The Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, student loan repayment plan ended in March 2026, closing out nearly two years of legal battles that left millions of borrowers in limbo. On July 1, 2026, loan servicers began notifying SAVE borrowers that they have 90 days to switch to a different repayment plan or be automatically enrolled in one.
Just under 7.7 million SAVE borrowers were in involuntary forbearance since 2024 while the litigation played out. During that forbearance, SAVE borrowers weren't required to make payments, and interest has been accruing since August 2025. Also, none of the forbearance time has counted toward any type of loan forgiveness.
What SAVE borrowers should expect
If you haven't already, you should receive notice from your loan servicer with information on how to change your repayment plan. If you don't change your plan within the 90-day timeframe provided, you will be automatically enrolled in either the standard or tiered standard repayment plan, according to the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
Notices are going out in waves, so deadlines will vary by borrower with the transition continuing at least through this fall. If you haven't yet received notification from your servicer, make sure your contact information is up to date in both your studentaid.gov and federal student loan servicer accounts. ED is also posting updates at studentaid.gov.
What repayment plan should you switch to
You don't have to wait until you receive notification to switch out of SAVE. In fact, you may benefit from moving to a different income-driven repayment (IDR) plan now. Because time in SAVE forbearance doesn't count toward forgiveness, switching to an active plan now restarts your progress toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or IDR forgiveness.
If you don't switch by the deadline set by your loan servicer, ED will enroll you in the standard or tiered standard repayment plans, which have fixed monthly payments. However, there may be less expensive options. Let's take a look at your repayment options:
- Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP): RAP is one of the two brand new repayment plans for federal loans. Monthly payments are between 1% and 10% of your earnings. Forgiveness is available after 30 years. Also qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF.
- Pay As You Earn (PAYE): The PAYE plan is one of the more affordable options available. Payments are 10% of your discretionary income with a term of 20 years. Available for loans taken out on or after Oct. 1, 2011. This plan permanently ends on July 1, 2028. Borrowers are eligible for forgiveness at the end of their term. PAYE also qualifies for PSLF.
- Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR): This might be one of the more expensive options available to you, primarily because payments are such a high percentage of your income. Payments are 20% of your discretionary income, with a loan term of 25 years. This plan permanently ends on July 1, 2028. Borrowers are eligible for forgiveness at the end of their term. ICR is another option for PSLF.
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR): IBR will be the only legacy income-driven repayment plan after July 1, 2028. So if you're eligible, don't want to change plans again in two years and still want a low payment, this might be the plan for you. If you borrowed before July 2014, your term is 25 years and payments are 15% of your discretionary income. If you borrowed after July 2014, your term is 20 years and payments are 10% of your discretionary income. IBR is the last option on this list that qualifies for PSLF.
- Graduated or extended graduated repayment: Repayment length is 10 years for the graduated plan and 25 years for the extended graduated repayment plan. Payment amounts increase every two years.
- Standard plan: Maybe you're willing to pay more monthly to have a slightly shorter term. Loan terms are 10 to 30 years, and this plan has fixed monthly payments. The standard plan is available only for borrowers who have not had a loan disbursed after July 1, 2026.
What plan you are eligible for is determined by when you took out loans, what loans you took out and if you consolidated your loans. If you take out any new student loans from this point forward, you'll be able to repay them only with RAP or the tiered standard plan.
You may be notified via email or snail mail that it’s time to switch plans. You can also log into your loan servicer's website to see details. Different servicers have different timelines for switching. For example, Nelnet said it will notify its borrowers through the end of 2026.
Remember that the best repayment plan is the one you can most afford, and you can switch plans again at any time if your financial situation changes (for better or worse). Reach out to your servicer if you have any questions about your options, or about where you could save the most.
» COMPARE: Estimate your monthly IDR payment
SAVE borrowers may be able to buy back PSLF credit
Some SAVE borrowers have been able to "buy back" months of PSLF credit for time spent in forbearance. You may qualify for the PSLF buyback if each of these apply:
- You have an outstanding balance on your federal Direct student loans.
- You have at least 120 months of approved, qualifying employment in public service.
- You qualify for forgiveness when the months in forbearance are included.
- Buying back these months will complete your total of 120 qualifying PSLF payments needed for forgiveness.
Before submitting a request, confirm you've reported all periods of public service employment using the government's PSLF Help Tool. To get credit, you'll submit a buyback request and make an extra payment of at least what you would have owed under an IDR plan during the month(s) you want to buy back.
Be aware that a backlog of PSLF Buyback applications has recently caused significant delays in processing.
Article sources
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- 1.U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education Announces Next Steps for Borrowers Enrolled in the Unlawful SAVE Plan. Accessed Apr 30, 2026.
