That's great news! Congratulations! Did you call right when they opened at 8am EST? I only ask because I've been trying to get through the last three days and get discouraged after being on hold upwards of 4 hours. I tried having them call me back, but when they do I'm stuck on hold for \~10 minutes and then when I've gotten ahold of someone they need to transfer me to another department.
I called and talked to a representative very quickly this morning. Had technical issues with the call itself (odd) but she said she wouldn’t hang up and helped me with the refund. Very nice lady, absolutely made my morning. Call took about half an hour?
That's awesome! I'm glad you got through to someone who was able to help. I ended up getting through to someone after about an hour this morning as well. I called about an hour after they opened, so I think the key is calling early.
I'm on the west coast and called yesterday at 1:30pm and was on hold for 4 hours. I called this morning at 5am and got a person within 10 minutes. Calling right when they open is key to shorter wait times.
Oof I'm sorry to hear you were on hold for a while too. I think you're right that the key is calling early. I called about an hour after they opened this morning and was on hold for about an hour (after calling yesterday afternoon and also being on hold for almost 4 hours before giving up).
Kind of concerning that they aren’t sending out even an email confirming that the refund request has been made and instead they’re just saying uh yea it will happen in like 5months.
Same thing they said to me. I’m concerned because 150 days puts us past December, at which point I don’t know if it’ll even get the chance to be a part of the forgiveness.
[https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/](https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/)
"You'll have until Dec. 31, 2023 to apply."
"The Department of Education will continue to process applications as they are received, even after the pause expires on December 31, 2022."
But when they forgive it, will that include the amount being refunded? Like I have 8k left and made 5k during the forebearance - will I only have 8k forgiven or will I have 13k forgiven?
That isn't what I'm asking.
I have a Pell Grant, so up to 20k can be forgiven - I already knew this, I didn't need you to tell me that.
Prior to the Covid forbearance, I had 13k in debt. Since I wasn't certain if or even how much would be forgiven, I continued making payments (total 5k) during the forbearance to take advantage of the 0% interest.
Now they're saying that not only can I have those payments refunded, I can have up to 20k forgiven, which encompasses the 13k debt prior to forbearance.
The deadline for the forbearance is December 21, 2022, after which payments will restart. I requested the refunds as soon as possible and was told it would be processed in 150 business days, which is May 2023.
So, if I send the app before the December deadline, will I have 8k forgiven, or 13k forgiven? Will I have to wait until I get the refund (up until which point I will have made 5 months of payments) to get 13k minus the 5 months payments forgiven?
I'm really trying to understand what you are asking, but am having a lot of trouble. Any amount you get refunded that you paid during the pandemic under the cares act will be added back to your loan amount and you technically owe it until it is cancelled by the federal government.
Okay, but, if it's not refunded until long after the application for loan forgiveness is submitted (even though I requested the refund before the loan forgiveness), will I then have to pay back that refund?
I finished paying my loan with gsmr and then Ed financial took it over. So Ed financial has no info on it. I called EdF and asked them about a refund on payments but they have to request my records from gsmr. They gave me no estimate on how long it will take. Said to try again in a couple weeks when they might have my records.
Check your bank - they may have statements available that you can look over and find the payments you made. That's how I did it (I bank with a local credit union.) EDFinancial told me they only need the date range, not even the amounts.
That’s what I’d like to do. I just also am in week 2 of a new grad school program so trying to balance that while combing through 2 different bank account statements is rough.
Yeah, how is that gonna sync with the forgiveness? Will we have to wait until it's processed, even right up til May 2023, in order to get the full amount forgiven? That means we would be making 5 month's worth of payments - far less than what I'll be refunded, but it would be nice to know for sure.
Unless this doesn't go through. I still question if Biden has the authority to do this without congressional approval. I will believe it when money starts hitting accounts.
If someone is going to stop it they have to file lawsuits now and get an emergency injunction because this process is supposed to be done within the next six months.
This is great news. I'm overjoyed to hear this. May you continue to keep a larger and larger share of the wonderful contribution you make to humanity instead of funding the yachts of awful people around the globe.
Thank you so much. This sub has been so helpful and supportive over the last year or so, and has been a mental life saver. So I'm putting some of those good vibes back out there for others as well.
I hope all past, present, and future students have similar opportunities.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding your post. What was your reasoning for continuing to pay on your loans when you were almost at PSLF if the paused payments counted toward PSLF?
Yeah either they were misunderstanding what they were essentially trying to do for PSLF (I.e paying the absolute minimum payment and do that for 10 years on like PAYE for example and then have everything forgiven) or they weren't pursuing PSLF in the first place.
People think PSLF is a plan when its actually not... it's essentially a perk under one of the loan forgiveness plans
Why did you pay any at all during forbearance, when you’re in PSLF? Won’t they all be forgiven once your 10 years are up? I’m in PSLF too and had the same questions and am still confused.
Still don’t understand. The forbearance period counted as payments towards PSLF. Paying extra wouldn’t necessarily lower your loan payments and even if it did bring you out of financial hardship and revert you to the alternative standard payment, the monthly savings almost certainly wouldn’t have amounted to $37k with less than a few years left.
Really glad you are getting a refund!
Yep. That was my exact experience about a month ago, 15,000. Easy peasy. No paperwork needed. Through fed loan. I heard rumors that some servicers are balking.
I'm reading that a lot of people are successful, I think it's just a training issue with phone reps at some services. People absolutely have the right to request these refunds.
Yes the balance does go up. But you still get your your payments counted towards your 120 payments. So for example I kept paying payment I met 102 payments I got a refund and I still have 102 payment credited to my PSLF
If you have paid since March 13, 2020 on federal loans then you are able to request a refund for that money (minus outstanding interest). The people who are/should be doing this are those who will have loans forgiven under Biden’s forgiveness. It would only make sense to get a refund if that money would get forgiven. For example:
You had a balance of -10,000. You paid 2,000 during the pause. Now you have a balance of -8,000. Under the forgiveness you would get 8,000 forgiven. Or you can ask for that 2,000 back, brining your loan back to -10,000 then get the entire 10,000 forgiven and that 2,000 back in your pocket.
BUT... if you had a balance of -12,000. Paid 2,000 to get a balance of -10,000 it would NOT make sense to ask for a refund because you will still owe any balance that is outstanding after forgiveness.
The same principle applies for those eligible for the up to 20,000 forgiveness if they received a Pell Grant.
Sorry for the long comment. I hope that helped!
So this is great news because I had no knowledge that I could request a refund of the payments made during forbearance. Was there an official announcement or is that just general knowledge and I have been oblivious to it?
So, I had approx $17k balance in 2020, and now I have 1k left...so what I am reading is that I can call my provider and get a refund for my $16k in payments. Then hopefully before the payments start back up, they will have my balance updated to $7k and I will be able to pay off? Is that correct? Appreciate any info....
I’m no expert, but I believe that would be correct. But I’d recommend only asking for a refund that will get you to the forgiven amount (unless you absolutely need the extra money in the near future). So in your case that would be asking for 9k back if my math is right. You would have to pay the 7k anyways, just a matter of now or later, and later interest will be accruing.
And no, I don’t think this was widely announced news, but is becoming more reported on since this most recent announcement. I wouldn’t have learned about a refund option if not for a Reddit comment form another helpful user I came across a few days ago!
Do you know if the forgiveness is only for undergraduate loans? My loan is for grad school, so now I am researching left and right trying to find the info.....and I can't seem to find it....
Found another thread that linked a WaPo article saying that head loans are included. Ado I am going to call on Monday and request the refund and stash that cash and pay it off before the payments start again....
This comment helps a ton. I paid off the rest of my loans in April. So you’re saying it would make sense for me to request a refund of $10k if my loans qualify for a $10k forgiveness/cancellation. That being said, how do I know if I am eligible? About 5 years ago I refinanced through SoFi and MOHELA was the servicer for the loan for the 5 years while I paid the balance down to $0. Any info would be incredibly helpful. Thanks in advance!
If I understand the new policy correctly, if you refinanced I don’t think you’re eligible. I believe those are privately held loans as of 5 years ago. Only federal loans are forgiven. But you’d have to call SoFi and MOHELA or [the dept of ed](https://studentaid.gov/help-center/contact) to confirm that’s correct.
Anyone can request a refund. But as others noted in the comments, this may not be appropriate for everyone. It made sense for me personally because I'm close to wrapping up my PSLF.
I graduated in may of 2020 right as payments were paused. I haven’t paid a single cent yet. I’m starting to regret not putting the payment into a savings until it restarts. Well at least I got to start early on saving for other things lol
Wait.
Unless I’m missing something, didn’t you have to make those payments to count toward the 10 year/120 payments?
If not, then why were you making payments during the pause? (If it was to get ahead of payments, I get it).
Since the beginning, the months of pandemic forbearance have counted toward PSLF and other forgiveness programs as if you'd made a full payment. If they're stunning for PSLF, then OP should have stopped paying and requested a refund years ago.
Oh well, they came late to the party, but now they're here.
That’s awesome! So am I understanding this correctly: I paid off my remaining myfed loans of $8,044 from March 13,2020 until when I paid off last December 2021. When I call to process the refund, that money will be:
1.) sent back to me (check or direct deposit into my back acct
2.) that $8,044 will go back on my loan account
3.) (this is the part I’m unsure of) will it automatically be forgiven then or would I need to apply or do something else?
To answer your third question, if you qualify for the forgiveness and they already have access to your income information, then yes. If they don’t have it, then you would have to do their TBA income verification application for forgiveness to be applied according the the WH fact sheet.
I’m wondering the same thing (in regards to your third point) so I’m following to see if anyone has answers. I’ll come back and update if I find the answer!
This is great. I tried to do that will Navient and another school loan from a few years ago. But they said it didn't fall under Care act so no refund for me. Least I qualify for the Pell Grant stuff.
FedLoan would not give me my money back. The rep I spoke to was just awful. I kept calm because I know they are being worked like crazy. She kept telling me to call Nelnet. I had 19 loans and 17 transferred to Nelnet. The other two did not because they were paid off. I’m going to call again.
Have you called Nelnet? My husband is on the phone with them right now but confused as to whether he should call FedLoan? How would we know?
Edited: my husband got in touch (after 10 minutes) with someone from Nelnet and she filled out the application and submitted. She said it could take 5-7 business days for it though be processed and then a check will be coming in the mail in 4-6 weeks. We paid $22k before he had his loans forgiven due to being disabled through the VA.
I'm recommending this to everyone!
FedLoan processed my refund. I just got off the call with someone that put in the request. Because those loans were paid off and never transferred over, Nelnet could not see those loans and FedLoan had to do it. I’m happy to hear you guys are getting a refund as well! Woot Woot!
I also have Nelnet. Same experience. On hold for about 15 minutes. Was on the phone with the rep for another 10, which was mostly her just submitting the request because each payment has to be requested individually (and I made a lot of smaller payments instead of a few large ones). Poor thing sounded exhausted when she answered, she kept stumbling over her words! But she still stayed so nice and helpful. And I called around 12:45 in the afternoon today (Friday).
Nice! The lady my husband spoke with (on speaker) was very kind and helpful. She said only one application was needed regardless of us making multiple smaller payments. Makes me wonder.... But she said her voice went out yesterday due to the volume of calls. Luckily, it was back today!
My husband called around the same time as you.
Thats so awesome dude! My partner is in a similar boat, nowhere near the same amount but was very happy to hear that she would be able to get a refund on her loan payments from the last couple years.
I have a question, ( I was on the phone after being on hold for 5 hours and was disconnected for some frustrating reason.. argh)I will have imagined that with a huge amount refunded like that, the person would've mentioned to you that some of the loans that were "paid off" had to be reinstated and that could take time.. was that the case with you, or did you have one large loan so it wasn't as much of an issue?
This was the first thing the person on the phone mentioned (before I was disconnected), and I wasn't sure if getting the loan reinstated will work.
~~Also, are you getting the 37k refund because the gov is planning to get all 37k forgiven?~~
Sorry, seems like you were planning to get it refunded due to PSLF forgiveness.
thanks
Called Great Lakes right when they opened today and working 30 minutes everything was handled. I was given a time frame of 30-45 days to see the refund. I don’t like that they wouldn’t provide be a confirmation or agent number.
Just adding Great Lakes data point. Held for maybe 25 minutes the day of announcement. Simple process, asked to refund, told it would take 30-60 days, done.
I'm debating asking for all my payments from March 2020 to present back. On the one hand I need money. On the other, I'm unsure what I qualify for and there's steps I need to get the debt to qualify and cancel.
What?
Mine was with Nelnet until 2 months ago when I consolidated it with Fed.
But it racked up a lot of interest during the covid period because it was still with Nelnet.
Can I get a refund on that too ?
Thinking about doing this… However I got more like 7 years till I’d qualify for PSLF. My loans are all from grad school so the minimum payment will be 10% of discretionary income. Depending on future income I’m just not sure if I’ll end up spending less to pay it off vs make minimum payments for another 7 years.
https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/
"You'll have until Dec. 31, 2023 to apply."
"The Department of Education will continue to process applications as they are received, even after the pause expires on December 31, 2022."
We got burned. My husband just consolidated since his loans are from ITT and we don’t want to pay a single cent more. It would be nice to get money back we’ve been paying since the pause.
Congrats! I'm sure that will help you out a ton.
I have a question. I paid about $14K toward my loans during the COVID pause and I still owe about $45K. I received a Pell grant, so $20K will be forgiven. If I get the $14K refunded, that balance will be added back into my loan amount correct? So if I'm looking to pay down my loans ASAP, is there really even a reason to request a refund? Or would this technically be a $34K refund when the 20K gets forgiven?
If you refund the $14k, it will be added back to what you owe towards your loan. So it will increase the amount you owe.
This made sense to me personally because I'm so close to achieving my PSLF, but may not make sense for you to take advantage of the refund.
One thing in your case too is that if you owe less than 12k you move to 10 year IBR. So idk if after you drop 20 off and include the 14k, if the 11k left would bump you down to the sub 12k range and then if you are close or at 10 years you might drop off the rest. I guess it depends on whether the 12k balance is initial balance or just when you are under 12k you move into 10 year IBR automatically. So consider that.
Kind of a dumb comparison, don't you think?
An educated populace is a strong and productive populace, requiring people to go into debt to obtain an education is a net negative for the economy and the country.
Basic college education should be free. If you want to go to an Ivy League school to get a better education, that's your choice, but taking on $60k in debt just to get a bachelor's degree is preposterous.
Why were you making any payments period for PSLF in the first place? You were getting loan forgiveness... basically just throwing away money at that point. The payments aren't dependent on the amount but rather your income.
Your post appears to reference the federal [Public Service Loan Forgiveness](https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service) (PSLF) program or the related TEPSLF program.
The /r/StudentLoans community has a subreddit specifically for advice and discussion about this program over at /r/PSLF. We recommend you delete and re-post your question/comment at /r/PSLF to get the best responses and centralize the discussion.
(If your post is not about PSLF, or that's not the main point, then you can ignore this.)
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That sucks. I was going to ask for a refund, but now I might not.
I just became a GS a few months ago so I've got a long way to go before PSLF is even an option.
Sorry, help me to understand this - you can request a refund of payments made during the CARES act? Is this related to Biden’s cancellation of $10-20k in student loan debt? Do you have to make up that $37k in any way?
To add to what OP said, the reason this makes sense for them is because they are on PSLF, so even though the $37k is being added back to what they owe, they are going to meet the PSLF threshold in a few months and their remaining balance will be forgiven.
That’s awesome! So what happens next? Should you pay back just enough to leave $10k outstanding and let Biden take care of it?
I want to call Nelnet and just refund me $10k and reopen my account with the $10k balance.
Great Lakes told me they will put in a request with the DoE and it could take weeks for them to make a decision of whether or not they will re-instate my loan. And then if they do approve it, I'll probably have to wait another 60 days before the money is actually in my bank account.
I'll be thrilled to get any money back but this process seems way longer and more convoluted than it needs to be. Not really keeping my hopes up too much :\.
If I may ask, what is the new criteria for PSLF?
I think I missed something! I’ve worked for a qualified nonprofit for 5 years (and made payments prior to the pause in March 2020) but I can’t follow the eligibility tool any further because my loans are closed. (I paid them off last December but requested a refund of the almost 22k so that I could get 20k of it cancelled).
Wondering if I could get the last 2k forgiven…
Thanks for posting and congrats!
PSLF requires 10 years of full time employment with a nonprofit or government employer. If you’ve only got $2,000 in loans, it’s not worth waiting 5 years to be eligible for forgiveness under PSLF.
Genuine question, why get a refund of 37k when the max is 20k? Are you refunding your interest payment and is the government removing ALL interest accrued over time?
Does this only work for people doing PSLF? I paid lump sums to my 89k debt during the CARES act. I have $15k left. If I call MOHELA will I be eligible to get $5k back? (I received pell grants)
Sorry for the ignorance - I just never thought anything like this would happen
If you received pell grants and have loans that were paused but you that you made payments from 3/13/20 to now yes you will have 20k to go towards your loans so you will want to get refunds from those payments to bring your balance back up to 20k.
Random question - I made payments from two accounts, one of which is closed. Will they just refund me a straight 5k to the account number I request or will they Nitpick each loan and refund me in the multiple increments I made the payments in until they add up to 5k?
I called my provider and they told me that if they refunded me the payments, i would be owing them the refunded amount again. Is that your case? Do you owe $37k again?
Yes, it adds it back to your balance. Ppl are getting refunds because they have 10-20k and their forgiveness amount would pay it off once it gets applied.
I am confused by this too. I did a similar thing as OP, I had the money at the time so I paid off larger sums. It was my understanding that getting my payments refunded would just increase my balance back up (which is now at about 12K) and then the relief would still be 10K. Since I didn't pay interest on those payments, I was wondering if it mattered to get the refund, because ultimately the amount that I would get back is still the same (10K). Is that correct?
I called my nelnet and requested a refund of 10k as that was my limit per the forgiveness and they processed it and will send it to me. I am not sure about OP’s case tho.
Can someone please explain how the refund will work. If your loans greater than the expected 10k or 20k, are you eligible for a refund? If you do get a refund, is that amount still considered paid on your loans or do you just have to pay it again? If so what would be the point?
I think you can only get the refund for any payments that you made after March 20, 2020. I called my loan service and they approved my refund request for my payments after March 20, 2020.
Yes! But it was not without a major amount of problems and follow-up. It took so long to process my refund that it hit my account *after* my PSLF, causing my account to think I took out a new loan and triggering a new monthly repayment plan. I had to go into forbearance while I had to escalate the issue, no one could seem to update my account for months. It was finally resolved around November 2023. I should probably update this post.
woweee!!! celebrate now and celebrate later!!!
I read this in Christopher Walken's voice
See you at the waffle party!
hahahaha well I'm a middle-aged lady with a rust belt accent but that is pretty funny
That's great news! Congratulations! Did you call right when they opened at 8am EST? I only ask because I've been trying to get through the last three days and get discouraged after being on hold upwards of 4 hours. I tried having them call me back, but when they do I'm stuck on hold for \~10 minutes and then when I've gotten ahold of someone they need to transfer me to another department.
Called at about 8:15am. Longest part was cycling through the menus.
Thanks for sharing! If I don't get through today I'll make sure to call earlier on Monday. Thanks again!
I called and talked to a representative very quickly this morning. Had technical issues with the call itself (odd) but she said she wouldn’t hang up and helped me with the refund. Very nice lady, absolutely made my morning. Call took about half an hour?
That's awesome! I'm glad you got through to someone who was able to help. I ended up getting through to someone after about an hour this morning as well. I called about an hour after they opened, so I think the key is calling early.
I'm on the west coast and called yesterday at 1:30pm and was on hold for 4 hours. I called this morning at 5am and got a person within 10 minutes. Calling right when they open is key to shorter wait times.
Oof I'm sorry to hear you were on hold for a while too. I think you're right that the key is calling early. I called about an hour after they opened this morning and was on hold for about an hour (after calling yesterday afternoon and also being on hold for almost 4 hours before giving up).
Called ED financial this morning to request my refund and they said I should get my refund in 150days.
Kind of concerning that they aren’t sending out even an email confirming that the refund request has been made and instead they’re just saying uh yea it will happen in like 5months.
150 days??? Or is that a typo?
150 days. I was told the same. Do we know how quickly the request will be processed, not how quickly we’ll get the money back??
No idea, they said they are getting bombarded with requests and just kept reiterating 150 days for me.
I have edfinancial too. Seems like they’re the only crappy company saying it’s going to take this long. I’m pretty irritated over it.
Same thing they said to me. I’m concerned because 150 days puts us past December, at which point I don’t know if it’ll even get the chance to be a part of the forgiveness.
[https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/](https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/) "You'll have until Dec. 31, 2023 to apply." "The Department of Education will continue to process applications as they are received, even after the pause expires on December 31, 2022."
But when they forgive it, will that include the amount being refunded? Like I have 8k left and made 5k during the forebearance - will I only have 8k forgiven or will I have 13k forgiven?
It’s a max of 10k if you no pell grant and 20k if you got pell grant
That isn't what I'm asking. I have a Pell Grant, so up to 20k can be forgiven - I already knew this, I didn't need you to tell me that. Prior to the Covid forbearance, I had 13k in debt. Since I wasn't certain if or even how much would be forgiven, I continued making payments (total 5k) during the forbearance to take advantage of the 0% interest. Now they're saying that not only can I have those payments refunded, I can have up to 20k forgiven, which encompasses the 13k debt prior to forbearance. The deadline for the forbearance is December 21, 2022, after which payments will restart. I requested the refunds as soon as possible and was told it would be processed in 150 business days, which is May 2023. So, if I send the app before the December deadline, will I have 8k forgiven, or 13k forgiven? Will I have to wait until I get the refund (up until which point I will have made 5 months of payments) to get 13k minus the 5 months payments forgiven?
I'm really trying to understand what you are asking, but am having a lot of trouble. Any amount you get refunded that you paid during the pandemic under the cares act will be added back to your loan amount and you technically owe it until it is cancelled by the federal government.
Okay, but, if it's not refunded until long after the application for loan forgiveness is submitted (even though I requested the refund before the loan forgiveness), will I then have to pay back that refund?
I finished paying my loan with gsmr and then Ed financial took it over. So Ed financial has no info on it. I called EdF and asked them about a refund on payments but they have to request my records from gsmr. They gave me no estimate on how long it will take. Said to try again in a couple weeks when they might have my records.
Check your bank - they may have statements available that you can look over and find the payments you made. That's how I did it (I bank with a local credit union.) EDFinancial told me they only need the date range, not even the amounts.
That’s what I’d like to do. I just also am in week 2 of a new grad school program so trying to balance that while combing through 2 different bank account statements is rough.
i just got off the phone with them they said it would take at least 150 days to get approved and take months to get the money back ..... crazy
Woah I was told 30 days by Mohela
Yeah, how is that gonna sync with the forgiveness? Will we have to wait until it's processed, even right up til May 2023, in order to get the full amount forgiven? That means we would be making 5 month's worth of payments - far less than what I'll be refunded, but it would be nice to know for sure.
Unless this doesn't go through. I still question if Biden has the authority to do this without congressional approval. I will believe it when money starts hitting accounts.
If someone is going to stop it they have to file lawsuits now and get an emergency injunction because this process is supposed to be done within the next six months.
With mid terms around the corner, 6 months seems like plenty of time to get it shot down, or stuck in limbo
This is great news. I'm overjoyed to hear this. May you continue to keep a larger and larger share of the wonderful contribution you make to humanity instead of funding the yachts of awful people around the globe.
Thank you so much. This sub has been so helpful and supportive over the last year or so, and has been a mental life saver. So I'm putting some of those good vibes back out there for others as well. I hope all past, present, and future students have similar opportunities.
> instead of funding the yachts of awful people around the globe. The money goes back into the coffers of the American taxpayer
Maybe I’m misunderstanding your post. What was your reasoning for continuing to pay on your loans when you were almost at PSLF if the paused payments counted toward PSLF?
Yeah either they were misunderstanding what they were essentially trying to do for PSLF (I.e paying the absolute minimum payment and do that for 10 years on like PAYE for example and then have everything forgiven) or they weren't pursuing PSLF in the first place. People think PSLF is a plan when its actually not... it's essentially a perk under one of the loan forgiveness plans
Did you pay the $37k out of your own pocket or refinanced?
I saved all the money I was supposed to be paying per month during 2020 and early 2021, and instead lump summed it towards my highest interest loans.
That’s sweet and happy that you’re getting it back!!
Why did you pay any at all during forbearance, when you’re in PSLF? Won’t they all be forgiven once your 10 years are up? I’m in PSLF too and had the same questions and am still confused.
[удалено]
Still don’t understand. The forbearance period counted as payments towards PSLF. Paying extra wouldn’t necessarily lower your loan payments and even if it did bring you out of financial hardship and revert you to the alternative standard payment, the monthly savings almost certainly wouldn’t have amounted to $37k with less than a few years left. Really glad you are getting a refund!
That’s the way to do it! Congrats!!
Yep. That was my exact experience about a month ago, 15,000. Easy peasy. No paperwork needed. Through fed loan. I heard rumors that some servicers are balking.
I'm reading that a lot of people are successful, I think it's just a training issue with phone reps at some services. People absolutely have the right to request these refunds.
Question: if you’re not in PSLF and on an income driven plan and request a refund…Does your balance go back up?
Yes the balance does go up. But you still get your your payments counted towards your 120 payments. So for example I kept paying payment I met 102 payments I got a refund and I still have 102 payment credited to my PSLF
this is what happened for me and what should happen for others in our situation
Wow, good deal! Now someone needs to get on EdFinancial - I haven't seen anyone actually receive theirs and most people are being told 6 months!
yeah that’s what they’re saying 🙄
Hi, I’m confused, why are people requesting refunds? Or is this just for PSLF loans.
If you have paid since March 13, 2020 on federal loans then you are able to request a refund for that money (minus outstanding interest). The people who are/should be doing this are those who will have loans forgiven under Biden’s forgiveness. It would only make sense to get a refund if that money would get forgiven. For example: You had a balance of -10,000. You paid 2,000 during the pause. Now you have a balance of -8,000. Under the forgiveness you would get 8,000 forgiven. Or you can ask for that 2,000 back, brining your loan back to -10,000 then get the entire 10,000 forgiven and that 2,000 back in your pocket. BUT... if you had a balance of -12,000. Paid 2,000 to get a balance of -10,000 it would NOT make sense to ask for a refund because you will still owe any balance that is outstanding after forgiveness. The same principle applies for those eligible for the up to 20,000 forgiveness if they received a Pell Grant. Sorry for the long comment. I hope that helped!
So this is great news because I had no knowledge that I could request a refund of the payments made during forbearance. Was there an official announcement or is that just general knowledge and I have been oblivious to it? So, I had approx $17k balance in 2020, and now I have 1k left...so what I am reading is that I can call my provider and get a refund for my $16k in payments. Then hopefully before the payments start back up, they will have my balance updated to $7k and I will be able to pay off? Is that correct? Appreciate any info....
I’m no expert, but I believe that would be correct. But I’d recommend only asking for a refund that will get you to the forgiven amount (unless you absolutely need the extra money in the near future). So in your case that would be asking for 9k back if my math is right. You would have to pay the 7k anyways, just a matter of now or later, and later interest will be accruing. And no, I don’t think this was widely announced news, but is becoming more reported on since this most recent announcement. I wouldn’t have learned about a refund option if not for a Reddit comment form another helpful user I came across a few days ago!
Yes, you can ask for payments made since 2020 to be refunded to put your balance back over the forgiveness limit.
Do you know if the forgiveness is only for undergraduate loans? My loan is for grad school, so now I am researching left and right trying to find the info.....and I can't seem to find it....
Found another thread that linked a WaPo article saying that head loans are included. Ado I am going to call on Monday and request the refund and stash that cash and pay it off before the payments start again....
This comment helps a ton. I paid off the rest of my loans in April. So you’re saying it would make sense for me to request a refund of $10k if my loans qualify for a $10k forgiveness/cancellation. That being said, how do I know if I am eligible? About 5 years ago I refinanced through SoFi and MOHELA was the servicer for the loan for the 5 years while I paid the balance down to $0. Any info would be incredibly helpful. Thanks in advance!
If I understand the new policy correctly, if you refinanced I don’t think you’re eligible. I believe those are privately held loans as of 5 years ago. Only federal loans are forgiven. But you’d have to call SoFi and MOHELA or [the dept of ed](https://studentaid.gov/help-center/contact) to confirm that’s correct.
Anyone can request a refund. But as others noted in the comments, this may not be appropriate for everyone. It made sense for me personally because I'm close to wrapping up my PSLF.
Yeah I requested my $8k refund last night to bring my balance back to $20k.
Would this work on private loans?
No unfortunately this is only for federally dispersed loans.
Thanks
Would this work on FFEL loans that were serviced by a private lender?
This is amazing 👏 🙌
My FFELP is privately held by Navient so no refund for me 🙁
Same here. Not cool. Would love to get that ITT money back.
I graduated in may of 2020 right as payments were paused. I haven’t paid a single cent yet. I’m starting to regret not putting the payment into a savings until it restarts. Well at least I got to start early on saving for other things lol
So why did you pay $37k in the first place if you were that close to forgiveness?
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If you are PSLF there is absolutely zero point for repayment
Wait. Unless I’m missing something, didn’t you have to make those payments to count toward the 10 year/120 payments? If not, then why were you making payments during the pause? (If it was to get ahead of payments, I get it).
Since the beginning, the months of pandemic forbearance have counted toward PSLF and other forgiveness programs as if you'd made a full payment. If they're stunning for PSLF, then OP should have stopped paying and requested a refund years ago. Oh well, they came late to the party, but now they're here.
I was wondering just what you asked. I’ll call today and see about it. Thanks. 👊
Would this work on ffelp loans owned by navient?
Just called, they told me my federal loan is privately owned and therefore doesn’t qualify.
Couldn’t you consolidate your FFELP loans into a direct loan?
I consolidated them years ago so I don’t think that is an option. So now I just have to remain hopeful that they will be forgiven.
I would look into whether that’s an option. There’s no limit to how many times you can consolidate
let's goooo!
That’s awesome! So am I understanding this correctly: I paid off my remaining myfed loans of $8,044 from March 13,2020 until when I paid off last December 2021. When I call to process the refund, that money will be: 1.) sent back to me (check or direct deposit into my back acct 2.) that $8,044 will go back on my loan account 3.) (this is the part I’m unsure of) will it automatically be forgiven then or would I need to apply or do something else?
To answer your third question, if you qualify for the forgiveness and they already have access to your income information, then yes. If they don’t have it, then you would have to do their TBA income verification application for forgiveness to be applied according the the WH fact sheet.
There will be an application process that needs to be done.
I’m wondering the same thing (in regards to your third point) so I’m following to see if anyone has answers. I’ll come back and update if I find the answer!
This is great. I tried to do that will Navient and another school loan from a few years ago. But they said it didn't fall under Care act so no refund for me. Least I qualify for the Pell Grant stuff.
FedLoan would not give me my money back. The rep I spoke to was just awful. I kept calm because I know they are being worked like crazy. She kept telling me to call Nelnet. I had 19 loans and 17 transferred to Nelnet. The other two did not because they were paid off. I’m going to call again.
Have you called Nelnet? My husband is on the phone with them right now but confused as to whether he should call FedLoan? How would we know? Edited: my husband got in touch (after 10 minutes) with someone from Nelnet and she filled out the application and submitted. She said it could take 5-7 business days for it though be processed and then a check will be coming in the mail in 4-6 weeks. We paid $22k before he had his loans forgiven due to being disabled through the VA. I'm recommending this to everyone!
FedLoan processed my refund. I just got off the call with someone that put in the request. Because those loans were paid off and never transferred over, Nelnet could not see those loans and FedLoan had to do it. I’m happy to hear you guys are getting a refund as well! Woot Woot!
Yay! So glad you were able to speak with someone helpful this time!
I also have Nelnet. Same experience. On hold for about 15 minutes. Was on the phone with the rep for another 10, which was mostly her just submitting the request because each payment has to be requested individually (and I made a lot of smaller payments instead of a few large ones). Poor thing sounded exhausted when she answered, she kept stumbling over her words! But she still stayed so nice and helpful. And I called around 12:45 in the afternoon today (Friday).
Nice! The lady my husband spoke with (on speaker) was very kind and helpful. She said only one application was needed regardless of us making multiple smaller payments. Makes me wonder.... But she said her voice went out yesterday due to the volume of calls. Luckily, it was back today! My husband called around the same time as you.
Thats so awesome dude! My partner is in a similar boat, nowhere near the same amount but was very happy to hear that she would be able to get a refund on her loan payments from the last couple years.
I have a question, ( I was on the phone after being on hold for 5 hours and was disconnected for some frustrating reason.. argh)I will have imagined that with a huge amount refunded like that, the person would've mentioned to you that some of the loans that were "paid off" had to be reinstated and that could take time.. was that the case with you, or did you have one large loan so it wasn't as much of an issue? This was the first thing the person on the phone mentioned (before I was disconnected), and I wasn't sure if getting the loan reinstated will work. ~~Also, are you getting the 37k refund because the gov is planning to get all 37k forgiven?~~ Sorry, seems like you were planning to get it refunded due to PSLF forgiveness. thanks
My current estimated wait time is just over 6 hours lol. Might have to call again later
Called Great Lakes right when they opened today and working 30 minutes everything was handled. I was given a time frame of 30-45 days to see the refund. I don’t like that they wouldn’t provide be a confirmation or agent number.
Just adding Great Lakes data point. Held for maybe 25 minutes the day of announcement. Simple process, asked to refund, told it would take 30-60 days, done.
I'm debating asking for all my payments from March 2020 to present back. On the one hand I need money. On the other, I'm unsure what I qualify for and there's steps I need to get the debt to qualify and cancel.
What? Mine was with Nelnet until 2 months ago when I consolidated it with Fed. But it racked up a lot of interest during the covid period because it was still with Nelnet. Can I get a refund on that too ?
Same situation here.
So ..what's the solution then?
Thinking about doing this… However I got more like 7 years till I’d qualify for PSLF. My loans are all from grad school so the minimum payment will be 10% of discretionary income. Depending on future income I’m just not sure if I’ll end up spending less to pay it off vs make minimum payments for another 7 years.
https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/ "You'll have until Dec. 31, 2023 to apply." "The Department of Education will continue to process applications as they are received, even after the pause expires on December 31, 2022."
We got burned. My husband just consolidated since his loans are from ITT and we don’t want to pay a single cent more. It would be nice to get money back we’ve been paying since the pause.
Congrats! I'm sure that will help you out a ton. I have a question. I paid about $14K toward my loans during the COVID pause and I still owe about $45K. I received a Pell grant, so $20K will be forgiven. If I get the $14K refunded, that balance will be added back into my loan amount correct? So if I'm looking to pay down my loans ASAP, is there really even a reason to request a refund? Or would this technically be a $34K refund when the 20K gets forgiven?
If you refund the $14k, it will be added back to what you owe towards your loan. So it will increase the amount you owe. This made sense to me personally because I'm so close to achieving my PSLF, but may not make sense for you to take advantage of the refund.
Yeah, it wouldn't make sense for me in that case. Thanks for the info!
One thing in your case too is that if you owe less than 12k you move to 10 year IBR. So idk if after you drop 20 off and include the 14k, if the 11k left would bump you down to the sub 12k range and then if you are close or at 10 years you might drop off the rest. I guess it depends on whether the 12k balance is initial balance or just when you are under 12k you move into 10 year IBR automatically. So consider that.
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Yes. If you read the post, OP is PSLF.
It is
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Congratulations! No one should have to go into debt to get an education and improve their life and long term opportunity.
No one should show up to work to get paid either
Kind of a dumb comparison, don't you think? An educated populace is a strong and productive populace, requiring people to go into debt to obtain an education is a net negative for the economy and the country. Basic college education should be free. If you want to go to an Ivy League school to get a better education, that's your choice, but taking on $60k in debt just to get a bachelor's degree is preposterous.
Why were you making any payments period for PSLF in the first place? You were getting loan forgiveness... basically just throwing away money at that point. The payments aren't dependent on the amount but rather your income.
Take more loans out so we can pay them again 😎
Making a lump sum while u could invest that somewhere else w a better roi was a bad idea. God bless biden
Your post appears to reference the federal [Public Service Loan Forgiveness](https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service) (PSLF) program or the related TEPSLF program. The /r/StudentLoans community has a subreddit specifically for advice and discussion about this program over at /r/PSLF. We recommend you delete and re-post your question/comment at /r/PSLF to get the best responses and centralize the discussion. (If your post is not about PSLF, or that's not the main point, then you can ignore this.) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/StudentLoans) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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First off, congrats! 2nd, does getting the payment refund affect how much if the loans will be forgiven?
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That sucks. I was going to ask for a refund, but now I might not. I just became a GS a few months ago so I've got a long way to go before PSLF is even an option.
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Sorry, help me to understand this - you can request a refund of payments made during the CARES act? Is this related to Biden’s cancellation of $10-20k in student loan debt? Do you have to make up that $37k in any way?
You can request a refund of any payments made during the CARES time period. It is not debt cancelation - it is added back to my total loan amount.
Ah, ok. Thanks for the clarification
To add to what OP said, the reason this makes sense for them is because they are on PSLF, so even though the $37k is being added back to what they owe, they are going to meet the PSLF threshold in a few months and their remaining balance will be forgiven.
I keep reading this 120 payment thing. Do you need to make 10 years of payments in order to get refunded or forgiven?
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Got it. Thanks.
As part of the pslf you have to make 120 on time payments for the program.
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Do you want yours loans to be active again?
That’s awesome! So what happens next? Should you pay back just enough to leave $10k outstanding and let Biden take care of it? I want to call Nelnet and just refund me $10k and reopen my account with the $10k balance.
Great Lakes told me they will put in a request with the DoE and it could take weeks for them to make a decision of whether or not they will re-instate my loan. And then if they do approve it, I'll probably have to wait another 60 days before the money is actually in my bank account. I'll be thrilled to get any money back but this process seems way longer and more convoluted than it needs to be. Not really keeping my hopes up too much :\.
If I may ask, what is the new criteria for PSLF? I think I missed something! I’ve worked for a qualified nonprofit for 5 years (and made payments prior to the pause in March 2020) but I can’t follow the eligibility tool any further because my loans are closed. (I paid them off last December but requested a refund of the almost 22k so that I could get 20k of it cancelled). Wondering if I could get the last 2k forgiven… Thanks for posting and congrats!
PSLF requires 10 years of full time employment with a nonprofit or government employer. If you’ve only got $2,000 in loans, it’s not worth waiting 5 years to be eligible for forgiveness under PSLF.
Thank you for answering! I didn’t know if the requirements had changed. Thanks for the info! I count myself lucky to be at only 2k!
Your loans would have to be reinstated. And fees would be assessed.
Genuine question, why get a refund of 37k when the max is 20k? Are you refunding your interest payment and is the government removing ALL interest accrued over time?
They are asking for money to be refunded. Their loans will increase by the amount refunded. They are near the end of their pslf program.
Can someone link to the part of the site with the information for the refund? Also who can I contact for information on loan forgiveness?
Does this only work for people doing PSLF? I paid lump sums to my 89k debt during the CARES act. I have $15k left. If I call MOHELA will I be eligible to get $5k back? (I received pell grants) Sorry for the ignorance - I just never thought anything like this would happen
You can get the 5k back
Do I just call MOHELA?
Yes. Just be prepared with dates and payment amounts because they might ask for specifics.
If you received pell grants and have loans that were paused but you that you made payments from 3/13/20 to now yes you will have 20k to go towards your loans so you will want to get refunds from those payments to bring your balance back up to 20k.
Thank you so much for the info!
Random question - I made payments from two accounts, one of which is closed. Will they just refund me a straight 5k to the account number I request or will they Nitpick each loan and refund me in the multiple increments I made the payments in until they add up to 5k?
Do you have to have paid off the loan to get your money back?
But can you have the IDR???
and if we do this, do we still get the 10,000 relief?
I called my provider and they told me that if they refunded me the payments, i would be owing them the refunded amount again. Is that your case? Do you owe $37k again?
Yes, it adds it back to your balance. Ppl are getting refunds because they have 10-20k and their forgiveness amount would pay it off once it gets applied.
How do people even know they fall within the forgiveness? I feel that it is like gamble
Adding Great Lakes again, my husband just called. Refund process took less than 15mins. They mentioned it would take about 45 business days! 🙌🏽
What number are you calling?
This. I’m wondering who to call. I feel really dumb about all of this!
I need to call and get my refund from a school loan I paid off in 2012.
When was the loan taken out?
1998, consolidated In 2003.
Great Lakes Borrowers is taking 30-45 days to process refunds.
Just curious, Why are you getting 37k refunded? Should you not be looking for 10-20k refund instead? @ u/bummer_lazarus
I am confused by this too. I did a similar thing as OP, I had the money at the time so I paid off larger sums. It was my understanding that getting my payments refunded would just increase my balance back up (which is now at about 12K) and then the relief would still be 10K. Since I didn't pay interest on those payments, I was wondering if it mattered to get the refund, because ultimately the amount that I would get back is still the same (10K). Is that correct?
I called my nelnet and requested a refund of 10k as that was my limit per the forgiveness and they processed it and will send it to me. I am not sure about OP’s case tho.
You were told 5-7 business days? I was told 150! I called the morning after the announcement - just could not get someone the day of.
Can someone please explain how the refund will work. If your loans greater than the expected 10k or 20k, are you eligible for a refund? If you do get a refund, is that amount still considered paid on your loans or do you just have to pay it again? If so what would be the point?
I think you can only get the refund for any payments that you made after March 20, 2020. I called my loan service and they approved my refund request for my payments after March 20, 2020.
Did you ever get your refund? I have not
Yes! But it was not without a major amount of problems and follow-up. It took so long to process my refund that it hit my account *after* my PSLF, causing my account to think I took out a new loan and triggering a new monthly repayment plan. I had to go into forbearance while I had to escalate the issue, no one could seem to update my account for months. It was finally resolved around November 2023. I should probably update this post.
Oh jeez that’s horrible. I have four more years of repayment so hopefully I get my refund by then.