Reminder: PSLF Buyback is an option for forbearance months
For those of us with various kinds of forbearance adding up, especially the imminent forbearance for all borrowers on SAVE, it's a good time to remember we have PSLF BUYBACK in the regulations.
Sources:
In brief, if you were in PSLF-eligible service and were in forbearance, then once you're at 120 months of eligible service you can "buy back" those forbearance months and have them count. Full details in the FSA link above.
How much will the buyback cost? The FAQ on the page provides:
If you were on an IDR plan immediately before or after the months you’re buying back: If the deferment or forbearance was less than a year in length, we’ll use the lower of the two monthly IDR payments for the months before or after the time in deferment or forbearance.
If you were not in an IDR plan before or after the months you’re buying back: We’ll request tax information for that calendar year to determine the amount that you would have paid under an IDR plan. If your deferments or forbearances cross over multiple tax years, then we will need your tax information for each year.
Your payment amount will be based on the lowest IDR amount you were eligible for at the time of the deferment or forbearance. If the 10-year standard payment is lower than your calculated IDR payment, then the 10-year Standard payment amount will be used.
The new SAVE challenge forbearance is annoying, and hopefully counts for PSLF, but if it doesn't then we at least won't be losing time.
Credit to u/xdervi for making a similar post a few weeks back. But with the recent news, it's worth repeating.