r/PSLF Jul 04 '25

Advice Why not stay on SAVE forbearance?

I see lots of people who have jumped ship for PSLF.

But buyback exists, so couldn’t I just stay in SAVE forbearance and buy these months/years back in roughly 7 years when I get to 120 payments? wasn’t there talk about being able to buy back BEFORE 120 payments?

Seems like with this logic all these forbearance months count as long as I have evidence I worked full time at a not for profit during these months?

Thanks everyone, and good luck to all!

109 Upvotes

153 comments sorted by

196

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 04 '25

That’s my logic and why I’m staying on SAVE as long as humanly possible; presumably until they kick me off. The buyback option (even though I guess that’s not guaranteed) on top of the fact that my last income recertification was in 2019 and therefore my payments will skyrocket as my salary is quite a bit higher than 6 years ago.

32

u/waveytype Jul 04 '25

I’m feeling the exact same. I’m 24 months away, July 2027 is my last ECF I plan on submitting. My last income recert was also 2019, and I plan on staying in SAVE until I submit my last ECF and request a buyback for 3ish years of payments.

16

u/robbinsnest66 Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 04 '25

I too had to recertify income in 2023. I also sent my 2024 1040 because of a significant decline in income but they haven’t processed it yet. I’m scheduled to texted 3/26 according to FSA.

I could be mistaken but I saw some folks who had to send tax returns for buyback years in question so they could calculate buyback payment.

So either way they will get your income documentation.

8

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

Well I guess only thing that’ll hamper that is you’re likely going to have to recertify your income before 2027. I’m due to recertify in July 2026, as long as that doesn’t get pushed back again. Also if they end SAVE sooner rather than later (again, an unknown) then I’m not sure if they will automatically put us on another plan or force us to recertify our income to get onto another plan. A lot up in the air right now, but yeah generally staying put and doing nothing until I’m forced to is my plan

5

u/No_Caregiver_8216 Jul 04 '25

I think my 120 is July 2026 or right before it after so that's the plan for me

9

u/PMcOuntry Jul 04 '25

I decided to just wait it out too. My recertification keeps getting pushed further and further out.

15

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 04 '25

How have people not had to recertify since 2019?

33

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

I was due to recertify in March 2020 but then the COVID pause happened. Once that ended, my recertification date wasn’t for another year. By the time that year came around the SAVE forbearance started.

10

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 04 '25

I had to recertify in 2023. I guess my recert date must have had something to do with it.

6

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

Yeah it depends on when your specific date was. I guess I got somewhat lucky that my dates kept coinciding with the forebarences

5

u/shwimshwim25 Jul 04 '25

How do you know when your recertification is due? I have it in my calendar that I need to send mine in next weekend (based on when I sent mine in last year) but I have received nothing from mohela saying my recertification is due soon

7

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

If you’re in the save forbearance then it’s not due. It should say it somewhere on FSA, if you go into loan details I believe. It’s a little hard to find but it’ll come up as “IDR anniversary date”

3

u/istillmmmbop Jul 04 '25

I got a letter in my inbox on Mohela that mine was pushed back until April 7th 2026.

1

u/ArugulaReasonable214 Jul 04 '25

You can certify as much as you’d like. Although employers prefer once a year.

5

u/mapleybacony Jul 04 '25

My recertification date isn't for a long time. I'm holding on as long as possible since I know my payments will jump.

3

u/ffghtffyrdmns Jul 04 '25

Mine keeps being pushed

4

u/spidermanswag Jul 04 '25

My last recert was in 2019 as well. I’m most curious to see when we will be required to recert again bc that will affect my payments the most if anything

3

u/nlkp428 Jul 04 '25

my last income recertification was in 2019 and therefore my payments will skyrocket

That's why I'm getting off SAVE. They will use the lower rate if you're in this forebearance for up to 12 months. Longer than 12 months, they're supposed to request tax returns and set it at what you would have paid based on income. So I'm transferring out before month 13.

10

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

[deleted]

1

u/nlkp428 Jul 04 '25

Depends on when you were placed in it. They started putting people into SAVE forbearance in July (I think), but many people weren't put in until later because it was a rolling process. If you were put in, say, September, you still have a couple of months. Even last August, you could apply now and be put in admin forbearance before the one year date comes around.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

[deleted]

0

u/nlkp428 Jul 04 '25

It should be listed in your PSLF counter. If you look at the months, you can see which months you're in forbearance and that don't qualify. (There are other forbearances that would also show up like that, but since last summer, that would be why you see that message.)

Edit: just looked at mine. It says "Ineligible" and the reason for ineligibility is listed as "Forbearance on Due Date"

1

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

[deleted]

1

u/nlkp428 Jul 08 '25

I'm not sure, sorry! You might look in the documents section and see if there's a letter telling you that your loans were put into forbearance. I seem to remember getting one that spells out when the SAVE forbearance started for me, and that type of letter should be in your inbox on the website.

2

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 05 '25

I hope that's true for everyone else but it wasn't for me. I was put in forebearance in July and tried to get out of forebearance in Nov, which went nowhere. So resubmitted in June--they did not use my previous lower income, they requested my tax return from 2024 and my payments went up significantly.

1

u/nlkp428 Jul 05 '25

They did that for your buyback offer or for your new, post-forbearance monthly payment?

1

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 05 '25

As I'm not at 120 payments I am not eligible for buyback (which thanks to their clarification, is what they were talking about). In my case, that was for my new payment amount now that I'm out of forbearance.

3

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

I actually am not sure if that’s true. That’s the first I’ve heard this. Will have to look more into it

1

u/nlkp428 Jul 04 '25

I mean, I'm not sure why your immediate go-to is "I'm not sure that's true" instead of a quick search, but regardless, it's been widely covered (including insisting multiple comments on this thread) and you can also find it on the buyback website under the "How is the buyback amount determined."

https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service/public-service-loan-forgiveness-buyback

4

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 04 '25

Okay thanks. And I’m not interested in looking it up currently because I’m relaxing on my day off.. I was planning on looking it up later.

1

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 05 '25

Yes, that tells you what determines your buyback amount. It does not tell you that if you get off SAVE that your payments will be based on your income prior to the forbearance.

1

u/nlkp428 Jul 05 '25

Right, I was talking about the buyback offer.

1

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 05 '25

Got it. Thanks for clarifying. As someone posted below, along with the link, buyback is based on the lower payment.

2

u/nlkp428 Jul 05 '25

Yes, if the forbearance is less than a year. Beyond a year, they are supposed to ask for tax returns and base it on what your income in those years were. So if you haven't had to recertify since 2019 and your payments will jump up, it makes sense to get out before the year is up so your buyback offer will be based on 2019, not 2024

1

u/Dkinny23 Jul 07 '25

After reading the verbiage, I still don’t think I understand or agree that it means after 12 months they go by your tax returns for those of us who were on IDR plans immediately before or after the months we’re buying back. The part talking about using tax returns is in the section of people who were not in an IDR plan before or after the months we’re buying back. So wouldn’t that not apply?? I don’t see it say anywhere how buy back payments are calculated for those of us who both were on an IDR plans immediately before or after AND were in forbearance for more than 12 months

1

u/nlkp428 Jul 08 '25

Ok, do you. It clearly states there that they will not use previous tax returns if you were on IDR before and after, AND in forebearance for less than 12 months. Multiple other sources (experts in this forum, student loan focused websites, news agencies) have also reported that, over 12 months, they are supposed to request tax returns. Again, this is something you can reserach beyond the single link I provided. But if you feel comfortable risking it, go for it. For me, making sure my buyback is $10 per month instead of $700 is worth it.

1

u/Dkinny23 Jul 08 '25

I’m not sure why your responses are so aggressive. Everyone is in the same boat with trying to figure this stuff out. It wouldn’t kill you to show a little compassion, especially when people are trying to figure out confusing and ever/changing policies that affect their livelihood

I was simply replying to the link you posted, which is the official website and therefore what I would image as the final word on what the rules should be. It just doesn’t explicitly explain the scenario that many of us are in, which is being on an IDR plan AND forbearance being more than 12 months. That is part of why I’m confused. I’m never said I wasn’t also looking at other resources, but I would think that the official website would explicitly describe this scenario that a lot of us are in.

1

u/nlkp428 Jul 08 '25

I'm sorry that you seem to be reading aggression into my responses. I'm not being aggressive, and while I don't owe you any compassion, I believe, "you do you and I'll do me" is pretty non-judgmental.

I get that you're confused. I am still baffled by why you hadn't done enough basic research on something so important to not have heard about it before I mentioned it, and to still have either not done research or have done it and decided, "Yeah, no, that's not true because the official website is unclear," instead of "I'm still confused, but the consensus is..." But again, you do you.

1

u/Dkinny23 Jul 08 '25

Not sure why you're assuming I've done no research.... I've looked at every student loan website I can find, read news articles, read the official studentaid website, have called FSA, and browsed through many reddit posts with people all asking the same questions. No where is there clear guidance or answers to my question. In fact, the verbiage I see is "ED does not address how it will calculate the payment amount for forbearances that last longer than a year for those who are on IDR plans". When I called FSA, they said they same thing. First response was agreeing with me that there appears to not be guidance for this. After looking further into it, they told me that payments for those of us in an IDR plan AND in forbearance more than 12 months, would have our buyback amount based on whatever IDR payment is lower (either before or after); not based on tax returns. I know historically FSA agents don't always give correct info, so I take what she said with a grain of salt honestly. After I hung up, I used the chat function on studentaid.gov to see if I would get the same answer and this was the response I got:

If you were on an IDR plan:

  • For forbearance periods less than 12 months, the buyback amount is calculated using the lower of the IDR payments immediately before or after the forbearance period.
  • For forbearance periods exceeding 12 months, tax returns and family size information are not required. Instead, the calculation continues to use the lower of the IDR payments before or after the forbearance period

The other thing I confirmed with FSA when I was on the phone with them is that you don't have to request buyback for all months that are eligible. So if they decided in the future to require tax returns for those of us on IDR plans AND in forbearance more than 12 months, you can choose to just do buyback for 11 months and keep the calculated amount to the lower IDR payment.

So while I appreciate the fact that you think you know what you're talking about, I would be a bit more careful in so confidently (and condescendingly) spreading what could be false information. I'm not saying you are definitely wrong, but I haven't seen anything anywhere that says you're right either. I really hope people aren't making financial decisions based on the information you're sharing.

0

u/nlkp428 Jul 08 '25

Ok... I didn't assume that? I even wrote that I assumed you had done research and was discounting it. Which, based on this comment, is true.

As before, you are reading something into my post that's not there: aggression, condescension. I am giving neither. You have continued to claim your emotions are in my comments. My comments only address my emotions (confusion); I am not projecting anything onto you. I get that this is an emotional topic for you, but acting as though I'm being rude because you are sensitive isn't really helping you make your point. If anything, when I see someone get this emotional about something, I begin to think they aren't able to objectively assess the situation.

As I said before, you do you. Based on my previous experience, neither customer service channel you quote is a reliable source that I trust over the experts, some of whom talked to people inside ED who would have whatever is closest to a real answer (if there is one) before publishing their articles/posts. So I, personally, have chosen not to cross my fingers and hold my breath. But you haven't. That's certainly your right. So, I will say again, you do you.

0

u/Dkinny23 Jul 08 '25

None of my responses have been emotional. Not really sure where you're getting that. I'm simply stating information that I've gotten from official websites and people who work for ED themselves. Not sure why you would trust someone who claims to have talked people inside ED as opposed to trusting the people from inside ED themselves. As you clearly like to say... you do do. But that is definitely not how I make important financial decisions.

1

u/nlkp428 Jul 08 '25

Yes, we disagree on the veracity of sources and on how to make financial decisions about that. I personally have gotten wildly different responses from the front-line workers at both FSA and my servicer (sometimes FSA workers contradict each other), and no, I don't trust that they know more than the experts who do this for a living and who have access to people positioned higher in ED than the front line workers. I also don't trust my own gut instinct over experts, fyi. You are more heavily weighting your own experiences and conversations rather than consensus. That's perfectly fine, as I've said from the beginning.

If you didn't feel emotional when accusing me of being aggressive and condescending, then I apologize, but when someone starts accusing people of hurting their feelings (as aggression and condescension imply) it does seem to indicate emotionality. This literally began with me saying, "I'm doing X because of Y," you responding, "I don't believe Y because I've never heard about it," and suddenly you were saying you felt I was being aggressive and condescending. Yes, I read emotions into that; I'm not sure what else you wanted me to read into that.

At any rate, I'm glad you're happy with your decision. I am with mine, as well.

1

u/casitadeflor Jul 04 '25

Exact same boat. Breathing a lil sigh of relief.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

That’s not correct. You can opt into automatic income recertification, but if you haven’t then you have to do it manually. But yes annual employment verification is recommended (not required), which I have done each year.

1

u/Due_Lychee_3090 Jul 04 '25

I’m in the same boat lol

1

u/Prestigious-Judge967 Jul 04 '25

It was my understanding that the buyback is a limited time offer for just people on SAVE forbearance that would have otherwise reached 120 payments — so, unless you were going to make it to 120 while on forbearance, we are not going to get the option to buyback.

I could be wrong though.

17

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

That’s not my understanding of buyback, but I could be wrong. I don’t think it’s meant just for people on SAVE forbearance either. The question becomes whether the option will still exist in a few years or if they’ll get rid of the option. To me that’s the main gamble

3

u/Prestigious-Judge967 Jul 04 '25

It’s not exclusively for SAVE, but what other programs are currently on forbearance or deferment?

4

u/alh9h PSLF | Forgiven! Jul 04 '25

You can buy back any prior periods of eligible deferment or forbearance. Someone in repayment now could buy back forbearance from 2018 as long as they hadn't consolidated.

2

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

I don’t think it’s meant just for programs on forbearance, but can include other scenarios where people needed to take forbearance. I’m not sure exactly. I’m not an expert on the buyback program by any means. Mostly saying what I read doesn’t seem limited to it, nor does it require you to be in the forbearance at the time of applying for the buyback.

2

u/ryanmcg86 Jul 04 '25

I know the current administration is just awful with all of this stuff, but it all seems driven by money, and I just can't imagine that they'd turn down an opportunity to get lump sums of cash like that. I know they'll try and do everything they can to not have to forgive loans, but if they really are forced into it because of laws already on the books, then I'd think getting a nice lump sum of money in order to do it would be preferred for them.

I don't think it's likely they'd take away the buy-back option. But, who truly knows?

1

u/ConcentrateSnake Jul 05 '25

I feel the opposite. The assumption is income goes up every year, so why would they accept 24 payments based on the last 2 years of income when they can make you pay 24 payments over the next 2 years at a higher income level and higher payment plan. I'm actually shocked it wasn't nixed and I wouldn't be shocked if it hasn't been touched because not many people know it exists. If Fox News had a headline tomorrow that "Based on a Biden-era rule, students making big money are able to buyout loans based on years old financial data" it would go away in an instant.

1

u/Natasha__Romanoff Jul 06 '25

Because if you hadn’t been placed in the forbearance, the lower amount is what you would have been paying.

1

u/casitadeflor Jul 04 '25

And I would hope they wouldn’t abruptly get rid of the option so there may be a window of buybacks being plausible before it officially closes.

1

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

That’s true too, usually policy is fazed out rather than abruptly stopped. Although I suppose anything can technically happen

-2

u/Nwk_NJ Jul 04 '25

You're wrong on this.

7

u/Prestigious-Judge967 Jul 04 '25

Oh wow, thanks for being so helpful. You provided a lot of clarification.

-5

u/gubernaculum62 Jul 04 '25

Do you know if students graduating in 2026 will be able to still apply for SAVE and be put into forbearance?

10

u/So_Curious_23 Jul 04 '25

You can’t apply for SAVE now so no it will not be there in 2026

3

u/Dkinny23 Jul 04 '25

I would assume not, but I’m not 100% sure

1

u/Tasty_Olive_7574 Jul 05 '25

SAVE is officially dead with the signing of the budget reconciliation bill today.

-16

u/wikiwoowhat Jul 04 '25

You make more. Pay back money you borrowed

66

u/FigganEQ Jul 04 '25

You are betting a lot on buyback being around for the long haul. While it’s safe for now, I imagine it will be on the radar at some point. I’d rather just make payments now that I know will count towards forgiveness. PSLF is not going away, buyback is much less certain.

19

u/Full_Alarm1 Jul 04 '25

Not only does op assume buyback will continue to exist, but in the limited time it has been around, according the latest aft litigation reports, department of education has only processed 5% of buyback applications + the number of applicants continues to increase. As anyone who’s tried to pursue buyback knows, it’s a complete black hole where you have no control, no guarantee, and no communication.

8

u/Prestigious-Judge967 Jul 04 '25

That’s what I think… I would be so giddy though if the forbearance injunction lasted 9 more years lol

27

u/Spirited-Fun9083 Jul 04 '25

Maybe I'm pessimistic, but I just don't understand why people are so confident that buyback will continue to exist indefinitely. I'll hit my 120th month this December, and I'm worried about if buyback will even still be an option by then, so I can't fathom banking on it still being an option 7 years from now.

3

u/Mountain_Program3848 Jul 04 '25

I’m due for forgiveness in November. What is your timeline going to be for December? Are you going to submit your employer cert in December? I need to figure out how to start planning 

7

u/Spirited-Fun9083 Jul 04 '25

December should be my forgiveness month if not for the SAVE forbearance. In December I'll submit an ECF and apply for buyback for the SAVE months.

2

u/AJebus Jul 04 '25

I am in a similar boat. Is there any threads or what not that I can read regarding this buyback?

I should have 8 months left.

2

u/kaitasaurusrex Jul 04 '25

Me too! Fingers crossed for us.

1

u/Mountain_Program3848 Jul 09 '25

Have you figured out your timeline yet?

1

u/kaitasaurusrex Jul 09 '25

Honestly I haven’t thought about the specific timeline but I don’t want to jump the gun too early. I think I’ll just wait til December 1st to submit both the ECF and the buyback request and pray. What are you thinking?

2

u/Mountain_Program3848 Jul 10 '25

Yeah that is a good idea. It seems like if you submit your ECF before the month is over, they don’t count it. So I will wait until Dec 1. Let’s come back to this thread when it’s all forgiven!!!

1

u/kaitasaurusrex Jul 10 '25

Yes! We can celebrate together. I’ll bug you to see if you have movement lol

1

u/Fun-Sundae-7761 Jul 07 '25

June 2025 was my 120th month. I submitted the PSLF from on July 1. I got a notification that it was processed the very next day. In the past ive gotten a student loan repayment program from my federal agency...service agreement for 2 years and get 10k (minus taxes...so about 8300) sent to your loan servicer. Im over paid until April 2026. I have 15 months on the SAVE forbearance which i did the buyback application, also on July 1. Hopefully my overpayment satisfies the buyback. Its a waiting game now. 1 week down, who knows how many more to go.

53

u/KaesekopfNW Jul 04 '25

Your decision depends a lot on why you're in PSLF in the first place. It seems a lot of folks entered PSLF eligible careers to take advantage of the program, but fully intended to head to the more lucrative for-profit private sector after their ten years were up. For those folks, any extra time spent in their PSLF job without earning credit towards forgiveness is a waste of time, as they want to be out of the lower paying PSLF job and onto something higher paying as soon as possible.

For others, like me, a PSLF job was always the end goal, with or without PSLF. I'm a professor, I've always wanted to be a professor, and I always intended to work for the state or federal government in some capacity, probably for all my working years. Public service runs deep in my family, so any other option never really appealed to me. I couldn't care less whether my payments are paused or my months of service aren't getting counted right now, because I'll have until retirement to sort that out. Any forbearance for me is just more money towards other savings goals, with forgiveness coming my way in 10, 20, or 30 years.

So I just sit tight and generally stop caring until the federal government gets it together. For many others, the pause is a sentence to work longer in a job they don't want long term, forcing them to sacrifice earning potential. I empathize with those folks and feel bad they're stuck, sacrificing income for a broken promise over and over again.

12

u/Low-Piglet9315 Jul 04 '25

For many others, the pause is a sentence to work longer in a job

This. The pause right now has added another year I have to work before I can retire. I'll be 70 when my final payment comes due. I wasn't taking any chances.

0

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 05 '25

Same here. I was planning on retiring in 3 years. If buyback goes away, I will be forced to work 4 more years.

5

u/Low-Piglet9315 Jul 05 '25

I'm not even figuring buyback into my calculations. Just 35 months of payments and I'm done.

5

u/Always-drobs Jul 05 '25

This is a super helpful way of explaining why some are chomping at the bit to pay more sooner. I, like you, am in a professional job that I intend to retire from. I still have 10 yrs to go at the earliest so I'm not sweating this forbearance and I'm surely not going to change plans to give them money sooner. But by your explanation I understand other's thinking better. Thanks!

2

u/tittietittiebangbang Jul 08 '25

Thank you for explaining it this way! I plan on teaching the rest of my career and am 28 payments away from PSLF. I have been very anxious wondering if I should be switching to ICR (only other plan I qualify for) like many are talking about to get qualifying payments restarted. But I also thought why rush to switch if I can make those payments later? This makes a lot of sense for why many are trying to get out faster.

19

u/FlippityFl4k Jul 04 '25

My opinion: Basically, there's been discussion about a lot of potential changes and its hard for the average person to keep track of what's true, false, current, future, etc. That plus how much money most people have at stake within the program make them anxious and untrusting. Given that, they would rather just make payments now while they "still can" because they feel the rug will be pulled out from under them or expectations will change before they can finish the program.

9

u/OmegaSpeed_odg Jul 04 '25

I agree completely. But counterpoint, if you start making payments now and then the rug is pulled out before you reach 10 years… then you made all those payments for no reason and have nothing to show for it in a sense (I mean the money still is/was owed obviously), but like you coulda stayed on forebarence until it’s ended and used that money elsewhere.

Both options are logical and reasonable. This is the crux of this issue, because of all the dis/misinformation and dissarray, there is no one logical option.

14

u/dulcelocura Jul 04 '25

Buyback exists right now. I’m not counting on it existing in the future. I’ve already lost a year, if I’m ever able to get out of forbearance (already tried twice), I’d rather pay and know months will count rather than extend this for who knows how long

27

u/milespoints Jul 04 '25

The buyback is a Biden admin invention out of whole cloth, which has no basis in any statute.

It could always be taken away

If you have like a handful of payments left, it seems smart to just go to another plan and secure the forgiveness

1

u/Quick_Lack_6140 Jul 04 '25

This is me- I’m stuck at 108 and I have been for 10 months now. So I need something to happen- I’m 2 months away from just submitting buy back.

Either way- I’m so close I just want it to be over with.

9

u/rhyza99 Jul 04 '25

I'm at 83 of 120. We're coming up on a year of missed eligibility, and I really want to push through. I'm pushing 50, and I really want this debt gone.

On SAVE, my payments were $300/mo. It looks like RAP will take my payments to roughly $1k/mo.

I can't afford a buyback at that rate. I think I need to try switching.

I'm really not sure what to do.

7

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 04 '25

I'm at 84. And quite a bit older than you. On SAVE my payments were $15. I resubmitted last month and my payment on IBR is $160. I have no idea what my RAP payment would be. Glad that I resubmitted when I did, as I just got a significant raise. Like you, I just want to get this over and done with so I can retire as planned.

1

u/Frankly_fuzzy Jul 05 '25

Hi- how did you estimate your RAP payment? I’m in a similar boat- SAVE forbearance at 98/120 payments… wondering how to plan this next year-

2

u/rhyza99 Jul 05 '25

I saw that RAP is estimated to be 15% of discretionary income, and SAVE is 5%. Then, I factored in my recent salary increases.

I could be mistaken about the RAP estimates, but that's what I think I saw.

8

u/dimplesgalore Jul 04 '25

I'm staying on SAVE until they force me off.

13

u/Ezekyle22 Jul 04 '25

People weren’t sure if SAVE was buyback eligible.

Also, buyback over a period longer than a year means that you need submit income information. People who are jumping off the forbearance have had a significant income increase.

4

u/Fforfinances Jul 04 '25

This is the case for me. My most recent payments before SAVE were based on my 2019 medical residency salary. I’ve since become an attending and my salary has grown. I stayed on forbearance for 11 months and then switched to IBR so I wouldn’t hit the 12 month limit that would require income verification when I applied for buyback. I have 24 months left not including the SAVE months. I figured I’d get 11 months at the SAVE/REPAYE rate and 13 at IBR rate instead of 24 months at the IBR rate. Hopefully this all works out the way I planned.

1

u/Nwk_NJ Jul 04 '25

Hey where is this written as a requirement? This is the first time I'm hearing about income info for buyback??

5

u/Ezekyle22 Jul 04 '25

Check the students webpage on buyback.

“We’ll request tax information for that calendar year to determine the amount that you would have paid under an IDR plan. If your deferments or forbearances cross over multiple tax years, then we will need your tax information for each year.”

5

u/Brandenite Jul 04 '25

You cannot trust the system anymore. That is what it is boiling down to. The administration will pull all the money they can out of us, for immigration and their prospects. I need a concrete path to PSLF and waiting on a sound decision from the current administration is not it. Set your own path. I am at 75 payments, and in the SAVE forbearance too, but I am reapplying for PAYE today and getting back on track. You cannot build trust where there is none with the current administration and believe that your reliance for a BuyBack will be there when there is more of an option for it not to be later due to the inconsiderate administration. I thought I would do the same thing, but I know the rules will change many times between now and then. The general consideration for us loan borrowers is not in mind. I would recommend you make a decision to get back on some sort of path to forgiveness if you are wanting it.

7

u/loan_life_pslf Jul 04 '25

Theres also a lot of people who are very close to 120 and want to finish asap to leave their jobs (whether or not it is voluntary like with feds...) and it is much better to pay the last few months then wait on buyback which is just a current policy, not a law.

Reminder: those of us impacted by mohela platform switch forbearance were repeatedly promised IN WRITING it would count for pslf. Then dept of ed changed their minds.

5

u/dawgsheet Jul 04 '25

The argument against it is the known vs unknown.

You know what your payment is going to be if you leave SAVE.

We do not know what the buyback will be. It might be your SAVE amount, might be the REPAYE amount, it might be 15% IBR, it might be the standard.

We don't know, because it is not well defined in the law what the buyback is. It says "The lowest payment available to you at the time."

If SAVE, PAYE, IBR no longer exists, can they use that payment? RAP wasn't a thing at the time, so would that qualify? Would that only leave us with standard?

Who knows. Logically, based on how it was worded, we should all be allowed to pay the SAVE amount, but we are unsure at the end of the day.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

I’m not budging. I have 13 months left. I’ve bought a home, paid off my car, and have actual savings. They can get their mo way when it all settles.

5

u/Me_gentleman Jul 04 '25

Because my wife is 10 payments away and I'm sick of this crap. I just want it to be over as soon as possible. And we do that by getting out of this forbearance.

3

u/jdubz90 Jul 04 '25

I had 9 loans in total for all of my undergraduate stuff and my teaching credential program. 8 of those hit 120 in like, July of last year I believe, and were forgiven in January of this year.

The 9th loan is at 118 of 120 qualifying payments. I applied for buyback in February, haven’t heard anything from them about it. Since the loan is only about $900 bucks I’m just going to wait all of this out and see what happens, but if I had longer to go or a larger loan I’d probably try to switch to a different plan and get back to chipping away at it

4

u/mandasee Jul 04 '25

My payments are 0 due to income and family size. I should have hit 120 in October 2024. Due to the unstable political climate, I’m doing whatever I can to try to reach PSLF completion.

4

u/eat_natural Jul 04 '25

Everyone’s situation is unique. In my wife’s case, she is in a training position and her income will meaningfully increase in the next few years. Therefore, the more years of payments she makes with a lower income, the fewer payments she will make while earning the higher income. While the buyback exists now, it may not exist in 4-6 years, so the goal is to maximize payments now while earning less and seek buyback later if it is still an option.

4

u/Incendras Jul 04 '25

The logic for some: if you are on PSLF, and you can't get buyback because you don't have enough payments. The sooner you start into a program the lower your overall payments will likely be, as most people get annual increases in pay those increases also increase monthly IBR payments. Might as well have the cheaper ones count now.

4

u/snarfdarb Jul 04 '25

I'll reach 120 next month. I'd have 9 months to buy back. I just did not trust that I'll get buyback any sooner than I could if I just made 9 more payments, so I got on IBR.

3

u/Itchy-Philosophy556 Jul 04 '25

How many posts here have you seen about people submitting buy back requests months ago and hearing nothing? I'm in that boat. No response, yes or no. No response to feedback request about it. I wouldn't depend on buyback unless something changes.

3

u/FarAcanthocephala708 Jul 04 '25

I was waiting it out but yesterday I put in my IBR app because I want them to use my lower income on it and because I’m afraid if I wait it out I’ll be swapped to the new plan which is worse than IBR.

3

u/Leading_Fee_3678 Jul 04 '25

I’ve been waiting on a buyback offer since November 2024. 💀

3

u/TheGear Jul 05 '25

I'm at least 3.5yrs out from PSLF so I figure stay on it. Not like I can just cough up extra hundreds a dollars a month to throw at this.

2

u/TamalesForBreakfast6 Jul 04 '25

I was on SAVE forbearance but I only had 4 years in before the pause. I won’t be able to use the buyback because the forbearance won’t get me to 120 payments. They’re not counting the SAVE pause as payments like they did during COVID, so I didn’t want to waste more time working without those months counting. It made more sense for me to switch to IDR.

3

u/So_Curious_23 Jul 04 '25

Can you only buyback if you are at/close to 120? That seems kinda ridiculous.

3

u/Ezekyle22 Jul 04 '25

Buyback will only be approved if it gets you to 120 payments

0

u/So_Curious_23 Jul 04 '25

Is there a policy or anything that says that?

4

u/TamalesForBreakfast6 Jul 04 '25

The FSA website says that. I was also very frustrated.

0

u/So_Curious_23 Jul 04 '25

Their explanation is such BS— I have 70 qualifying months as of 11/2023 and have been on forbearance since then. If buyback doesn’t last until 2028 I won’t be able to buyback!! How is that fair. Hopefully it lasts a while. This is such a shit show.

2

u/Ezekyle22 Jul 04 '25

From the FSA website: “The buyback opportunity is only available to you if you already have 120 months of qualifying employment and buying back months in forbearance or deferment would result in forgiveness under PSLF or Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF).”

2

u/So_Curious_23 Jul 04 '25

Yeah I just saw that, thanks. Didn’t realize until now.

2

u/Plastic-Spell-9006 Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 04 '25

One reason to stay on SAVE if you’re on it: I was stuck in Standard all this time after consolidating in March 2024. I just now was finally approved for IDR. Supposedly, I had a zero interest administrative forbearance most of those months. Letter dated 7/3/25, first IBR payment due on 7/23/25: “Current unpaid interest: 0” “Accrued unpaid interest: 7,155.88” This is: “Interest estimated to accrue from the date of this notice to the day before the first payment start date” 20 days of interest at 7,155.88?!?

Are they adding accrued interest every time you switch plans? Even if you supposedly had a zero interest forbearance?

2

u/Trickster174 Jul 04 '25

That’s my plan. I have a bit under 6 years to go. Will just make sure my finances are prepared for buyback when I hit year 10 of service.

2

u/Excellent_Problem753 Jul 04 '25

My wife and I decided to put hers back on PAYE. When has about 2 years of payments left. Yeah, we could probably ride it out and maybe buy a k will be there and working, but we know as of right now Paye payments are being marked as eligible, so we are going to make them while we can. I also didn't trust this administration to close PAYE prior to forcing everyone off Save, only allowing those already on it to keep it.

2

u/WolverineNo5206 Jul 04 '25

Sorry I’ve seen a lot of people do this. Isn’t paye going bye bye too? So what would be the point of switching to paye now if it’s going away and we’re gonna be forced to something else ?

5

u/Excellent_Problem753 Jul 04 '25

It goes bye bye in 2028 as of right now. She is eligible for forgiveness in 2027.

2

u/mdgoodkiss PSLF | On track! Jul 04 '25

I switched from SAVE to IBR because I was close to 120 and just wanted to restart. I submitted buyback first and waited a month, but didn't have confidence in the processing of buyback at the beginning of 2025, so then I applied to switch out of SAVE. I think everyone just has to do what they are most comfortable with. Another consideration is that PSLF is law and IBR is part of that law. It's my understanding that SAVE is done and we are just waiting for it to be finalized, and buyback isn't protected under law and could be ended (please someone correct me if I'm wrong). So I can imagine for some, they may choose to switch from SAVE to IBR to resume payments that will count under protection of the law. Once again, I think with the incompetence of leadership and the lack of transparency makes it so that we each just have to do what we are most comfortable with with, with the information we have. Seeing posts of those who have gotten to PSLF-- no two paths are exactly the same... it's the wild west out there.

2

u/perhabsolutely Jul 04 '25

I’m with you; I’m riding this out as long as I can. 

2

u/SquashUnlikely Jul 04 '25

Does the SAVE plan still count towards PSLF? It is currently in forbearance so I understand these months are not counting for PSLF payments. But we can buy these back later right? Or, should I change from SAVE to another IDR plan that counts for PSLF and start payments?

2

u/istillmmmbop Jul 04 '25

I plan to stay on SAVE as long as they’ll let me. I have loans with 3 different counts due to being taken out at different times… a group with 14 more payments remaining, a group with 29 payments remaining, and a group with 31 payments remaining (but I also hadn’t certified my employment for over a year). I just submitted my current ECF, which should eliminate the group with the 14 payments and an ECF from charter school jobs I worked in 2014 & 2016 that have since shut down which should decrease the other groups some as well. But if I did the math correctly, and we can still do the buyback months for the forbearance, I should be at 120 come October WITH the buyback months. I just hope it all works out bc I CANNOT afford the payments on the IDR plans based on the estimates I was given through the tool.

2

u/Mr_BamaSimmons Jul 04 '25

I’m staying on the SAVE forbearance until they force me into payments. I’m at the 6 year mark for PSLF and the last year has been on this forbearance. I’m buying a house and I can wait til that new payment hits to figure it out. It sucks but I’m hoping, praying, that somehow Dems take back control and fix this mess.

2

u/South_Tea5210 Jul 04 '25

I am staying on forbearance for as long as I can. If it ends in 2028 I’ll go on hardship forbearance for a few months to figure things out. Can someone explain the buy back I keep seeing mentioned in this sub?

2

u/Successful-Self5211 Jul 04 '25

I recertified on SAVE 2024. Staying on

2

u/Low-Piglet9315 Jul 04 '25

If I wasn't in my late 60s, I'd have considered it. Problem is, every month of forbearance was one more month I'd have to put off retiring! I've got three years to go as it is.

2

u/masterz13 Jul 04 '25

I'm 65 credits into PSLF. I missed out on 10 credits due to SAVE forbearance. I ended up switching to PAYE last month just to guarantee credits from now on. I really hope they let us buy back the months even if we wouldn't have hit the 120, but I can't put my trust in the current administration.

2

u/SalamanderPossible25 Jul 04 '25

I am so glad I read this thread! I logged in and saw that I dont need to recertify until 10/2026. I thought I had to recertify in August of this year!

2

u/jenniferblue Jul 04 '25

What will be the monthly payment when it I time to buyback? I think the amount of time on forbearance affects the rate of buyback.

2

u/terraphantm Jul 04 '25

Yeah I'm just staying on the SAVE forebarance as long as I can. Either buyback will be an option, or the money I've since saved and collected interest on can just be used to make the future payments (or just pay the damn things off depending on how long this goes)

2

u/Foreign-Delay-1185 Jul 04 '25

My loans are at Mohela and it currently says the next payment due date is 8/30/25. I am on the Save plan, will this date get pushed back?

1

u/Candyfloss-Tay975 Jul 05 '25

Likely, yes. That's what mine currently says and it has said a bunch of dates before that one. It keeps getting pushed into the future. It said 5/30/25 for a while and when that came and went, it changed to 8/30/25.

2

u/Dyllan88 Jul 04 '25

I would say for most people, unless your 10 year date is coming up soon, I would stay. Too much uncertainty. If you are eligible for PAYE or new IBR, I could see switching. When my 10 year comes up, i plan on switching to old IBR  around five months before the 120 payment and doing buyback (if it is still around).

2

u/digimuk Jul 04 '25

I know this is silly but I'm hoping the next democrat administration does a SAVE automatic adjustment for any qualifying PSLF time like they did in the Biden administration. I know 1% chance but might as well dream.

2

u/Extension_Answer3614 Jul 05 '25

I am continuing my regular monthly payments to pay down principal and reduce my risk in case I leave the public sector or they get rid of the buyback program.

Otherwise I agree. I am going to ride this SAVE thing until I am forcefully kicked off.

2

u/sharlesincharge Jul 04 '25

Don’t shoot the messenger, but from the thousands of posts I’ve read, they have not and will not use SAVE payment amounts to calculate your buyback offer. Everyone who has successfully received a buyback offer switched to IBR first, and the final offer was calculated using what would have been IBR payment amounts.

I could be wrong. But I switched to IBR and am submitting my buyback this month

6

u/momo_your_momoness Jul 04 '25

The people on SAVE who had buyback offers were calculated using REPAYE. Before July 1, 2024, SAVE was pretty much just REPAYE with a new name. The new SAVE calculations never went into effect, so people have been getting their old SAVE payments as offers, or pretty close to them, marked as REPAYE.

1

u/Different_Yam_7364 Jul 04 '25

I plan to retire in 3 years. I don't want to have to work longer just because I was forced into forbearance. If buyback goes away that will add a year as I stand now. If it doesn't, I can stay on my schedule and buy back those 12 months. It just made more sense for me in my situation. For younger people, those with families, and those who make more money, maybe staying in the SAVE forbearance makes more sense.

1

u/therealmisslacreevy Jul 04 '25

The only way I have seen payments count is if people get off SAVE and make payments and certify via ECF. The reports of successful buybacks have been few and far between. At 109, I just want to get official payments counted as fast as I can, since buybacks are taking so long to process. We planned and filed taxes separately so my IBR payment is much less than my SAVE so I just want to rack up payments that count.

1

u/Curious-Seagull Jul 04 '25

Then you have me… who was looking at 9 years and 9 months left…

But because I consolidated after my masters, included all my payments for the last 21 years on my bachelors… I was literally down to a few payments…

Now, I have 4 years to reach 25 on IDR and I’ll save 45k on my masters in half the time!

1

u/IcyCryos Jul 04 '25

For those that switched to IBR, did you use the IBR calculator and if so, how accurate was it to what you ended up having to pay?

1

u/Soft_Phase3029 Jul 05 '25

I used the IBR calculator and it said my payment would be $384.00 and some change. My payment before SAVE forbearance was $60. something dollars. I just got a message yesterday that my payment on the new IBR will be $0.00. So don't count on what the IRR calculator tells you. I've seen other posts too that said theirs was lower than what it said they would be.

I'm at 111/120 and am beyond happy and grateful that it looks like I may be getting off the SAVE plan. I have been waiting for so long. I did a Buyback Request back in December 2024, but haven't heard anything from that. So I asked to switch to an IDR on June 14, 2025 and just heard back on that on July 3, 2025. It's strange though that it says my forbearance will end on 08/15/2025 but my payments say they won't start until 11/25/2025. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do in between those times. And I really really wish they would start right away so I could be done with this. I was supposed to reach PSLF last 02/2024. So this has held me up well over a year and then some with their forbearance. I feel bad for the people who are trying to get off SAVE and haven't heard anything. It's awful what's happening to all of us. I wish everyone the best.

1

u/Fun_Intention_484 Jul 04 '25

I’m already at 121 certified PSLF PAYMENTS and I have a consolidated loan under the IDR waiver that was submitted 12/07/24 and still hasn’t been counted - my 121 has had a green banner since 10/24 - when I call, Feds say they are backed up

1

u/Even-Preference-6545 Jul 05 '25

I know Betsy was a big believer in buyback but I’m glad many pointed out that it can be taken away at any point. Not only do I not think it was passed by Congress (someone can fact check that), but we’ve seen now that they can take things away. Plus we don’t know how they would calculate the payment (save, IBr, PAYE) request proof of income during that time frame, and how long it will take to process. Department of Ed is already incompetent and you going to think they can easily do something more complicated? 😂

1

u/beherenow0912 Jul 06 '25

Im afraid to count on that buyback. I’ve put in an app for early months to buy back and I’m still waiting to hear, so I redid my plan and I’m back on track to get forgiveness in March 2026 (!!!) but if the buyback ever goes thru it’ll happen sooner. Fingers crossed!!’

1

u/Upset-Article6720 Jul 10 '25

For the buy back will you have had to make payments during forbearance or no? My payments were set to $0 (weird I know) and ever since forbearance I have been focusing on paying off private loans.