r/PSLF

Just wanted to say I’m finally free from the federal student loan shackles after 10 long years. In the triple digits too. I am super thankful for you guys for answering questions, giving hope, ranting etc. I can’t wait until everyone gets their loans forgiven! I am rooting for you and everyone else burdened with student loan debt. Staying here to answer any questions or help people going through the process.

PS MOHELA is the worst. They sent me an email saying congrats on your loans being forgiven but of course it wasn’t reflected on the website, i knew that would take a while. I call them and they said they’re waiting for dept of Ed and don’t have anything… so what prompted their email??? I then call dept of Ed and God bless the ppl left there, lady tells me MOHELA reps on the front end usually have no clue about the discharge process and that it takes a little time after dept of Ed notifies mohela about the PSLF payments and form being approved. But she laughed and said now how would they know to congratulate you if we never contacted them 🙄

Thankfully i think me nudging dept of Ed to reping mohela (who was sitting on their butts) helped move things along. All that to say once your form is approved, nudge dept of Ed and make sure mohela was notified and vice versa…

Officially at $0 on the federal site today! I can't believe it. I never thought it would actually work. Like it was an extended prank and I'd be paying on these loans forever. But I'm done! $85k in my rearview mirror. Such a great feeling.

Now, how do I get my overpayment/surplus back? Anyone? Aidvantage is(!!was!!) my servicer

The green banners didn’t feel real. The Golden Letter felt like it could be taken back. Mohela zeroing out online while still sending me letters about my new standard repayment payments felt like a cruel joke. But I logged in to StudentAid this morning and the dashboard said “Congratulations! You’ve paid off all your loans.”

I can finally breathe. My professional career has been public service oriented to pay off these law school student loans. I’ve endured some stuff no one should have to with the thought of “this will be worth it in a few years when my loans are forgiven.” I’ll probably stay in public service for at least another year or two, but I now feel like I have the possibility of pivoting into something else.

And above all else, my financial net worth is no longer a negative number!

I've heard the advice to not request forbearance until the following month after you've submitted the ECF, but I'm nervous because calling MOHELA has been a nightmare for people. On hold for 4 or 5 hours sometimes.

I initially applied in March of 2025 to get 9 SAVE forbearance months bought back (case 277xxxxx). I submitted reconsideration in August '25 (case 305xxxxx). For some time since then, the webapp would not allow me to have reconsideration because I have one in progress.

In June '26 they said they closed my duplicate request. I just noticed that the number referenced in that email was the March case number. Today out of curiosity I went back to the webapp and saw that I could submit again (case 356xxxxx).

I have two potentially stupid questions. First, did they close the wrong (latter) case on me initially? Second, did I just screw myself by submitting another one?

I am sorry if this has already been asked before—wanting to make sure I am doing everything properly.

I made my 120th payment on 7/1 (due date 7/8). This payment is showing as posted on MOHELA.

I have submitted an ECF…as I have seen recommended online, I did NOT check the box for 120 payments. My employer has not yet signed this ECF.

After my employer signs it and it is processed, do I need to submit another form saying that I have made the 120 payments and requesting forbearance?

I’m trying to understand a PSLF/TEPSLF tracker change and would appreciate any insight from others. I've already combed the StudentAid.gov and Mohela, chatted with a StudentAid.gov chat rep (real person), and then went back and forth with ChatGPT at length to see if it gave me a better understanding. I still feel confused and tricked.

I’ve worked full-time for a PSLF-eligible employer since May 2018. Until this week, my StudentAid.gov tracker showed 87 qualifying PSLF payments, but after the recent July updates, it dropped to 67. The 22 removed months are September 2024 through June 2026.

Key details:

• Current repayment plan: Extended Fixed Repayment (Enrolled since Sept. 1, 2012)
• On StudentAid.gov, both PSLF and PSLF + TEPSLF now show 67 (previously TEPSLF was higher)
• I submitted a PSLF reconsideration request to understand the change

What I’m trying to figure out:

• Has anyone else seen a sudden drop in qualifying payments this week?
• Did Extended Repayment months recently stop being counted for PSLF/TEPSLF?
• Are those months permanently excluded, or is there any path for them to be counted later (TEPSLF or otherwise)?
• Why did my payments prior to September 2024 count (still Extended plan)?

Just trying to understand whether this is a system-wide recalculation or an issue with my account. I assume I won't hear back on the emails I sent FSA and Mohela for a few weeks/months, and this is all I've thought about today. I feel bait-and-switched. I would have changed anything in my account if I thought it was wrong, but the past two years of payments have been adding to the green bar! I submitted an IDR app today. Fingers crossed, since I also sent an IDR app in Dec. 2023 and it's still "In Review."

I feel like I just lost two years of my life.

I've enjoyed watching timelines near and at the end, so I'll share mine. Disclaimer: never fell into the SAVE trap. Most recent servicer is Aidvantage. On PAYE.

April 2026: Auto payment #119 followed by canceling auto-pay.

May 1, 2026: Made #120 manually, actual due date May 8.

May 11, 2026: submitted final PSLF form checking "I made 120 payments."

May 13. 2026: Green ribbons

June 1, 2026: called Aidvantage to be placed into forbearance. A bit scary. Read me a list of disclosures. It was approved and reflected same day on the servicer site.

June 25, 2026: Letter found in FSA indicating servicer would be notified of PSLF qualifications.

June 26, 2026: $0 reflected on Aidvantage.

June 27, 2026: Golden Letter from Aidvantage (inbox) reflecting Congratulations and zero balance loans!

July 6, 2026: Zero balance and dancing emoji's on FSA!

I followed the rules frequently and stressed plenty about this program and process. Consolidation back in 2022 (thank you Biden) to reach the highest count across all loans helped me greatly because I had a gap between undergrad and Grad school. COVID forbearance was nice as well!

Lastly, I was scheduled to recertify income in June, which I ignored.

Best Wishes to you all!

I am currently in review to be at 34/120 payments. I received notice from Nelnet I need to submit recertification my for IDR. I am currently on PAYE. It says this is ICR will be phased out. I am unsure what plan to pick. Should I stay on PAYE as long as possible? Any advice is appreciated.

All we had to do was recertify annually pay our “manageable” payments and be promised at the 10 year mark our hard work would be rewarded with forgiveness?

What I would do to go…

Just trying to make light of this very stressful time my brothers and sisters in Loans 😭

At month 8 of waiting for my Buyback.

Hi all! Currently residing in Texas with my husband and last year we MFJ because we didn’t think ahead and now this will be affecting my new payment. Our joint income last year was 94k which increases my payments from $115 on SAVE to roughly $450 on RAP. Next year I would like to file separately but we live in a community state (Texas). I was wondering if anyone had experience with filing separately to lower their payments. My spouse’s income will be increasing dramatically as he got a new job with a much higher income than our previous year.

Our numbers
My income: 57k on paper 51k take home
My federal debt: 97k as of today
My private loan debt: 113k (no forgiveness for these student loans)
His income: estimating 150k on paper
His federal debt: 17k
No children
Living in Texas.

According to the student loan calculator if we file separately I will have my payments go down to $250 which is way more manageable. He is currently on a standard plan because his debt is so low. Am I correct in going forward with MFS for next year? Since I have private loan payments that is why I’d like to MFS because I cannot afford both super high payments (private is 1200 a month already) This is also hopefully our last year in a community state. Texas also has no state taxes if that helps.

Just really want to make sure I’m planning correctly.

Something is malfunctioning on their electronic ECF function at the moment. Employers are not getting ECF emails and/or even after they signed, FSA is not getting updated.

I logged in today and see that I've been put on the IBR. I never sent in the application. The 10-year standard plan is the cheapest for me so I want to apply for that.

Can I apply for the new plan? Are we able to switch plan at any time? I also want to wait and see what might happen in a month or so. But I also worry that the they might mess with the payments and make them go up even more.

Any advice is appreciated!

115 payments confirmed as of 4/26. So 120 would be 9/26. My payment comes out 9/27/26. Starting new job at a NOT non-for-profit Oct 5. That would be fine right, because my 120th payment would’ve hit already?

I currently have $330,000 in student loans. I have 11 months of qualifying payments that I need to buyback, and my monthly payment is approximately $3,000.
I applied for the PSLF buyback in May 2026. While my application is being processed, should I request forbearance, or should I continue making my monthly payments in the hope that any payments made after reaching 120 qualifying payments in May 2026 will be refunded once my PSLF is approved?

Would love to hear all of your thoughts!

My payment is not that high I just don't want to deal with refunds.

Called in today to request forebearance, 50+ minutes to get a person who then immediately sent me to an 'advanced agent' with an estimated 3 hour 40 minute hold and no option for a callback.

My payment shows 0 due but also shows my standard payment scheduled to autopay.

Got my letter and see that Nelnet has zeroed out my loans. SWEET SWEET RELIEF!

Paid two extra months, letter says I’ll get reimbursed. I. CANNOT.BELIEVE. IT.

Your Student Loans Have Been Forgiven

Dear IAMCLAVO,

Congratulations! The U.S. Department of Education has forgiven all or a portion of your federal student loan(s) listed below with Nelnet as you successfully met the requirements of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) program.

Thank you for your public service!

This forgiveness is effective as of 04/30/2026.

With the Havens v Department of Education reaching a tipping point, I wonder what the future holds for PSLF borrowers and how they were shafted during the SAVE admin forbearance.

It seems like there is a lot of interest in trying to get the Dept of Ed to credit the admin forbearance months. I mean borrowers were forced into a new repayment plan, had no option to transfer out of the repayment plan, couldn't make payments, and when all is said and done, the only option is to go through a clunky, slow buy-back process to pay those forbearance months at a higher amount than they would have if SAVE had never happened.

Does anyone know who are the likely entities who will be the first to jump on a lawsuit so that I can follow them more closely?

I know I am not the only one this is happening to. I have Edfinancial, I applied for recertification of my IDR plan (have always been on PAYE) but I no longer have a partial financial hardship. I knew this would be the case and expect to have my payment set at the standard 10 year amount. I have 17 payment sleft.

I received a letter from Edfinancial saying I was denied IDR because my income was too high, but now my payment due shows $0.00. I do not want to lose months to forbearance or whatever they are doing in the meantime. What should I do?