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SAVE Borrowers: What to Consider Before Choosing a New Repayment Plan

SAVE borrowers must choose another repayment plan. Learn how to check your deadline, compare options, and protect your repayment and forgiveness plans.
From TheFinanceBase Team4 min to read

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The SAVE Plan is no longer available. If you are enrolled in SAVE or have a SAVE application pending, check your servicer’s notice for your individual deadline, then compare the repayment plans available for your loans before applying. Your deadline and next plan depend on your notice and loan details.

What should I do if I’m on SAVE or have a SAVE application pending?

Federal Student Aid says a federal court order ended the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, and it is no longer available to borrowers. The agency says borrowers enrolled in SAVE or with a pending SAVE application must choose a new repayment plan. Federal Student Aid’s IDR FAQs provide the current agency guidance.

  1. Sign in to StudentAid.gov. Review your Dashboard and identify your loan servicer.
  2. Read your servicer’s notice. Check your account and email for the notice and the deadline stated in it. Do not calculate your deadline from a general timeline.
  3. Compare plans you may qualify for. Use the Repayment Calculator with your federal loan information to review estimated payments and longer-term outcomes.
  4. Submit the free request or follow the notice instructions. Apply through StudentAid.gov or use the method specified by your servicer.
  5. Track the request. Check “My Activity” on StudentAid.gov and confirm with your servicer that the change is complete.

What is the deadline, and what happens if I do nothing?

There is not one deadline for every SAVE borrower. MOHELA says its affected borrowers were told to select another plan within 90 days of their notice; those notices were sent between July and September 2026. The court order ending SAVE took effect in March 2026, according to MOHELA’s SAVE Plan FAQ. Follow the deadline in your own notice, since the 90-day period is tied to its date.

If you do not choose a plan, your next placement may depend on your situation. MOHELA says borrowers enrolled in SAVE may be placed automatically in the Standard Repayment Plan or the new Tiered Standard Plan, depending on loan disbursement dates. Borrowers with pending SAVE applications may be moved to the plan they had before applying. These are not necessarily the same outcome for every borrower, so check the notice and ask your servicer how it applies to your account.

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How should I compare repayment plans?

Eligibility depends on factors such as loan type, disbursement dates, and borrower history, so an option listed below may not be available to you. Federal Student Aid’s calculator can use your federal loan information to estimate eligible plans. Compare the full repayment picture rather than choosing only by the first monthly payment:

  • Estimated monthly payment and whether it is income-based or fixed
  • Repayment period and when a possible discharge may occur
  • Total estimated amount paid and projected interest
  • Whether payments may count toward IDR forgiveness or Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
  • Annual renewal requirements and the consequences of missing recertification
  • Interest-subsidy treatment and whether a previous subsidy period carries over

The figures in this table are plan terms listed by Federal Student Aid in 2026, not personalized payment estimates or recommendations. See the agency’s plan comparison and IDR guidance for details.

Plan Payment terms listed by Federal Student Aid Listed repayment period Eligibility and availability notes
RAP 1–10% of adjusted gross income (AGI), divided by 12; reduced by $50 for each dependent claimed on the federal tax return; $10 minimum. (Federal Student Aid, 2026.) 30 years (Federal Student Aid, 2026.) Most Direct Loans may qualify; parent loans are excluded. (Federal Student Aid, 2026.)
IBR 15% of discretionary income, or 10% for new borrowers; payment is capped at the 10-year Standard amount. (Federal Student Aid, 2026.) 25 years, or 20 years for new borrowers (Federal Student Aid, 2026.) Eligibility varies by loan type and borrower history. (Federal Student Aid, 2026.)
ICR The lesser of 20% of discretionary income or an income-adjusted amount based on a 12-year fixed plan. (Federal Student Aid, 2026.) 25 years (Federal Student Aid, 2026.) Federal Student Aid says ICR ends no later than July 1, 2028. (Federal Student Aid, 2026.)
PAYE 10% of discretionary income; to qualify, the payment must be below the 10-year Standard payment. (Federal Student Aid, 2026.) 20 years (Federal Student Aid, 2026.) Federal Student Aid says PAYE ends no later than July 1, 2028. (Federal Student Aid, 2026.)

Because the figures are general plan terms, they cannot establish which plan is best for you or predict your payment without your income and loan details. If you are considering a plan that Federal Student Aid says will end no later than July 1, 2028, account for that stated availability limit when weighing the longer-term path.

How could a switch affect forgiveness, PSLF, and interest?

IDR forgiveness and PSLF are different routes to discharge. MOHELA describes IDR forgiveness as occurring after 20–30 years of qualifying payments, depending on the plan. For PSLF, Federal Student Aid says every full, on-time payment made on an IDR plan toward PSLF counts as a qualifying monthly payment. If you are pursuing PSLF, compare plans for eligibility and confirm current PSLF rules before changing plans.

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Interest and payment consequences can depend on the plan and your loans. MOHELA’s IDR plan guidance says:

  • IDR plans require annual income and family-size recertification even if neither has changed. If you miss recertification, your payment may change to the 10-year Standard amount and unpaid interest may be capitalized.
  • Switching between IDR plans does not refresh the first 36 months of up to 100% IBR interest subsidy.
  • Subsidy terms differ by plan and loan: MOHELA describes a possible RAP principal-and-interest payment match for subsidized loans depending on payment and loan amount, no PAYE interest benefit as of August 9, 2024, and an IBR subsidy for the first three consecutive years.

Review current plan terms for your own loans before relying on a particular subsidy or interest outcome.

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How do I apply and confirm the change?

Federal Student Aid says applying for an IDR plan is free. Its online IDR Plan Request lets you provide consent to retrieve federal tax information or submit income documentation. Once submitted, check the request’s status on StudentAid.gov under “My Activity.”

After a servicer changes your plan, Federal Student Aid says your Dashboard may take 7–14 days to reflect the change. Check back and confirm with your servicer that the request was processed; submitting an application alone does not confirm that your account has been updated.

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