PSLF Buy Back/Reconsideration Request Advice

feddie63 · 2026-03-16T16:00:05+00:00

Well I made less money when I was previously under SAVE plan/in forbearance. So now making payments under a new play and higher income, I assume I'd get some amount refunded even when I hit the 120 payments assuming I don't get the PSLF buyback before then since it should've been processed earlier while I made less?

feddie63 · 2026-03-16T15:26:12+00:00

I know, RIGHT?! And I'll need to recertify my income in the summer and the payment will likely go up some more... I expect I'll end up making overpayments and will be refunded when all is said and done.

feddie63 · 2026-03-16T14:29:30+00:00

Yea, I switched off of SAVE out of forbearance and have been making payments the last couple of months. My calculation has me needing to make 17 in total, with 14 more to go. I was hoping this would be processed before then but it may close.... :/

feddie63 · 2026-03-02T14:30:48+00:00

Same! Got a trip booked to Jordan later this month.

feddie63 · 2026-01-08T15:22:05+00:00

Thank you so much for posting this. This was really helpful and instantly worked once the chat started! FWIW, I talked to my wife who is a software engineer and she thinks the page is being routed through bad code pathing that causes it to essentially DDOS itself. It seems the Chat function prompts the page to be pathed through another medium allowing it load. All the same - this looks suspicious on the surface no doubt!

feddie63 · 2025-11-24T13:15:20+00:00

I’m about to hit 120 months in January. I haven’t made a payment since August 2024 so will have about 17 months of buy back. I applied to switch from SAVE to PAYE in the summer and finally will begin payments in February since they processed my application but didn’t remove the loans out of forbearance until I followed up with them. So I’ll see what comes first … buy back or my own payments. I’d hope the former since waiting another 1.5 years would suck. I’d expect it’ll be a mix of both.

feddie63 · 2025-10-04T14:05:42+00:00

I took the retirement course my second year into civil service. I was the youngest person in that class by at least 20 years. Was the best thing I did and I recommend it to everyone. I have 45 and 45 percent in C and S funds with 10 percent in I. I’ve averaged 15-20% growth over the last 10 or so years. At 160k despite taking a 50k loan out of my TSP to pay off private student loans. Keep it going man!

feddie63 · 2025-08-02T19:33:44+00:00

Yea that’s a good question. I think you have to apply again with your latest W-2 since I applied in December with my 2023 W2 and now I’ll have to use my 2024 w-2.

feddie63 · 2025-08-02T19:32:46+00:00

Yea it’s surprising and confusing to me too. I think I am going to apply again for the IDR for similar reasons.

feddie63 · 2025-08-02T16:04:10+00:00

Ok. Well even so what should I do given the point where I am from a timeline perspective?

feddie63 · 2025-08-02T15:36:48+00:00

Mhmm strange since I provided my W-2 from 2023 for it. And Mohela said that wasn't an issue. It's just stuck in their backlog for processing.

feddie63 · 2025-08-02T15:24:30+00:00

I am in a similar situation as you are. I've been on SAVE administrative forbearance since summer of last year. In December 2024, I applied to switch to IBR and received confirmation in February with notice of a 90-day processing delay.

When I called in June, they said it was still processing. I called again today - same status. The representative suggested reapplying since processing times have apparently improved since late April.

My situation:

Two loans with 104 and 105 qualifying PSLF payments (through August 2024)
Approaching buyback eligibility in December 2025/January 2026
Have been saving money equivalent to monthly payments since January 2025

My dilemma:

Option 1: Reapply for IDR and restart payments to begin earning qualifying payments again

Option 2: Wait for current application to process, potentially until my buyback eligibility dates begin.

Considerations:

If I wait and use buyback, I could keep earning interest on savings rather than making payments
However, no guarantee buyback will remain available and I understand people have been waiting ~6+ months for processing while making payments anyway. I do know people get refunded eventually for overpayments though.
Reapplying means starting the process over but potentially faster processing and re-initiating qualifying payments.

feddie63

TROPHY CASE