A court filing submitted by the U.S. Department of Education in mid-April 2026 revealed that more than 643,000 federal student loan borrowers are still waiting to be enrolled in a repayment plan or have their debt forgiven. More than 553,000 of those are waiting on an income-driven repayment plan. Another 89,720 are waiting on a Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback decision. The backlog has real consequences: months spent waiting in administrative forbearance generally do not count toward loan forgiveness.

A Backlog That Won't Go Away

The federal student loan system has been in turmoil for more than a year. The SAVE plan — the Biden administration's flagship income-driven repayment program — was struck down by a federal appeals court in March 2026. More than 7 million borrowers who were enrolled in SAVE were moved into administrative forbearance while the courts and Congress sorted out what comes next.

But that transition created a secondary problem: hundreds of thousands of borrowers who tried to switch to a different repayment plan or apply for forgiveness have been stuck in a queue.

According to a court filing submitted by the Department of Education, the numbers as of the end of March 2026 looked like this:

  • 553,966 borrowers had income-driven repayment plan applications still pending
  • 89,720 borrowers were waiting for a response on their Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback application

Combined, that's more than 643,000 people in limbo — waiting to know what their monthly payment will be, or whether years of qualifying payments have finally crossed the threshold for forgiveness.

643,000+

Why the Backlog Exists

The IDR backlog isn't new. It peaked at roughly 1.4 million applications in July — double the current number. Progress has been made, but the pace has slowed.

The root cause is structural: the SAVE plan's collapse created a wave of applications as borrowers scrambled to switch plans. At the same time, the Department of Education and federal student loan servicers went through staffing and operational changes. Manual review is required for many of these cases, and the volume overwhelmed processing capacity.

For PSLF buyback applicants specifically, the program allows borrowers who have 120 months of qualifying employment to retroactively pay for any months they missed due to forbearance or deferment — but the review process is lengthy, and the new PSLF rules taking effect July 1, 2026 may change the cost of that buyback upward.

Months spent in administrative forbearance while waiting for a repayment plan generally do NOT count toward the 20- or 25-year forgiveness timeline under income-driven repayment. Only the first 60 days of processing forbearance count toward PSLF credit. If your application has been pending for months, those months may be lost time toward forgiveness.

What Borrowers Should Do Right Now

If you have a pending IDR application, your options are limited but not zero.

Check your account. Log into studentaid.gov and review your current loan status. If your application shows as processing, note the date you submitted.

Contact your servicer directly. The backlog is primarily affecting older applications — many from early 2025 during the peak SAVE chaos — that require manual review. If your application has been pending for more than 60 days, call your servicer and ask for a status update. Document the call: write down the date, the representative's name, and what they told you.

Consider whether to wait or reapply. In many cases, submitting a new online application processes faster — sometimes in 3–7 days — than waiting for a backlogged manual application. But reapplying could reset your submission date. Ask your servicer before doing this.

Understand your July 1 deadline. Starting July 1, 2026, borrowers who are still in SAVE forbearance will have a 90-day window to choose a new repayment plan. The new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will be available then. If you don't act, you risk being placed on standard repayment with a higher payment. Learn how RAP compares to other plans.

For a full overview of what income-driven repayment options exist right now, see income-driven repayment plans explained.

If you're a public servant — teacher, nurse, government worker, or nonprofit employee — the PSLF buyback backlog is especially urgent. The cost of buyback purchases may increase under rules taking effect July 1, 2026. If you have a pending buyback application, check its status now and be prepared to document your employment history carefully if you're asked to resubmit.

The Financial Strain Is Real

The waiting has financial consequences beyond just forgiveness timelines. According to a survey by The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) and Data for Progress, about 42% of federal student loan borrowers say their monthly payments make it harder to cover basic needs like food and housing.

For borrowers in forbearance, payments may be paused — but uncertainty about future payment amounts makes budgeting nearly impossible. Some borrowers have been waiting since mid-2025 to know what they'll owe starting in fall 2026.

The average student loan payment is already significant for most households. Not knowing whether that number is $150/month or $400/month makes it hard to plan anything else.

The Bigger Picture

The IDR backlog is a symptom of a larger breakdown in the federal student loan system. The SAVE plan's end left millions of borrowers without a clear path forward. Congress is working on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which would consolidate repayment options and introduce the new RAP plan — but the transition itself is causing the current disruption.

For borrowers trying to understand their student loan forgiveness options, the landscape has shifted significantly in the past six months. The programs that were promised when you took out your loans may look different now.

If you borrowed Parent PLUS loans, the changes are even more significant — a July 2026 cap on Parent PLUS borrowing changes the calculus for families taking out loans for future semesters.

Summary: What to Do This Month

  • Log into studentaid.gov and confirm your current loan status
  • Check whether your IDR or PSLF application is still processing
  • Contact your servicer if an application has been pending more than 60 days
  • Understand the July 1, 2026 deadline to switch repayment plans
  • Research whether RAP or IBR is the better option for your income and loan type

The backlog will likely shrink further before July — but it won't disappear. Borrowers who take proactive steps now will have more choices than those who wait.

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Footnotes

  1. Lobosco, K. (2026, April 15). Over 643,000 student loan borrowers are waiting on repayment plans or forgiveness, court filing shows. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/15/student-loan-borrowers-struggle-to-access-debt-forgiveness-repayment-.html ↩

  2. The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) & Data for Progress. (2026). Survey of federal student loan borrowers on monthly payment burden. Referenced in CNBC reporting, April 2026. ↩