More than 800,000 federal student loan holders remain stuck in a backlog of applications for an affordable repayment plan or debt forgiveness, a new court filing shows.
As of the end of December, 734,221 borrower requests to transfer into an income-driven repayment plan were still pending with the U.S. Department of Education, the agency reported. Another 83,370 borrowers continued to wait for a decision on their Public Service Loan Forgiveness Buyback application.
IDR plans limit a borrower’s monthly bill to a share of their discretionary income and cancel any remaining debt after a certain period, typically 20 years or 25 years.
The buyback option allows borrowers pursuing PSLF to retroactively pay for any months they missed because of a forbearance or deferment, accelerating their timeline to forgiveness. Signed into law in 2007 by President George W. Bush, PSLF offers debt cancellation to those who’ve spent a decade working for certain not-for-profits or the government.
Some borrowers have now been stuck in the backlog for more than a year.
