Leaving the SAVE plan
SAVE has ended, and every borrower still enrolled must pick a different plan within 90 days of their servicer’s notice. If you do nothing, you won’t land in an income-driven plan. You’ll be put in a fixed Standard or Tiered Standard plan, which for many former SAVE borrowers is a far bigger bill.
How SAVE ended
- Summer 2024: court orders in the Missouri case blocked SAVE. The Department put SAVE borrowers in a forbearance at 0% interest.
- February 2025: the Eighth Circuit enjoined the entire plan, which ended the 0% interest.
- August 1, 2025: interest started accruing again on loans in the SAVE forbearance (not retroactively).
- December 9, 2025: the Department and Missouri settled. No new enrollments, pending applications denied, everyone moved to a lawful plan.
- March 10, 2026: the court approved the settlement, which ended SAVE for good.
Your deadline
According to studentaid.gov, servicers began sending notices on July 1, 2026 and will have notified every SAVE borrower by the end of 2026. Your clock starts with your own notice: 90 days to choose, then a final 30-day notice. Someone notified on July 1 had until September 29, 2026.
If the 90 days pass and you still don’t choose, here is where you land:
| Your loans | Plan you’re put in |
|---|---|
| All made before July 1, 2026 | Standard (10 years; 10 to 30 years for a consolidation loan) |
| At least one made on or after July 1, 2026 and in repayment | Tiered Standard (10 to 25 years by balance) |
Neither is tied to income. On $60,000 at 6.53% (the undergraduate Direct Loan rate for July 2024 to June 2025, 89 FR 68878), the 10-year Standard payment is about $682 a month. If you were paying $150 on SAVE, one application keeps you from that bill.
What you can choose instead
If all your loans were made before July 1, 2026, you can apply for:
- RAP, the new plan: 1% to 10% of AGI, minus $50 per dependent, $10 minimum, unpaid interest waived, forgiveness after 30 years. The details.
- IBR: 10% of income above 150% of the poverty line if you had no federal loan balance on July 1, 2014, otherwise 15%, capped at your 10-year standard payment, forgiven after 20 or 25 years. The old “partial financial hardship” test is gone, so anyone with eligible loans can enroll.
- PAYE or ICR, if you qualify, but both close by July 1, 2028, so they’re a short stop at best.
- Standard, Graduated or Extended, fixed payments.
If you have a loan made on or after July 1, 2026, the only choices are RAP and Tiered Standard.
A quick comparison
A single borrower in the 48 states with AGI of $45,000, who owed nothing on federal loans before July 1, 2014 and has no loan from after July 1, 2026:
| Borrower | Plan | Formula | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| No children | IBR (10%) | 10% × ($45,000 − $23,940) ÷ 12 | $175.50 |
| No children | RAP | 4% × $45,000 ÷ 12 | $150.00 |
| One child (household of 2) | IBR (10%) | 10% × ($45,000 − $32,460) ÷ 12 | $104.50 |
| One child | RAP | $150 − $50 | $100.00 |
At this income RAP comes out a little lower. Drop the income to $23,000 and it flips: IBR is $0 for the single borrower (income is under 150% of the poverty line, $23,940) while RAP is 2% × $23,000 ÷ 12, or $38.33.
IBR caps your payment at the 10-year standard amount and forgives after 20 years; RAP waives the interest your payment doesn’t cover and adds up to $50 a month toward principal, but runs 30 years and has no cap. Which one costs less over the life of the loan depends on your balance, your rate and where your income is headed. Put your own numbers in the calculator and look at the total, not just the monthly line.
Credit you lost, and how to get some back
Months in the SAVE forbearance don’t count toward PSLF or toward forgiveness under IBR or RAP. If you’re working toward PSLF, PSLF Buyback lets you pay at least what you would have owed on an income-driven plan for those months and have them count. You can use it only once you have 120 months of qualifying employment, and you request it through PSLF Reconsideration on studentaid.gov.
How to switch
Apply on studentaid.gov (the income-driven repayment application) or through your servicer. It’s free. Let the Department pull your tax information so you don’t have to recertify by hand each year. If someone wants a fee to “move you off SAVE,” read this first.
Sources (read October 24, 2026)
- studentaid.gov, SAVE Plan Borrowers: FAQs About Choosing a Different Repayment Plan (published October 2026).
- studentaid.gov, IDR Plan Court Actions: Impact on Borrowers (updated September 29, 2026).
- U.S. Department of Education, press release of December 9, 2025, agreement with Missouri to end the SAVE plan.
- Public Law 119-21 (July 4, 2025), sections 82001 and 82004, govinfo.gov; 34 CFR 685.209 as amended effective July 1, 2026.
- HHS 2026 poverty guidelines, aspe.hhs.gov (Federal Register, January 15, 2026).
Questions people ask
What happens if I don't choose a new plan after my SAVE notice?
After the 90 days and a final 30-day notice, your servicer puts you in a fixed plan, not an income-driven one. If you have no federal loan made on or after July 1, 2026, that is the 10-year Standard plan. If you do, it is the Tiered Standard plan.
Does time in the SAVE forbearance count toward PSLF?
No. Months in the SAVE forbearance don't count toward PSLF or toward income-driven forgiveness. For PSLF you may be able to buy those months back later by paying what you would have owed.
Is SAVE coming back?
No. A federal court approved the Department's settlement with Missouri on March 10, 2026, which bars the Department from running SAVE. Pending SAVE applications are being denied.
Should a former SAVE borrower pick RAP or IBR?
It depends mostly on income and balance. At very low incomes IBR is usually cheaper monthly because it ignores income below 150% of the poverty line, while RAP charges at least $10 but waives unpaid interest. IBR caps the payment at the 10-year standard amount and RAP has no cap. Run both in the calculator.