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Borrowers seeking relief through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program are reporting delays as their qualifying payments fail to appear on official trackers, slowing or pausing progress toward debt forgiveness after 120 payments. The disruptions affect workers in government and nonprofit jobs who become eligible for cancellation after a decade of qualifying payments.
Payment counts paused on borrower dashboards
Several borrowers said they reached their 120th qualifying payment and then did not see that milestone reflected on the federal dashboard. A notice one borrower received from Federal Student Aid, reviewed by Business Insider, warned that payment counts on the dashboard had been suspended. The notice said, in part, “Payment counts are currently static, and updates or correspondence related to these counts will resume once the issues are resolved.”
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An Education Department spokesperson did not answer questions about the specific accuracy of that notice. The spokesperson had previously told reporters that the department “remains committed to ensuring that every qualifying payment is properly credited to a borrower’s account.”
Borrowers who do not want to continue making payments while counts are paused can request forbearance, but interest will continue to accrue on their loans during any forbearance period.
Buyback backlog and duplicate requests
In addition to paused payment counts, the Education Department is still processing a backlog of PSLF Buyback applications, which let borrowers “buy back” months spent in deferment or forbearance if those months would push them to the 10-year threshold. According to the Education Department’s status report, there were about 88,000 pending Buyback applications as of April 30, 2026.
The department’s report also noted that some borrowers have submitted multiple Buyback requests, a factor the Education Department said “which inflates the number of pending requests.”
Broader rollout problems tied to repayment overhaul
These technical and administrative problems come as borrowers contend with a wide-ranging repayment overhaul announced under the Trump administration that, according to the source material, took effect on July 1. Borrowers have reported receiving incorrect billing statements, erroneous notices of delinquency, and, in some cases, the removal of previously counted qualifying payments toward PSLF. The Education Department has attributed some of those payment losses to coding errors it says date to the Biden administration.
The ongoing glitches and confusion prompted nearly 100 advocacy organizations to ask lawmakers for “emergency” oversight to ensure borrowers are not harmed by the simultaneous changes to the federal student loan system. The groups warned, “The federal student loan system is undergoing several drastic changes all at once.”
The developments reflect continuing operational challenges as the Education Department manages program fixes, application backlogs, and the transition to the new repayment rules described in its public status report and communications reviewed by Business Insider.
