A person pushes a stroller past the U.S. Department of Education on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
More than 643,000 federal student loan borrowers are waiting for the Trump administration to forgive their debt or enroll them in an affordable repayment plan, according to a new court filing.
Trump officials reported on Wednesday that 553,966 borrowers’ requests for an income-driven repayment plan were still pending as of the end of March. Another 89,720 borrowers are waiting on an answer to their Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback application, the court filing showed.
Signed into law in 2007 by President George W. Bush, PSLF offers debt cancellation to nonprofit and government workers after a decade. The buyback option, introduced by the Biden administration, allows borrowers pursuing PSLF to retroactively pay for any months they missed due to forbearance or deferment, accelerating their timeline to forgiveness.
Many student loan borrowers rely on IDR plans to afford their monthly payments. The plans limit monthly payments to a share of discretionary income and cancel any remaining debt after a certain period, typically 20 or 25 years.
Experts expect the backlog of new repayment requests to worsen now that the U.S. Department of Education has set a deadline for millions of student loan borrowers to exit the Biden administration-era Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
