u/dingusberrys

Posting my full PSLF Buyback timeline as a data point for the Nov 2024 Buyback cohort. I posted previously about my situation, including a 2024 lump-sum payment that is also supposed to be refunded, so I wanted to provide an update now that the loans are officially gone.

• 11/4/2024: Submitted a PSLF Buyback reconsideration case. Case number started with 235.
• 7/24/2026: Received my Buyback offer. The amount was pretty close to what my monthly payment would have been under SAVE.
• 7/24/2026: Paid the full Buyback amount the same day.
• 7/24 onward: I called both MOHELA and FSA every day trying to confirm that the payment had been received. I previously had issues with MOHELA applying payments correctly, so I was nervous about this part. Unfortunately, neither MOHELA nor FSA could really give me a clear answer and they kept directing me back to each other.
• 8/14/2026: Received notice from FSA that my loans would be forgiven.
• 8/16/2026: Received notice from MOHELA that my loans had been discharged.
• 8/19/2026: FSA now shows the green banners and $0 balance.

From submitting the reconsideration case to forgiveness was about 21 months. Total forgiven was approximately $250,000.

One other piece is still outstanding. I had a lump-sum payment from 2024 that is supposed to be refunded as part of this process. I have not received any update on that refund yet, but I'll update this post if that changes.

I recently received a PSLF Buyback offer - two years in the making. The buyback covers from Jul 24 to Nov 24, for an amount of $1500. Obviously looking to quickly pay before they change their minds.

Here's where I'm confused though. In Aug 24, my employer made a lump sum payment of about $4k as a retention award. This was around the time I was placed onto SAVE from REPAYE and then under forbearance.

At the time, I specifically called MOHELA and asked if the excess payment could be applied toward future months or a buyback. When the payment counts were being adjusted I figured I’d hit 120 as part of that exercise, so I wasn’t too concerned with how the payment may be applied in the future. That’s said, I was told they couldn't do it at that time because of the SAVE transition, but that it could be addressed later.

Now I've received my buyback agreement, and it shows:
July 2024: Full payment deficiency
August 2024: Partial credit
September-November 2024: Full payment deficiencies

When I called MOHELA today, the representative told me that applying a lump-sum payment to future IDR months wasn’t possible, which seems to directly contradict their published policy and what I was originally told. They couldn’t explain how an only have partial credit for Aug 24 when a payment of $4k was received for what was at the time a monthly payment of $300.

In lieu of applying the lump sum, the supervisor initiated a refund request for the lump sum payment, under the idea that I would receive that check, and then send in a new payment back to MOHELA. The rub there, beyond if that’s even a real option, is that the refund won’t arrive for 90 days, but I need to pay the buyback amount before then.

What I need help with - Has anyone successfully challenged MOHELA's allocation of a lump-sum IDR payment? Is this something I should escalate with MOHELA, FSA, or the PSLF Reconsideration team?
I'm planning to pay the buyback before the 90-day deadline because I don't want to jeopardize forgiveness. I'm just trying to understand why I have a partial payment for Aug, why that can’t be applied towards the buyback, and if what MOHELA is attempting with a refund is permitted under the FSA policy.