- The Division of Schooling considerably elevated its processing of Earnings-Pushed Compensation (IDR) purposes in Could 2025, with almost 286,000 purposes processed.
- Public Service Mortgage Forgiveness (PSLF) buyback processing additionally improved however at a slower tempo, with simply over 3,300 requests processed.
- Regardless of the progress, the backlog of pending IDR and PSLF requests stays massive, and plenty of IDR purposes might by no means be processed.
The Division of Schooling processed 285,694 Earnings-Pushed Compensation (IDR) purposes throughout Could 2025, greater than tripling its April complete of 79,349. That is in line with the newest standing report (PDF File) required as a part of the American Federation of Academics lawsuit in opposition to the Division of Schooling. The rise follows the resumption of full software processing, and the introduction of a brand new on-line IDR software.
But even with this sharp uptick in exercise, greater than 1.58 million IDR purposes remained pending on the finish of Could. That determine displays a lower from 1.98 million pending purposes only a month earlier, but it surely underscores the dimensions of the problem the Division continues to face.
Officers have warned that not all purposes could also be accomplished. Debtors who submitted purposes and chosen “SAVE” or chosen “lowest month-to-month fee” might not see their purposes processed till the lawsuit in opposition to the SAVE plan is resolved, or Congress acts to remove the SAVE plan altogether. This might be upwards of 1 million purposes caught in limbo.
PSLF Buyback Numbers Are Regarding
Whereas the IDR program noticed a surge in processing, progress on the Public Service Mortgage Forgiveness (PSLF) buyback program was extra modest. The Division accomplished 3,312 buyback requests in Could, up from 1,472 in April.
Nonetheless, the entire variety of pending PSLF buyback requests elevated from 49,318 to 58,761. The rise in pending requests means that new purposes outpaced the Division’s skill to course of them through the month.
The buyback program permits debtors who had durations of federal pupil mortgage forbearance or deferment to retroactively depend qualifying funds towards mortgage forgiveness in the event that they meet the PSLF standards. However processing delays have made it tough for debtors to entry reduction in a well timed method.
PSLF buyback is processed by a small workforce instantly on the Division of Schooling. It is doubtless that the whiplash of layoffs, adopted by rehiring, and the elevated quantity of purposes, is making it onerous for the workforce to course of them well timed or successfully.
In 2024, we had been seeing common wait occasions on buyback purposes taking 2-3 months. In the present day, we’re seeing 6-7 months, and that quantity is rising.
What Debtors Can Anticipate
The present tempo of IDR plan processing, whereas improved, nonetheless leaves greater than one million debtors in limbo. Even in the event you exclude the SAVE plan debtors, there are nonetheless many purposes ready to be processed. We have additionally heard experiences from debtors that filed the brand new on-line type, and are nonetheless caught and never being processed. Despite the fact that many debtors are reporting the web type solely taking a number of days, that is not true for everybody.
And the slower progress within the PSLF buyback system means that many public service staff might have to attend months longer to obtain updates or mortgage forgiveness.
It is good that these standing updates are offering fundamental transparency, however extra information on approval charges, common processing occasions, and causes for delays would assist each debtors and policymakers assess the effectiveness of those applications.
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