If you are part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and nearing or already past the 120-payment milestone, there’s a new opportunity to help you qualify for student loan forgiveness.
The PSLF Buyback Program allows eligible borrowers to “buy back” months when their loans were in deferment or forbearance, so those months count towards the required 120 payments.
How Does the PSLF Buyback Work?
PSLF forgives student loans for public service workers—like teachers and nurses—after 120 qualifying payments, usually over 10 years of service. However, if you missed payments due to deferment or forbearance, those months wouldn’t normally count.
With the buyback program, you can make a payment now to cover those missed months. For example, if you have worked in a qualifying job for 130 months but only made 115 payments due to deferment, you could pay for the missing five months to meet the 120-payment requirement and qualify for forgiveness.
The amount you need to pay depends on your monthly loan payment and the number of missed months. For income-driven repayment plans, this could be as little as $0 per month, while others might owe a few hundred dollars.
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Eligibility for PSLF Buyback
To qualify for the buyback program, you must:
- Have at least 120 months of qualifying public service work (including months when payments weren’t made).
- Be short of 120 payments due to deferment or forbearance.
- Have a remaining loan balance greater than zero.
Loans in default or already discharged don’t qualify, and this program does not speed up your timeline if you’ve worked less than 10 years.
How to Apply
- Submit missing employment periods through the PSLF Help Tool.
- Review your updated payment count.
- Confirm the months you want to buy back and verify qualifying employment for those months.
- Submit a buyback request via PSLF Reconsideration.
- Pay the required amount to your loan servicer within 90 days.
You can check your payment history and application status at StudentAid.gov.
Can you apply while enrolled in SAVE?
Yes. If you are part of the SAVE income-driven repayment plan, you’re still eligible for the buyback program. SAVE borrowers who were expecting loan forgiveness during the recent payment pause are good candidates for this program.
Is There a Deadline?
Currently, there is no fixed deadline to apply. However, you will have 90 days to make your payment once you receive your buyback amount. If you miss the payment window, you’ll need to start a new application.
With the future of the PSLF Buyback program uncertain, it is a good idea to apply now if you’re eligible. Do not wait—this could be your chance to finally achieve student loan forgiveness.
