay during the pandemic (like most of us!) When SAVE came around I enrolled and continued to not make payments as the system told me it was in legal limbo, but then when Trump won, I assumed it might be held against me, so I switched back to a regular IDR and started making payments.

So now I'm seeing this "ineligible" for random months, where one month is listed as "ineligible" and then the next month is fine...and this is the error message I get "Reason(s) for Ineligible Status:Forbearance on Due Date."

But it's so confusing.. for example.why would a July 2024 payment be eligible, then the Aug 2024 is not, and then Sept 2024 is?? I guess my question is...why are random-ass months ineligible due to forbearance?

I feel insane...like how are random months being counted against me, when nothing changed in how I was tracking/working?

Has anyone successfully had an ECF processed recently? Missing counts aside, what was the approximate timeline?

Another week passes by with no update to the PSLF tracker. What do we do at this point? I’m close to 120 and getting frustrated because nothing is happening and we are being told empty promises. Anyone have any new info?

I know there’s been some fear and talk about automatic payments not going through on weekends so I just wanted to share some good news that my (new) 120th payment was posted today, Saturday. I have Mohela. I’ve been waiting for buyback for nearly a year and decided to keep paying and hit “120” today. Wish I could celebrate but hoping someday soon I will. Hang in there everyone. It’s been one moHELLa of a ride.

Hey everyone! Just posting bc my loan servicer is EdFinancial, and my PSLF app has been in limbo since May of this year when I first submitted it…my pay stubs were finally certified mid-August (over 2 months ago now), and I’ve heard nothing since. Customer service said to expect a max of 4 weeks of processing time and it’s been twice that. I’ve been given the runaround by their customer service…

Just wondering if anyone has experience with this loan servicer and what I should do next to try to get my PSLF set up? I’m pretty sure this is the last step I need, and my payment is overdue now and I don’t want to pay yet since it won’t go towards PSLF…thanks!

So I'm on PAYE plan with Mohela. My annual IDR recertification date was in January 2027; but I wanted to submit IDR recertification application earlier. So, I submitted one a few days ago and got a message / documentation that it has been approved. This is the message I got, but I'm confused:

"What Happens Next?

There is nothing you need to do at this time. We will send you your new Repayment Schedule after your current 12-month period expires."

Does this mean they'll send me my new repayment schedule AFTER January 2027 (after my current 12-month period ends) and continue current monthly payment at same amount until then? So do I still have to recertify again in January 2027? Or will my annual ID recertification anniversary date reset to October now that this new IDR recertification has been approved?

I am not close to 120 yet (about halfway including save purgatory), but I did submit to buy back these save forbearance months. This got me thinking, what happens if you spend so long waiting on buyback that you reach 120 without buyback? Like if my buyback months would have been at 80 a month for two years, and instead I pay $400 a month for two years because buybacks don't get processed, am I just out that $7600 extra? Or do they acknowledge that instead of $9600 I should have only had to pay $1920?