The buyback opportunity is available for borrowers who currently have a balance on their Direct loans and are pursuing PSLF. This will allow borrowers who would have 120 qualifying payments but were in certain types of deferment or forbearance buyback those periods to receive forgiveness.
Certain periods will not be eligible for buyback, including:
- Periods of in-school deferment
- Grace periods (the three to six month long period after you graduate before your loans go into repayment)
- Default or bankruptcy periods
- Periods on loans before consolidating. Direct Consolidations loans will only be eligible for any payments made after disbursement on the new consolidation loan.
Borrowers must be at 120 qualifying months at an eligible employer and be currently in repayment to be eligible for this program.
To request a buyback, you will submit a Reconsideration Request on the FSA website here: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/pslf-reconsideration
You can select the PSLF Buyback option, and then select the "Yes, I have 120 months of qualifying employment" option.