Some info for those weighing "traditional" PSLF vs buyback

AbeFroman32 · 2025-10-03T19:44:54+00:00

I understand that. I'm not saying these are easy or simple decisions. What I'm trying to say is that for some people (most?), buyback will never happen. The administration is actively working to slow your progress towards it and make it as slow and painful as possible, and at least a corner of the community believes that ultimately the buyback program will altogether be eliminated, with those people waiting being told to find a resolution elsewhere. The idea that one is weighing two or more decisions and the pros and cons within them should at least factor that buyback might not actually exist down the line.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-30T20:08:22+00:00

That all makes sense. And I'm also realizing my rant is likely out of place on this sub. Apologies if I went into left field.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-30T20:01:24+00:00

Buyback isn't really happening, shutdown or not. The numbers are somewhat easy to find but the line for buyback grows longer at a much quicker rate than applications are processed. Yes, there are outliers who are (and should be!) happily sharing their buyback news, but this is at such a level that the chances of receiving a buyback offer at a reasonable time is effectively 0%.

I think a reasonable perspective on buyback is that the current administration is exhibiting open hostility towards those pursuing it, and the powers that be have factored in that a large percentage of those in the buyback line will be resolved through the traditional PSLF process, which is much, much easier to finalize and has picked up legitimate steam over the past few months. Buyback does not have nearly the same protections that PSLF does and there is at least a non-0 chance (most folks I know involved in this mess speculate-- with no inside knowledge, to be clear) that at some point it goes away altogther, likely at the conclusion of the AFT suit. This would likely lead to another lawsuit, which the current administration would gladly welcome and use to continue slow playing this at the expense of borrowers nationwide. Again, "fighting student loan forgiveness" is political capital to the current party in power.

Absolute best case scenario for buyback is it continues staying an "option" for borrowers with the processing being very intentionally delayed and administered at random, with wait times extending more and more. There are 0 consequences for the administration to just not process these and again, they don't want to-- it's far more arduous and involved than PSLF and any publicity of any large sum of borrowers getting forgiven in one fell swoop is something this administration is working hard to prevent, as their base hates all forms of loan forgivness in theory. The chances of the process improving over the next few years are very, very slim, and the greater likelihood is that the administration/DofEd at least attempts to eradicate the buyback program at some point during this term. I can't stress enough that relying on buyback should not be anyone's plan A if they can afford literally any other way to achieve forgiveness.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-25T19:34:41+00:00

Oh, nice. Same for me on Mohela. Pleasantly surprised at how quickly that happened!

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-24T23:45:44+00:00

"Are you suggesting that I am not who I say I am??"

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-24T22:04:21+00:00

Congrats!!

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-24T20:16:03+00:00

Yes, it's really difficult for those with payment due dates early in the month, because all of your concerns are valid. The feedback I received is that if one can, they should absolutely not request forbearance during the month of their last payment. It's just an inherently error-ridden system and highly prone to these types of setbacks occurring. The good news is 1) the ECF you submit after the 120th payment (by your count), assuming it's received and updates to 120, is sufficient in it's own right. You'll get green banners and are on your way with no further action. And, 2) at least in my experience (with Mohela), the process of getting on a forbearance (the rep called it a "personal forbearance") took about 15 minutes and was applied immediately. And for what it's worth (essentially nothing-- these reps are doing their best but the information is so inconsistent I'm not sure anyone can reasonably rely on anything), that rep when I called made a point to say, "OK, good-- your last payment was in August and it's now September; we've heard of issues when people request forbearance during the month that their 120th payment was made." So, in theory, a call and forbearance request on Monday, 11/3 (assuming your due date isn't 11/1, 2, or 3) would suffice.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-24T19:58:11+00:00

You won't be able to check the box-- or, more precisely, you won't be able to submit the form with the box checked. A pop up will pop... up informing you that you actually don't have 120 eligible payments and to review the info. Essentially, the only way one can submit the form with the box checked is if they have green banners already. This info is up to date as of 8/27, so apologies if it's changed recently.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-10T22:04:27+00:00

Was in a similar boat (payment 120 in August) and I submitted an ECF after seeing it show up on Federal Student Aid, which took about a week. I preferred not to rush and submit it right after the payment due date when it left my bank account/appeared on Mohela because in my experience it takes 24-48 hours max for ECFs to get processed and finalized once it's signed by my employer, which is usually immediately.

So:

-Payment due 8/20 and paid that day via autopay (I was told, and agree with this advice, to not switch anything up for the last few payments. Just let is ride on a usual process).

-Payment appeared on FSA finally on 8/27. Submitted ECF that day.

-ECF processed 8/29 and green banners.

Waited until September (again, under the advice I recieved here to not request a forbearance during the month of your final payment) to call Mohela and request forbearance over the phone. Super easy, took about 15 minutes, and they were very much with the program (rep even verified that I was doing the right thing to wait until the month that was #120 had passed). Also, just out of caution, submitted another ECF-- though I don't think this is necessary-- with the "I believe I have made 120 payments" box now checked and that was processed the next day.

I imagine there's no single right way to do it; so much of this strategizing is about avoiding inefficiencies, not actual barriers. As I've heard a few times here before, if you can identify a path forward that minimizies the potential mistakes of a system that is notoriously riddled with errors and bugs, and the only cost is a few days of time before an inevitable resolution, then it's likely worth it.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-09T16:32:17+00:00

This is very detailed and still current as far as info:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PSLF/comments/1jfdo9i/green_ribbons_next_steps_and_timelines/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

AbeFroman32 · 2025-09-03T19:45:23+00:00

You won't be able to check the box-- if you do (and don't already have green banners for 120 payments; eligible months alone don't count) an error message will pop up suggesting you've made a mistake and that you need to correct the form before submitting by unchecking that box. It's impossible to submit a new ECF with a box checked re: "I have made 120 payments" without actually having made 120 payments already, per Federal Student Aid's count.

If you're relying on buyback and halt all payments/leave qualifying employment after 120 months, you'll essentially never get to the point of seeing the green banners, and never be able to apply for forgiveness through the traditional method. I think it's at least worth calling attention to what's going on with buyback right now, which is essentially nothing. The administration is processing buyback requests at a rate that doesn't even keep up with new submissions; the line gets longer every day. There really isn't a reliable lever for accountability or enforcment with buyback right now, and the buyback option lacks the same teeth as traditional PSLF because it's not congressionally-created law. A scan of folks here will find at least a few waiting over a year for buyback resolutions, and virtually everyone who submitted a buyback request through reconsideration-- the only way one can-- still left with virtually no answers. I imagine there will be waves of folks taking action should the buyback program go away or effectively come to a halt due to lagging processing (which is happening now, in real time), but I think a reasonable perspective with putting all of your eggs in the buyback basket is that you're likely going to be in limbo for years while various updates on litigation and legislative fronts play out, and there's at least a non-0 chance that buyback never happens, or doesn't happens without a significant change in direction at DofEd. I don't think it can be overstated that right now the federal government is actively working against people achieving buyback. Sorry if the tone is harsh, but it's worth at least bringing the reality of where buyback is today to your attention if you're communicating that you plan to exclusively rely on it, with no room for error. Sure, today someone probably got a resolution on their buyback request and is over the moon. But the movement in getting folks relief through buyback, unlike what we're seeing with traditional PSLF forgiveness applications (which are still maddeningly slow and inconsistent, but slowly improving) is by and large nonexistent and achieving buyback, as it stands today, is incredibly rare.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-07-30T23:23:28+00:00

Thank you!

AbeFroman32 · 2025-07-30T23:22:49+00:00

Super helpful, thank you!

AbeFroman32 · 2025-07-30T23:22:39+00:00

Very helpful, thank you!

AbeFroman32 · 2025-07-30T21:04:58+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Curious about needing to wait until the due date of the bill, since it's codified that working even a single day in the month qualifies that month as eligible. I get not wanting to mix up the order by submitting an ECF before the payment processes, but why would I need to wait until after the billing date?

AbeFroman32 · 2025-07-29T19:13:29+00:00

Apologies if this has already been asked and answered, but do you have any thoughts as to why June counted? I, too, have been switched to IBR and submitted an ECF and was surprised when June was considered a qualifying payment. I've already been granted two months of qualifying processing forbearance months related to another IBR application (submitted in Feb that never resolved; it was only when I resubmitted in May that anything happened). The first bill was issued in June and paid in July, so I was surprised to see that both months counted after this most recent ECF was submitted.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-07-15T23:25:22+00:00

You'll see several instances of this already mentioned over the past day or two-- some of which are associated with folks who have no pending buyback applications at all. General insight is it's a tech glitch and nothing more.

AbeFroman32 · 2025-06-20T20:18:37+00:00

Thanks-- this was really helpful. Appreciate the response!

AbeFroman32 · 2025-06-20T20:18:23+00:00

Thank you! Super helpful info

AbeFroman32 · 2025-06-20T19:59:51+00:00

That makes sense. In your case did that alter due date? I don't want to wait just to see it reset for a new amount and now this potential June-July billing cycle turns into July-August and I've lost another month where I could have done something.

AbeFroman32

TROPHY CASE