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On March 27 the Department of Education announced borrowers on the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan would need to change repayment plans no more than 90 days after July 1, 2026. This ends nearly two years of legal back-and-forth that left borrowers in the lurch.
The tumultuous SAVE saga caused a long period of uncertainty for borrowers enrolled in this popular income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. In 2024, parts of SAVE were blocked, when Missouri and several other states sued over the legality of the Biden-era plan. Those lawsuits argued that some SAVE provisions exceeded the Secretary of Education’s authority, and borrowers enrolled in SAVE were placed in involuntary forbearance.
Late last year, the ED announced a proposed settlement, that once approved by a court, seemed certain to end SAVE soon. But that changed when a district court unexpectedly dismissed the settlement agreement in April. Then, in yet another twist, a federal appeals court overturned the lower court's decision on March 9, ordering an early end to SAVE, again.
Next steps for SAVE borrowers
On July 1, 2026, your loan servicer will contact you with information on how to change your repayment plan. If you do not change your repayment plan within 90 days of that notice, you will be automatically enrolled in the tiered standard repayment plan.
You will have the following repayment plans to choose from:
- Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)
- Tiered standard plan
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR)
- Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)
- Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
If you choose to switch plans before July 1, 2026, you will only be able to enroll in IBR, ICR, or PAYE. It is important to note that if you choose ICR or PAYE, you will need to once again change plans in 2028, as those plans will be going away July 1, 2028.
What forbearance meant for borrowers enrolled in SAVE
The SAVE lawsuit and ensuing administrative forbearance triggered several changes for borrowers. At this point, these changes remain in place:
- Borrowers enrolled in SAVE haven’t been required to make payments since the forbearance began.
- Borrowers in SAVE forbearance haven’t been earning credit toward IDR forgiveness or Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
- Interest accrual started again in Aug. 2025 for SAVE-enrolled loans following a period of forbearance as the lawsuit progressed.
- The ED stopped enrolling anyone in the SAVE plan.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
Check that your contact information is up to date in both your studentaid.gov and federal student loan servicer accounts. This will help you stay informed of SAVE updates that may impact your repayment. The ED is also posting updates on this studentaid.gov page. What borrowers can do now
Between now and July 1, there are a couple different steps you can take before you are required to switch plans.
1. Switch to a different repayment plan now
Because you haven't been earning credit toward PSLF and IDR forgiveness while in SAVE forbearance, you could go ahead and switch to a different IDR plan to restart payments and earn forgiveness credit again. IDR plans currently available are Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay as You Earn (PAYE) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). Here are a few things to know:
- IBR previously had a requirement of partial financial hardship, but that no longer applies, which may open IBR to a broader range of incomes. The partial financial hardship requirement has also been removed from the IDR application.
- The PAYE and ICR repayment plans reopened late last year, following a period of being closed. However, the ICR and PAYE plans will be eliminated by July 1, 2028.
- If you switch to IBR, PAYE or ICR for loans you have now (disbursed before July 1, 2026) and don’t take out additional loans, you can remain on these plans as long as they’re available.
- If you take out new student loans after July 1, 2026, you will no longer have access to IBR, PAYE or ICR, even for loans already enrolled in them. That’s because all federal Direct Loans must be repaid under the same repayment plan.
- The only repayment plans available to new borrowers after July 1, 2026, will be the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and a new, tiered standard repayment plan. RAP will be the only income-based plan and will require 30 years' worth of payments before loan forgiveness.
Loan servicers are processing new applications for IBR, PAYE and ICR plans, though there could be some delays due to recent backlogs.
Use the ED's loan simulator to estimate what your payments and forgiveness timeline might look like on different IDR plans. And consider the decision to switch plans carefully, because your monthly payments could increase.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
You aren’t required to consolidate your loans to change from SAVE to another eligible income-driven plan.
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2. “Buyback” forgiveness credit, if you’re eligible for PSLF
There has been no indication from the ED that all SAVE borrowers will retroactively and automatically receive IDR or PSLF forgiveness credit for the months they have spent in administrative forbearance. But some PSLF borrowers have been able to "buy back" months of PSLF credit for time spent in SAVE forbearance. You may qualify for the PSLF buyback if each of these apply:
- You have an outstanding federal student loan balance.
- You have approved qualifying employment for 10 years of public service. (Use the government's PSLF Help Tool to confirm you’ve reported all periods of public service employment.)
- 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.
To get credit, you must 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 some delays in processing.
More information is available on studentaid.gov.
3. Make voluntary or interest-only payments
Even though forbearance means you aren't required to make payments, you could still benefit from making them.
Following a pause, interest began accruing again for loans in SAVE forbearance in August 2025. If you remain on the SAVE plan until it ends, making interest-only payments can keep your student debt from ballooning further, reducing what you owe when the forbearance ends.
Despite being in forbearance, you could also go ahead and pay your monthly payment amount to continue reducing what you owe. However, that may not be a good idea if you’re pursuing a student loan forgiveness path, like PSLF. That’s because any payments you make don't currently count toward forgiveness.
Nerdy Perspective
My husband has law school and undergrad student loans that are on the SAVE plan. We are in this weird limbo with many other borrowers. We have an idea what plan we’ll move to, but it’s unclear if it’s worth staying in SAVE until we’re required to change or if we should move now. In the meantime, we've decided to go ahead and pay a little under $1,000 per month in interest, which is less than what his payment would be on any of the repayment options available to him.
Student Loans Editor
4. Do nothing and wait until you’re required to switch
You could choose to do nothing until your servicer tells you you have to. During this time, you can research IDR plans, determine your eligibility and be ready to move to a new plan. You should also evaluate your budget to understand what repayment plan you can afford.
Until you switch plans, take advantage of the payment reprieve to work on other financial goals, like paying down credit card debt or building an emergency fund.
Getting more information about SAVE changes
Keeping track of student loan changes resulting from the OBBBA has been difficult. Your best approach is to stay alert for communication from the ED and your loan servicer about SAVE next steps. Be sure your contact information is up to date at studentaid.gov and your federal student loan servicer accounts.
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