The Division of Training’s income-driven compensation (IDR) utility backlog dropped to 530,295 on the finish of April 2026, down from 553,966 a month earlier, the company reported in its court-ordered standing submitting (PDF File) on Could 13, 2026.
The Division’s mortgage servicers determined 456,594 IDR functions in April — a brand new month-to-month excessive, surpassing the 424,583 it processed in March. The roughly 24,000-application drop in pending instances got here though the company processed zero IDR plan discharges final month (although that is resulting from administrative points).
It is vital to notice that roughly 7 million debtors within the SAVE forbearance want to alter compensation plans within the subsequent few months. It is doubtless that utility quantity will dramatically improve, and so processing quantity will likely be a key indicator to observe.
Would you want to save lots of this?
By The Numbers (April 1-30, 2026)
- 444,692 IDR functions obtained (vs. 321,481 in March)
- 456,594 IDR functions determined with 401,561 authorised, 55,033 denied
- 530,295 IDR functions nonetheless pending
- 0 IDR plan discharges processed (vs. 21,200 in March)
- 11,500 PSLF discharges (vs. 10,050 in March)
- 88,000 PSLF Buyback functions pending (vs. 89,720 in March)
Why it issues: Revenue-driven compensation plans tie month-to-month scholar mortgage funds to a borrower’s earnings and household dimension. The pending functions are for debtors who’re enrolling for the primary time, switching plans, and recertifying earnings yearly. Software quantity is growing largely as a result of debtors pushed off SAVE want to alter plans and recertification season is again on the annual calendar for others.
The discharge holdup: After processing 21,200 IDR plan discharges in March (10,500 IBR, 9,900 Unique ICR, 800 PAYE), ED logged zero discharges in April. The company’s March eligibility verify recognized one other batch (3,600 IBR, 1,400 Unique ICR, and 300 PAYE debtors) however knowledge validation issues pushed the file supply to mortgage servicers into mid-April. ED says servicers ought to start processing these discharges in Could. We have seen a normal pattern of every-other-month for IDR mortgage forgiveness.
The PSLF Buyback wrinkle: ED disclosed for the primary time that 18,000 to 19,000 of the 88,000 pending PSLF Buyback functions are duplicates. Debtors can solely obtain one Buyback provide per mortgage, however many submitted a number of requests. ED plans to establish and take away duplicates upfront relatively than administratively denying them after a Buyback provide is made.
ED additionally didn’t escape approvals and denials for the 6,870 PSLF Buyback choices made in April, citing an information delay. An up to date report is anticipated subsequent week.
It is good to notice that the PSLF Buyback Backlog declined for the primary time. Eradicating the duplicates and accounting for the bigger quantity processed, the PSLF buyback backlog is all the way down to taking simply 10 months to clear.
Nevertheless, this month’s processing numbers are an outlier. It will likely be attention-grabbing to see the up to date knowledge subsequent week. If we depend on the conventional 2,000 – 3,000 functions processed we have seen, the backlog should take as much as 2 years.
How this connects: This replace follows our prior protection of the March report, when 553,966 debtors had been caught within the backlog regardless of document processing. April’s 444,692 incoming functions was the very best month-to-month utility quantity for the reason that courtroom started requiring month-to-month disclosures, which means ED is now processing quick sufficient to outpace a a lot heavier influx than what it confronted earlier this yr. Nevertheless, will it’s as much as the problem of migrating 7 million debtors in SAVE forbearance?
What’s subsequent: Could’s report ought to present the primary IDR discharges from the March eligibility batch, the lacking PSLF Buyback approval and denial breakout from April, and the following spherical of eligibility identification. The subsequent month-to-month standing report is due in mid-June.
Do not Miss These Different Tales:
Editor: Colin Graves
The submit IDR Backlog Falls to 530,295 in April as Training Division Units New Processing File appeared first on The Faculty Investor.
