A recent US court document reveals that the backlog of cases for federal student loan “affordable repayment plans” or “debt forgiveness” still exceeds 800,000 cases.
According to the nonprofit legal case data website Court Listener, a progress report on student loan processing submitted by the US Department of Education to the District of Columbia Court on January 14 was made public. The progress report indicates that as of December 31, 2025, the number of pending applications for “Income-Driven Repayment Plans” (IDR) was 734,221, with an additional 83,370 borrowers still awaiting approval results for “Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Buyback” applications. The total number of pending cases for both programs amounts to 817,591.
The IDR plan aims to make repayments more affordable by limiting the monthly repayment amount for federal student loan borrowers to a certain percentage of their “disposable income” and may forgive the remaining debt after 20 to 25 years of repayment.
The PSLF Buyback option allows borrowers applying for PSLF to make up for missed payments due to forbearance or repayment deferment, accelerating the timeframe for debt forgiveness. PSLF, signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2007, allows individuals who work full-time for qualified nonprofit organizations or government agencies for 10 years to qualify for student loan forgiveness.
The Trump administration’s report shows progress in addressing the backlog of IDR applications: there were around 802,000 pending applications in November, down from nearly 1.4 million in July. However, the backlog for PSLF Buyback applications has been increasing – reaching 80,210 in November and 72,730 in July.
In December last year, the US Department of Education received 258,465 new IDR applications and processed 277,131 IDR applications that month, with 34,476 applications being rejected, accounting for about 12% of the total processed. The number of new PSLF Buyback applications received that month was 5,090, with 1,930 being processed. During December, the PSLF program officially forgave loans for 9,400 individuals, a significant increase from the previous month’s 280.
In November, the combined backlog of pending IDR and PSLF Buyback applications exceeded 880,000 cases. Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), publicly criticized the handling progress on December 17, deeming it “completely unacceptable.”
The AFT sued the US Department of Education over student loans, reaching a settlement in October 2025. As part of the settlement, the Department of Education submits monthly progress reports on student loan approvals.
On December 23, 2025, the US Department of Education announced the implementation of wage garnishment for borrowers with overdue loan payments starting in early 2026. Failure to make payments for over 270 days could result in defaulting on federal student loans.
The National Consumer Law Center issued a statement on January 15, urging individuals with overdue student loans to take action to avoid forced repayment collection. Unlike most creditors, the government can withhold up to 15% of your disposable income without a court order. Wage garnishment will persist until the full amount owed is repaid unless action is taken.
According to data from the Congressional Research Service, over 42 million people in the US currently hold student loans, with a total outstanding amount exceeding $1.6 trillion.