r/PSLF

Hey y'all. I think I stumbled upon a little PSLF hack that I wanted to share. When it comes to income recertification, I did not choose to link it to my tax returns. So, instead, I have to manually recertify. This basically means I have to log on to studentaid.gov and click like 3 buttons and it then processes my income recertification. But because I had to do this manually, it put me on a processing forbearance for 2 months before starting my new payments. Because processing forbearances count toward PSLF, I just got 2 free months of credit! Who knows if this will keep happening given the chaos at Dept of Ed but wanted to share in case it can help get people more free credit.

Hello all

I have been on the SAVE plan since inception. I noticed that starting in July of 2024 I stopped getting payments counted on FSA.... Before then it was counted. Mohela says all of my loans are in administrative forbearance since that time. I just want to get my payments counted through March 2026 or whenever SAVE plan died. Is this possible?

I reached 120 months of certified employment last year but because everyone got thrown into administrative forbearance…my payments weren’t accounted for until recently.

Now that I have green banners (starting this month)…will I be taxed on my forgiveness?

I do have buyback requests in dating back a year ago.

Hi all - 15 payments to go for forgiveness so I made the switch. It said my new amount would be $489 (UGH) but it's saying my next payment is due in May, using my old SAVE payment ($101). I really want to start paying asap so I can be done with this. Do I just need to wait until the correct amount is updated? Will I be in admin forbearance? It's saying my forbearance is ending in a few days.

I'm about to go on my buyback journey.

I just submitted what would have been my 120th payment if not for the forced SAVE forbearance. My billing cycle won't close for another month (I was antsy).

I am extremely anxious about my employer being found to "engage in illegal activity" or whatever nonsense and have its eligibility revoked come July. I know this will be challenged in court. But I don't want to wait to find out.

So here are my questions.

Do i have to wait to see the PSLF counter updated on FSA before submitting the ECF?

When does FSA update the counts?

If it shows up on the NSLDS data but not the FSA PSLF tracker am I still good to submit my ECF?

Right now, my April payment is still not yet showing up on FSA.

ECFs have been processing quickly. I really want to get my buyback request in before July. Do I have a chance?

Hi all, I am very confused about how to proceed with my student loans ($123,000). I am a federal employee and also a part time doctoral student. I have 9 separate loans and just ended my forbearance because I wanted to start getting time towards my PSLF. I applied for the IDR plan and was notified that (it looks like) only two qualified. I assume the ones that didn't qualify for IDR then wouldn't be counted in the PSLF forgiveness clock, correct? There's not much information, but I gather that one option is to consolidate it all and reapply for IDR?

I tried calling Mohela service and could not get a hold of any actual person, after trying every single menu option. Help!

Hello everyone,

Quick question

i dont have to re certify however just did my taxes and my income significantly less due to more retirement and things that lowered AGI. My monthly payments are due the 15th of each month and wondering if i do this tonight and connect it to irs data, will a new amount likely be given by my next payment date. Sorry if this has been answered

I am at the point where I believe I need a tax accountant/ CPA because I’m having a hard time calculating some next moves. It has been unreasonably difficult to find a tax accountant knowledgeable in student loans, Roth IRA recharacterization (backdoor Roth down the line), and future planning as related to these.

For background if that would help:

My wife and I both make around 60k. She has ~40k in student loans and is pursuing PSLF as a public school teacher, so we filed separately this year to lower her monthly payments. Was this the right move? Who knows, but the tax accountant I used had no clue what I was talking about regarding this stuff so just filed MFS for us on a whim with no basis on whether it’s actually provide us financial advantage.

At the same time, I maxed a Roth IRA for 2025 and learned I may not have been eligible due to filing separately, so now I’m dealing with recharacterizing, backdoor Roth and a possible amendment to this 2025 year’s taxes.

I’m mainly trying to figure out:

- MFS vs MFJ long term with PSLF

- How to handle retirement investing alongside that (nothing complex, just how to recharacterize and knowing when to hit the backdoor Roth)

And yes, I’ve done extensive research on modern AI about these things, but the agreeably and double-backing the AI does does not give me the most confidence in making these bigger decisions.

Would love recommendations for someone who might understand this intersection and who I could seek to work with.

I appreciate any help.

Looking for guidance from others navigating PSLF, especially federal employees.

I’m currently working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness with ~43 qualifying months (mostly from the COVID pause). I’ve been on SAVE at $0, but now I’m being told I need to switch plans and my estimated payment is $441/month.

Even if that number is technically correct based on AGI, it’s not affordable in practice. My fixed expenses + medical/disability-related costs already take up essentially all of my income, so adding a $441 payment just isn’t possible.

For context: I’m a GS-11 federal employee (Pathways, hired October 2024). I also have a progressive disability. I’m working full-time while I can, which means I’m not eligible for Total and Permanent Disability Discharge right now—but my condition will worsen over time. I’m trying to stay in good standing and make decisions that keep me on track for PSLF long-term while I still have income.

What I’m trying to do:

Get onto the lowest possible IDR plan (IBR/PAYE)

See if I can qualify for a $0-$100 payment using current income / alternative documentation

Avoid delinquency while staying PSLF-eligible

I’m also exploring Borrower Defense to Repayment for a portion of my loans tied to a teaching program I had to leave due to disability.

Main question (especially for federal employees):

Does anyone have experience with the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) as a current federal employee (not just recruitment/retention cases)?

Specifically:

Is SLRP realistically accessible for existing employees, or is it mostly limited to hiring incentives?

If approved, do SLRP payments count toward PSLF qualifying payments, or do they just reduce principal without affecting your PSLF count?

Also:

Has anyone successfully gotten their IDR payment reduced to $0 (or close) using alternative documentation instead of tax return income?

I’m not trying to avoid repayment—I’m trying to keep this sustainable and stay on track for PSLF given my actual financial constraints.

Appreciate any insight, especially from those who’ve dealt with SLRP or similar situations.

I am paranoid about doing the wrong thing, so I'm hoping someone can confirm that I am on the right track. I am at 119/120 with my 120th payment eligible but uncertified (March payment). I have already paid April, which would be 121, although it won't show up on the tracker until May. My income recertification is due May 19th. My payment due dates are on the 23rd.

Can I submit my ECF now with "yes I've reached 120 payments" checked? Or, do I need to wait until May 1st?

Having the income recertification so close is making me extra scared of doing the wrong thing. I'm hoping to avoid any changes to my payment or having to make more payments.

Thank you!

I thought you could only consolidate them with private companies )

I'm going to have a ~2.5month gap between employment. Have a job lined up but will be moving states and trying to buy a house, and some other temporary costs. I would like to avoid paying almost $2000 during that period if I can. I won't qualify for unemployment deferment because I have a job lined up but thinking about changing my income to zero during that time. Has anyone ever done this? Obviously last taxes won't reflect this gap. What proof of no income do you provide? Can I just have employer write a letter with my last day?

As I understand it, it seems like there are two options:

1. Submit ECF after making your last payment, but before it shows on SudentAid, and do NOT check the "120 payments" box. (and then after you get green banners, I guess you can submit an ECF again to get in forbearance or else request forbearance another way?)
2. Wait for the last payment to show up on StudentAid, and then submit ECF, and DO check the "120 payments" box?

Does it matter which way you do it? Can people chime in who've done it both ways?

Rep from Ed financial Called me to talk about July with everyone leaving the save plan/forbearance, he mentioned that everyone is allowed 36 months of a temporary hardship forbearance. I have 34 months available of temporary hardship forbearance months remaining and I could apply that and use that in during the 90 day period starting in July to apply for a new income driven plan.

He Further stated once I pick a new income driven plan (IBR) and it’s processed and set up with a new payment date then I call back and follow up to be placed in that temporary hardship forbearance

Application for picking a new income driven plant starts July 1. You have 90 days to pick a new one so me personally I’m going to pick September to be a good month to set the up IBR and then be placed into the temporary hardship.

He also told me that’s what most people are doing who have 120 qualifying months who already submitted a buyback.

I did my final PSLF certification on March 11, and March 19 I received a FSA letter showing more than 120 qualifying payments, and Green Banners.

Now waiting. Any hope for April?

Add another month to my tally of months that I have had 120 PSLF payments in and my counts still sit on Nov 2024 because I qualified for TEPSLF.

I have emailed Mohela Ombudsman, CEO filed 2 reconsideration payment count requests. 3 feedback forms. Called both FSA and Mohela. And no one has any clue on how to just count the payments that I have provided for them in multiple ways ma

I’m at a total loss on what to do. I come here I try everting people say and nothing and yet I see more people getting to 120 and the next month. Poof gone.

Hi guys, I graduated 2023 and then got stuck in the SAVE limbo but now I think it’s time to switch and start making payments again.

However I noticed my dashboard shows my repayment plan is SAVE and then right below it is says standard repayment plan? Do I even qualify for the IBR then?

I read somewhere that it is going to be 15% discretionary income and not the 10% anymore when July comes around (unsure since I’ve been referencing the studentgov website and it says 15% is only if you borrowed before 2014)… but at this point I’d rather pay the 15% than the standard repayment plan option. Can someone clarify this for me? Thankss

Hello, this may have been beaten to death already, but since my situation is a little bit unique, I want to get some feedback. I have over $600,000 in student loans. I have roughly 3 years of public service towards my count period for the last year plus, because the SAVE plan has been in a flux, I haven’t made any payments while the government has been figuring out what to do with the plan. Now that we finally know that SAVE is ending, the only plan I’m eligible for is the RAP.

In any case, my question is, does it make a difference if I switch now over to RAP versus in July when this mandate takes effect?

My hesitancy is that 10% of my income will be a fairly significant amount and I realize I’ll have to pay it sooner or later but just wondering if it makes any difference other than resuming my PSLF count sooner.

Thank you

Today, I made my 120th payment. I have 114 certified. I assume my next step is to get the last six certified. Will I do that at the same time I apply for PSLF? Should I wait a certain amount of time before doing so? At any point, should I be asking for forbearance?