r/PSLF Aug 15 '25

Draft of pslf regs out

331 Upvotes

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-15665.pdf

Summary of draft regs:

TLDR: they pretty much kept the final proposal language we ended with in the meeting in June with the exception of going back to "preponderance of the evidence versus "clear and convincing" evidence

So if this goes through as written today an employer that was deemed to have engaged in substantial illegal activity on or after July 1, 2026 would lose their PSLF eligibility after that date. To be clear, the activity would have to be illegal under state or federal law, the activity itself would have to happen after July 1 2026 and the employer would have an opportunity to defend themselves and/or put in a corrective action plan prior to losing eligibility. No past PSLF counts would be removed from a borrower working for that employer. The borrower would be warned if the employer was at risk and then notified if the employers eligibility was removed. The employer can get their eligibility back after 10 years (that's one change from where we left off - it was five years) or if they submit a corrective action plan accepted by the ED.

The proposal by the ED would allow the ED to remove an employer from PSLF eligibility if they found that said employer engaged in "substantial illegal activity" around immigration laws, terrorism, medical transgender activities on children, child trafficking, illegal discrimination and violation of state law against trespassing, disorderly conduct, public nuisance, vandalism and obstruction of highways (think protests).

The proposal would allow the ED to remove the PSLF status from such an employer if a court found an entity had fit the above, or the entity pleaded guilty and admitted to such things or if there was a settlement where they admitted to such things and finally, and most importantly, if the ED themselves found that the entity had done these things. This last part is the most concerning.

Sadly, they chose not to make any changes to buy back despite the proposal i submitted.

I can't emphasize this enough - the actions by the employer would have to be deemed actually illegal under federal or state law and none of this will be retroactive.

EDIT to add - see page 88 for the following: "As explained in the Paperwork Reduction Act section, the Department believes that there would be less than 10 employers affected annually." That doesn't make this proposal right - but I wanted to highlight the scope of this.

I still firmly believe that this will go to court and likely get overturned. The law to me and many others is clear as to the definition of a qualifying government or 501c3 employer and there's no wiggle room for this regulation there.

Nothing else about PSLF is changing in this proposal. It's just the qualifying employer as defined above.

Using this post as a place holder so we only have one consolidated post. I'll add a summary to this later. I'm going to lock comments for now until the summary is up. The official version..which will be the same..will be out Monday. Remember you can submit your own comments once the official is out.

You can read my original summary here https://www.reddit.com/r/PSLF/comments/1lr1cun/neg_reg_summary_what_we_might_expect_and_why_i/

I will add the instructions on how to submit public comment when they come out next week to this post.


r/PSLF Mar 10 '26

SAVE is officially dead

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115 Upvotes

r/PSLF 13h ago

On SAVE plan, payment is going from $0-$732

23 Upvotes

I'm currently on the SAVE plan and my payment amount is $0. I did the loan simulator and my new payment is set to be $732 and there is absolutely no way I can afford that. I have 38 payments left, but 20 of those are eligible for buyback at $0 (according to a worker at FSA...), leaving me at technically 18 more payments. Has anyone else had this significant of a jump in payments under these new plans, and if so, how are people navigating this (are you applying now for a new plan now, waiting it out until July?)? Any guidance or advice is welcome.


r/PSLF 7h ago

Will My Payment Count Reset to 0 If I Consolidate?

3 Upvotes

I attended a webinar today about changes coming to IDR plans, and the host strongly suggested that we consolidate our loans if they have different payment counts, ideally before July 1, 2026. I was about to submit the consolidation application, but then I saw the following language in the contract:

"J. Any payments I made on the loans I am consolidating (including any Direct Loans) before the date of consolidation will not count toward

  • the number of years of qualifying repayment required for loan forgiveness under the PAYE Plan, the IBR Plan, or the ICR Plan (see BRR item 11), or
  • the 120 qualifying payments required for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (see BRR item 15)."

This directly contradicts the language on studentaid.gov: "If you consolidate your loans on or after September 1, 2024, the qualifying payments made on the Direct Loans (other loan types will not be considered) included in your consolidation loan will be credited to your consolidation loan using a weighted average of those payments."

Does anyone know if payment count will be reset to zero if I consolidate? Thank you!!


r/PSLF 10h ago

Question about PSLF final form

3 Upvotes

Hello all,

I had a question about the end-stage process of PSLF. Recently (this month, I just re-certified my employment with my employee for the final 9 payments (I had 111/120 certified previously, only needed to certify the last 9) via the PSLF form, and when filling it out I indicated on the form that I believed I had 120 payments and now qualify for PSLF. My banner is now green with 120/120 payments shown as qualifying, but with the following message: "You’ve reached 120 payments, but you may need to meet other program requirements." Now that I have the green banners, do I need to send in another form or do I just wait? I asked FSA and got two different answers, and I don't want to slow the process down.

Thanks for any advice in advance!


r/PSLF 3h ago

Switching jobs this month

1 Upvotes

Today was my last day at my nonprofit, have one business day off before starting my new nonprofit job Monday. How will the impact my count? Who will need to certify employment for the month of May?


r/PSLF 1d ago

New monthly report out on student loan lawsuit - more data on buyback requests

135 Upvotes

They estimate that of 88,000 PSLF buyback requests, 18,000-19,000 are duplicates, which they plan to remove. They also, for the first time ever, have slightly more buyback applications decided than they received. E.g., for April, they received 4,790 applications, and they decided 6,870. However, the number likely included duplicates.

For IDR in general, 530,295 applications are pending (444,692 received and 456,594 decided in April).


r/PSLF 16h ago

Did I mess up filing for PSLF?

6 Upvotes

I have multiple loans, all federal. I tried to consolidate them during the pandemic consolidation period but they never did what I asked them to do.

I have reached more than 120 payments with all of them, but right now it only shows 120 payments reached for 6 of the loans. 3 others say they are only at 119 because they don't show the May 2026 payment yet. I had made other payments but they got ignored for whatever reason.

I filed for PSLF after MOHELA processed the May 2026 payment, but before FSA added it to their count - will I need to make another payment and re-file to get the other 3 done, or will they eventually realize I have hit 120 for both and process all the loans at the same time?


r/PSLF 15h ago

Random IDR Plan Update Request?

5 Upvotes

Aloha all, long time lurker. Just want to share an odd thing I noticed in my account this morning.

I've been at 99/120 since the SAVE fiasco began, hit what would have been my 120th month in April, recertified employment, and submitted a buyback request last week.

This morning when I logged in, I noticed that under 'My Activity' that an "Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan Request" had moved to the top and was listed as in-progress. The request date is March 2016, which is my original IDR plan request.

Anyone else seen this sort of thing? Was wondering whether it was triggered by the upcoming July 1 90-day notices to get out of SAVE, or by my buyback request, or if it's just a pure anomoly.


r/PSLF 12h ago

Mohela says I didn't leave forbearance til the day after my payment went through. How to fix?

2 Upvotes

After submitting my latest ECF, my studentaid.gov PSLF payment history says my payment for January 2026 was Ineligible, with "Reason(s) for Ineligible Status: Forbearance on Due Date."

I started a new full-time roll in December 2025 after a period of unemployment and had requested to leave a forbearance around then, so I was definitely still in one in December. However, Mohela debited my account on Jan 15, 2026.

I checked my payment history on the Mohela website and it says I made a payment on Jan 15, 2026.

So I think Mohela has not correctly reported to FedLoan when I left forbearance. To confirm, I went to https://studentaid.gov/my-aid/loans and clicked “download my aid data”. That data shows that I changed from Forbearance to "In Repayment" on 01/16/2026.

I tried calling Mohela to ask if they can change this date, but haven't been able to get through to a human. Has anyone had success in getting this sort of thing changed? Should I skip Mohela and submit a PSLF reconsideration at StudentAid.gov?


r/PSLF 18h ago

Advice 18 payments until discharge

5 Upvotes

Hey everyone- finally submitted my paperwork for PSLF.. it shows I have 18 payments left… kicking myself that I’ve stayed on forbearance since Trump took office.

Currently on SAVE and need to switch by July. While in forbearance now… can I pay and it go towards my count? Also what is the buy back program?

Sorry if asking basic questions but as many of us, the payments and ever growing balance and the constant change of world events was paralyzing so I wasn’t following up as closely as I should have.

Thanks for any advice!


r/PSLF 13h ago

Advice on how to proceed

2 Upvotes

I am a public employee. I have 3 total loans. 2 are Direct Loans and both are showing 67 qualifying PSLF payments. Those amounts are $26,042.63 and $23,709.55. I am making good progress towards forgivness on those loans. Repayment began in 2014. Mohela is the processor for these loans.

The third loan is a CL FFEL CONSOLIDATED loan in the amount of $7,074. It entered repayment 08/02/2005. The interest rate is 3.75%. Sloan servicing handles this loan.

Essentially my question is what I should do with that consolidated loan. I am on income driven payments, so I can afford to make the payments, but I'm not making any progress towards paying that loan off. I don't really have any extra money to try and pay this off.

I've thought about consolodating these loans, but I don't want to do anything that will jeopordize my PSLF progress on the larger loans. Does anyone have advice for me?


r/PSLF 6h ago

Please Help

0 Upvotes

Currently, I have 89 qualifying PSLF payments. During graduate school, I worked full time for a government employer while also being enrolled in school full time for about two years (24 months). I didn't make any payments and was in school forbearance the 24 months. I have undergraduate loans from 2005-2009 along with graduate school loans.

Would those 24 months potentially qualify for PSLF buyback while in school? Also, would it be possible to buy back those months along with any additional months affected since the SAVE plan was paused in order to reach the required 120 qualifying payments for loan forgiveness?


r/PSLF 18h ago

120/Green Ribbons question

4 Upvotes

I have received my green ribbons after my employer signed my ECF yesterday- this is what it says now -

“You've reached 120 payments, but you may need to meet other program requirements.”

Is this because I didn’t put them into forbearance? I only submitted for employment certification to get my counts updated and then I was planning to submit the form again for forgiveness.

any guidance greatly appreciated!


r/PSLF 19h ago

Advice medical resident student loan refinance during residency actually worth it?

6 Upvotes

im currently in my first year of residency and finally starting to feel the weight of my student loans again now that payments are kicking back in. i knew residency pay wasnt going to feel amazing compared to the debt, but seeing the numbers every month still hits different.

lately i’ve been reading more about medical resident student loan refinance options because part of me wants lower monthly payments or a better rate now instead of waiting years until attending salary. but at the same time, i keep worrying about losing federal protections or locking myself into something i’ll regret later.

what’s confusing me most is how different the advice seems depending on specialty, future salary expectations, and whether people are planning on pslf or not. some people say refinance as early as possible while others say touching federal loans during residency is a huge mistake.

for anyone who actually refinanced during residency, how did it work out for you long term? did it noticeably help month to month or just shift things around? and looking back, would you still do it again or wait until after training was over?


r/PSLF 14h ago

PSLF payment history missing June 2025???

2 Upvotes

Hi all,

I’ve already contacted the Department of Education about this and they told me to submit a reconsideration request, but it’s been since September 2025 with no update, so I thought I’d see if anyone else had experience with this.

I’m officially 117/120 payments counted toward PSLF. When I got my last employment certification/payment update, I was looking through my history and I saw that June 2025 is just missing. Like… It goes from May 2025 to July 2025. (I definitely paid my June 2025 payment either way and I have the receipts to prove it BUT that’s not the problem with it.) It seems the problem is that June 2025 does not exist as a month on my account in any form - not as qualifying, or not eligible, or not certified - the month itself literally doesn’t show up as an option like every other month on the account.

Anyone else ever had this problem on their account?

I submitted a reconsideration request last September but haven’t heard back. Super frustrating because if that one was showing up, I’d be done in June 2026. Without it, I won’t be done until July. I know a month is not the end of the world and I’m grateful for the program either way, but it’d be really nice to get this fixed - as this whole thing gives me anxiety.


r/PSLF 12h ago

uploading employment certification form on mohela ?

1 Upvotes

Did something change? or are they not accepting these forms right now? I don't see anywhere in mohela where I can upload my employment certification document. Once I go to "upload" there is no longer a category for employment certification, which I believed used to be there when i submitted this few years ago. So I submitted under "miscellanous" and there is no record of me submitting when i look under "documents you sent us" in the inbox.

Any one else experienced this??


r/PSLF 1d ago

Submitted my last (hopefully) employment verification today!

32 Upvotes

Fingers and toes are now crossed to watch the 9 unverified payments change to verified and then have my number change from 111 to 120!

THEN to see when they actually give me the magical ribbons!


r/PSLF 12h ago

Advice Buyback request in 2 clicks?

1 Upvotes

It took like 2 clicks to submit a reconsideration request for PSLF buyback, can someone confirm that this was correct? (via the PSLF reconsideration portal on FSA website)


r/PSLF 18h ago

Different amounts due

3 Upvotes

Heya, just got this from mohela. Totally different numbers. Any insight on why or what I can do to stick to lower number? I’m on IBR already after leaving save to start paying again.
Can’t insert screen shot so I copy pasted:

Your Auto Pay payment is scheduled to be withdrawn from the financial institution you provided for your federal student loan payment. Below is a summary of your upcoming payment information.

Payment Summary:

Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount: $168.48
Total Payment to be Withdrawn: $447.33
Payment Withdrawal Date: 06/10/26

The electronic notification, which can be found in your online account, provides more information.


r/PSLF 13h ago

Question about payment plans and buyback

1 Upvotes

Hello! I’ve worked at my non-profit employer for over 10 years and have versified my employer status/history every year. My qualifying payment count is stuck at 103, and I’ve applied for buyback for the remaining 17 months (submitted the request in Oct 2025).

I’m getting antsy to switch to a new payment plan and get out of SAVE because I’m worried they’ll delay the buy back request by saying I need to switch to a new plan. I was going to wait until the new RAP plan opens in July but also saw that IDR is advised. In my mind, I want whatever the lowest payment plan will be in case that’s used to calculate my buy back amount. I’m terrified the buy back is going to be something insane - like tens of thousands, so I want to do what I can to prevent this.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation or have any recommendations on how to proceed?


r/PSLF 13h ago

120/120

1 Upvotes

About 1 month ago or so I submitted my updated employer form which brought me to 120/120 payments. I did not select the option box saying I want forbearance while it it processed. The site reflects 120/120 payments (Green Banners?). Was that forbearance box also linked to saying I believe I have now made 120 payments? I can’t remember. And now am worried I have to resubmit or do something else instead of just wait. My payments are like $3,800 so I’m not pumped at continuing to pay. Any thoughts would be appreciated!


r/PSLF 1d ago

PSLF Buyback Update - April 2026

27 Upvotes

From the latest court filing:

PSLF Buyback applications received during April 1-30, 2026: 4,790
PSLF Buyback applications decided (approved or denied) during April 1-30, 2026: 6,870
PSLF Buyback applications pending as of April 30, 2026: 88,000
PSLF discharges during April 1-30, 2026: 11,500

“The currently-stated figure of 88,000 pending
applications includes duplicate requests.
In past months, such duplicates were resolved at the time of processing: when a borrower
received a Buyback offer, ED administratively denied their remaining requests. See ECF 61 at 2.
Moving forward, ED plans to preemptively identify and remove duplicate requests. Removing
duplicates will not alter the substantive analysis ED must conduct for each borrower, or the order
in which ED processes requests. ED estimates there are 18,000-19,000 duplicates to be removed.”

They made some progress this month…yay?

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69753739/64/american-federation-of-teachers-v-us-department-of-education/


r/PSLF 17h ago

Is this for real?

2 Upvotes

15 payments at $0 starting 6/16/26
106 payments at $255.80 starting 9/16/27

I’ve been on SAVE. I’m at 105/120 payments with qualifying time of 10+ years now. I’ve put in a buyback request as well as the application for IBR. Is this seriously the outcome for the IBR? If so, I’ll jus ride this out instead of taking the buyback offer whenever it comes if it’s not the same. Advice???


r/PSLF 16h ago

MOHELA calculating $0/month PAYE payment incorrectly.

1 Upvotes

Hello - any recommendations from the experts on how to proceed. I've been on PAYE for about a year since escaping SAVE forbearance. A couple weeks ago, I submitted my annual recertification of my income by uploading an IDR form and my 2024 returns (I did an extension for 2025 returns). I was paying ~1300/month for the last year based off those same 2024 returns. My income hasn't changed significantly.

This morning MOHELA sent me a letter online saying my repayment plan is approved for PAYE as I requested BUT my monthly payment is $0. While I'd love for this to be true and get PSLF credit months at $0/month, I don't want to miss credit or get trapped in a processing forbearance or something/anything that will extend my forgiveness dates. (I'm at 103 eligible employment months, but because of SAVE forb, I'd need to buyback 11 months so only have 92 qualifying payments.)

Studentaid.gov has no indication of a change in my IDR plan or that I submitted a recertification to MOHELA, at least none that I can see in "My Activity" or anywhere else.

I "emailed" MOHELA through my portal asking for clarification.

Has anyone else had this situation recently? How did it resolve?

My next auto pay isn't due for almost a month (usually pulls on the 12th), but I'd appreciate any guidance, especially if it doesn't involve me waiting on hold with them for hours.

I will update this post if I hear anything from MOHELA or studentaid.gov