She Was 29 Months From Erasing $247K In Student Debt – Now Her Forgiveness Is Frozen

At 35, Aubrey Bertram was looking forward to a major financial milestone: erasing more than $247,000 in student loan debt. But with just 29 months left until forgiveness, her progress has come to a halt.

According to NBC News, Bertram, a staff attorney at nonprofit land conservation organization Wild Montana, was working toward loan cancellation through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. She had carefully mapped out her career to qualify for the program, which forgives remaining federal student loan balances for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years of qualifying payments.

Now, like millions of other borrowers, she's stuck in limbo.

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Loan Forgiveness Timeline Put on Pause

Bertram had enrolled in the Biden-era SAVE plan — Saving on a Valuable Education — which was designed to lower monthly payments and offer a clearer path to forgiveness. But legal challenges led by Republican states resulted in a federal court blocking the SAVE plan last year. 

Unlike the pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, this current forbearance doesn't count toward forgiveness under PSLF or other income-driven repayment plans. That means time is passing, but Bertram and others like her aren't getting any closer to their debt being wiped away.

"In the end, we may see borrowers lose over a year of monthly payments to count toward forgiveness," said Elaine Rubin of Edvisors, an organization that helps students understand college financing.

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What Borrowers Can Do Now

While SAVE is frozen, the U.S. Department of Education has reopened applications for several older IDR plans. These include:

• Income-Based Repayment, IBR 
• Pay As You Earn, PAYE
• Income-Contingent Repayment, ICR

However, there's a catch. Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, told NBC News that automatic forgiveness after 20 or 25 years may not apply to these plans under current legal interpretations. Still, borrowers in these plans can continue to make progress toward PSLF if they qualify.

Additionally, past payments made under one IDR plan can count toward forgiveness in another — for example, switching from ICR to IBR — as long as eligibility criteria are met.

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Staying Put or Switching Plans?

Bertram has chosen to stay in the SAVE forbearance for now, despite the fact that it isn't helping her move toward forgiveness. She's concerned that switching to another plan could result in even more uncertainty.

"You're constantly being jerked around by political rhetoric," Bertram said. "I just hope I'm student-debt free before I'm 40."

How to Evaluate Your Options

If you’re one of the many borrowers affected by the freeze, experts suggest reviewing your options with care. Tools from the Department of Education and nonprofit resources can help estimate monthly payments under different plans. PSLF-eligible borrowers should confirm that their employer qualifies and keep detailed records of payments.

The legal landscape for student debt is changing rapidly. For borrowers like Bertram, the hope is that stability — and forgiveness — will arrive sooner rather than later.

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