The Education Department's loan servicer, MOHELA, is urging federal student-loan holders who filed for an income-driven repayment plan before April 27 to submit a new application, saying the do-over "may expedite processing."
What Happened: Spotted by Forbes first, the fresh guidance, posted on Monday after an earlier, muddled alert, adds that the original request will be canceled once the new form is filed. MOHELA recommends using the Internal Revenue Service data-retrieval tool on StudentAid.gov, restored in late March after a shutdown tied to litigation over the SAVE plan.
The system is straining under a backlog of nearly 2 million unprocessed IDR applications, says the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC). Another 8 million SAVE enrollees have been stuck in court-ordered forbearance since last summer, halting progress toward loan forgiveness. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court injunction also forced the department to pull the IDR form in February and reopen it only partially on March 26.
MOHELA now says it has resumed processing for IBR, PAYE and ICR plans, but applications for SAVE or a "lowest payment" option remain frozen. Borrower advocates caution that the new filing offers no guarantee of speed and could trigger additional months of administrative forbearance that do not count toward forgiveness.
See also: Don’t Wait – These 3 Steps Could Save you a Ton on Your Student Loans
No similar reapplication notice appears on the websites of other major servicers, and the department's own IDR-litigation page omits the advice.
Why It Matters: MOHELA's credibility has taken a hit over time. State investigations and a federal penalty last year alleged the company misbilled millions of borrowers and posted interest during the SAVE freeze. Online forums remain flooded with reports of phantom interest and delinquency marks.
Single borrowers who can import verified IRS data may see the quickest results, reveal anecdotal evidence according to the Forbes report, while married filers often face longer waits. Until courts resolve the SAVE lawsuit, MOHELA says those accounts will stay in forbearance.
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