Thousands of student loan borrowers continue to face significant delinquencies and delays in their PSLF redemption applications. The PSLF Buyback Program is a relatively new offshoot of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program that provides borrowers with an additional path to loan discharge by allowing them to “buy back” certain past periods of deferment and forbearance that were not counted toward loan forgiveness because they were not in repayment status.
But many borrowers face months or even years of delays in processing their applications. As of spring 2026, the Department of Education reported that approximately 88,000 PSLF buyout applications remained stuck in a backlog. Although there are signs that the backlog has eased somewhat, the department has not released any new data since May 2026, so it is unclear whether there has been substantial progress. Meanwhile, student loan borrowers regularly report having to wait one or two years, and sometimes longer, to get a decision on their application.
Facing these significant delays can be difficult for student loan borrowers, and any option is potentially burdensome. But here’s what to consider if you’re applying for student loan forgiveness through PSLF redemption.
How PSLF Buyout Works
PSLF redemption gives borrowers the opportunity to obtain retroactive PSLF credit for periods when they were not making payments on their student loans due to deferment or forbearance. Borrowers can apply for PSLF redemption once they have at least 10 years of eligible public service employment, and the months subject to redemption would allow them to reach their 120th qualifying payment required to obtain loan forgiveness under PSLF.
“You can buy back months that do not count as qualified payments because you were in an ineligible deferment or forbearance status,” the Department of Education explains in its report. PSLF redemption site. “You can only buy back these months if you were not enrolled in either the Repayment Assistance Plan or the Standard Tiered Plan during the month(s) you want to buy back, if you still have an outstanding balance on your loan(s), and if you have approved qualifying employment for those same months.”
If approved, borrowers would have to make a payment equivalent to what they would have paid during the redemption period if they had been repaid under an eligible repayment plan, usually based on their income. The Department of Education would give the borrower 90 days to submit payment.
“You must make an additional payment of at least as much as you would have made under an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan during the months you are trying to repurchase,” the Department of Education says. “The amount required will be based on your income and family size at the time of deferral or forbearance, not your current income and family size.”
Payments remain due on student loans after applying for PSLF redemption
But after a borrower requests student loan forgiveness through PSLF redemption, payments continue to be due on their loans. And the Department of Education says borrowers must continue to make their regular monthly payments while awaiting a decision on their PSLF redemption application.
“You must continue to make your student loan payments until the review is completed and the buyout is approved,” the Department of Education states in its online PSLF buyout guidance. “You are still responsible for your current student loan payment. »
This can pose a major complication for borrowers due to significant delays in processing PSLF redemptions. Borrowers are not entitled to any sort of automatic administrative forbearance that suspends their student loan payments while awaiting a PSLF redemption decision. This means borrowers may face a difficult decision on how to proceed after applying.
Borrowers can continue to repay their student loans while waiting for PSLF redemption
One option is for borrowers to simply continue paying their student loans each month, as required, while waiting for the Department of Education to make a decision on their PSLF redemption application. Skipping payments would not be a good option because it would lead to delinquencies and possibly default, which would harm credit and could even prevent a borrower from qualifying for student loan forgiveness. Defaulted federal student loans are not eligible for PSLF redemption.
Given the significant wait times associated with the PSLF redemption backlog, some borrowers may end up reaching the 120th eligible PSLF payment through regular repayment before even receiving a response to their redemption request. But the potential downside to continuing to make payments is that if the additional payments end up costing more overall than the borrower would pay through the PSLF buyout (which is possible if the borrower’s income has increased since the buyout period), the total cost of student loan forgiveness may be higher overall. And although borrowers are generally entitled to reimbursement of any payments made in excess out of the 120 eligible payments required for PSLF, they are not entitled to reimbursement of the difference between the total cost of these payments and what the projected buyout amount would have been.
“You cannot receive a refund unless your payment exceeds the amount identified in the PSLF repurchase agreement and you have no other additional outstanding loans,” the Department of Education says.
Nonetheless, continuing to make regular payments while awaiting PSLF redemption could be a prudent decision for borrowers who do not want to wait indefinitely for a response from the Department of Education; we do not want to halt progress toward loan forgiveness under PSLF; or are considering leaving a government job or do not want to rely exclusively on PSLF redemption for relief, given the significant issues and uncertainty associated with the program.
Borrowers can pause their student loans while awaiting PSLF redemption
Alternatively, borrowers can potentially place their student loans in forbearance status while awaiting a decision on their PSLF redemption application. This would temporarily suspend their student loan payments during the forbearance period. As noted, there is no right to automatic administrative forbearance for pending PSLF redemption applications. But borrowers can potentially take advantage of their general forbearance while they wait.
The benefit of forbearance is that it keeps federal student loans in good standing (and therefore eligible for PSLF) while suspending or deferring payments. If the borrower is approved for redemption, they will only need to pay the amount identified in the PSLF redemption offer letter from the Department of Education within the 90-day period, and they should be able to have their student loan forgiven.
But there are potential downsides to blanket abstention. First, borrowers do not have unlimited forbearance options. Most borrowers have a maximum of 36 months of general or financial hardship forbearance during the repayment term of a given federal student loan. While this is a lot, it is not uncommon for borrowers to use some of this allotted forbearance from time to time, thereby reducing the number of months of forbearance remaining. Since there is no way to know how long the wait will be for PSLF redemption, it is possible that a borrower could run out of available forbearance before receiving a response from the Department of Education about their redemption eligibility, which could put them in a difficult position and force them to abruptly start repayment again.
There are other potential downsides as well. Interest continues to accrue during the forbearance period, which can cause the balance to grow significantly over time. And if a borrower’s PSLF redemption request is ultimately denied, the forbearance period will not have been factored into the PSLF, further delaying the borrower’s ability to qualify for loan forgiveness. Additionally, blanket forbearances are only granted at the discretion of student loan servicers; While loan servicers have historically granted forbearance requests as long as the borrower has sufficient forbearance, borrowers could find themselves in a difficult situation if they need to extend a forbearance but are unable to do so after a loan servicer rejects their request.
How to decide between paying and forbearing during arrears
Ultimately, borrowers seeking student loan forgiveness through PSLF redemption have difficult choices to make given the significant backlog of applications and processing delays. When considering whether to continue making qualifying regular PSLF payments while they wait, or request forbearance instead, borrowers will need to weigh the pros and cons and consider their own unique situation to make the decision that best fits their goals.
