SAVE Repayment Plan: What Happens Now That It's Over

The SAVE repayment plan has ended, affecting millions of borrowers. Those enrolled move to a new repayment plan, either one they choose or, by default, the Standard or Tiered Standard plan.

The Department of Education has rolled out broader repayment changes mandated under new federal law, including the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and Tiered Standard Plan. Here's what borrowers need to know about current repayment options and how they compare.

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What is the SAVE repayment plan?

The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan is a federal income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that launched in summer 2023 as the replacement for the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) Plan. Like other IDR programs, SAVE calculates your monthly payment based on your income and family size.

SAVE was designed to offer:

• Lower monthly payments for most borrowers
• A larger income exemption that reduces discretionary income
• A guarantee that balances would not grow due to unpaid interest
• Accelerated forgiveness for borrowers with initial balances of $12,000 or less

While these features made SAVE the most generous IDR plan, the plan is no longer available to new borrowers, and borrowers currently enrolled in the SAVE Plan must switch to a different repayment.

SAVE Plan history

After SAVE launched in 2023, several states filed lawsuits challenging its legality, and by June 2024, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the SAVE Plan.

In late 2025, the SAVE Plan remained active, but a court blocked key benefits. Borrowers enrolled in SAVE were placed into mandatory forbearance — no principal payments were due, but interest began accruing again in August 2025. 

In March 2026, a court order ended the SAVE Plan.

SAVE Plan status

In July 2026, loan servicers began sending notices to borrowers enrolled in SAVE that give them at least 90 days from the date it’s sent to switch to a different repayment plan. Notices will continue to be sent through the end of 2026. 

If you don't choose a plan before your specific deadline, your loan servicer will automatically enroll you in the Standard Repayment Plan or the new Tiered Standard Plan, depending on your loan balance and disbursement dates. 

For borrowers enrolled in SAVE who don’t have new federal loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, you can enroll in one of the following plans: 

• Standard Repayment Plan: Replaced with the Tiered Standard Plan, but borrowers with no new loans after July 1, 2026, can still choose this plan.
• Extended Repayment Plan: Fixed or graduated payments for up to 25 years.
• Graduated Repayment Plan: Payments start low and increase every 2 years for up to 10 to 30 years.
• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR): Monthly payment is based on income and family size.
• Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP): Monthly payment is based on your income and number of dependents.
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR): Monthly payments are based on your income and number of dependents and are scheduled to be eliminated by July 1, 2028.
• Pay As You Earn (PAYE): Monthly payments are based on your income and number of dependents; it's scheduled to be eliminated by July 1, 2028.

Borrowers who have at least one student loan disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, can choose between RAP and the Tiered Standard Plan.

Should you switch repayment plans now, or wait for the deadline?

You don't have to wait for your servicer's notice to switch plans, and in some cases, switching sooner is better. Your new payment is likely to be higher than your SAVE payment because it may be based on more recent (and possibly higher) income.

RAP vs. Tiered Standard Plan

RAP and the Tiered Standard Plan are the two newest repayment options, and they're also the two plans available to anyone with a federal loan disbursed on or after July 1, 2026. If you fall into that group, these are your only choices, so it's worth understanding their differences.

How does the SAVE repayment plan work?

The SAVE repayment plan was designed as the most generous IDR plan available. Here's a look at the key features:

Monthly payments

Monthly payments are calculated based on your discretionary income and family size. Under the SAVE Plan, the income exemption increased from 150% to 225% of the poverty line. The payments on undergraduate loans represent 5% of your discretionary income. For a mixture of undergraduate and graduate loans, your payment is a weighted average between 5% and 10% of your discretionary income. For many borrowers, this means a significant decrease in their monthly payments.

According to these calculations, an individual with an annual income of $32,800 or less would have a monthly payment of $0. A borrower with a family of four and an annual income of $67,500 or less would also get a $0 monthly payment.

Interest

In terms of interest, borrowers who keep up with their payments won't see their balance grow, even if their monthly payment isn't enough to cover the unpaid interest that's accrued since their last payment. After making a full scheduled monthly payment, the SAVE Plan eliminates 100% of the remaining monthly interest.

Loan forgiveness

Under the SAVE Plan, it's possible to take advantage of loan forgiveness in as few as 10 years if you initially took out $12,000 or less in student loans. The forgiveness timeline increases by one year for every additional $1,000 you initially took out. For example, if you borrowed between $12,001 and $13,000, your remaining loan balance could be forgiven after 11 years of payments.

SAVE Plan vs. other income-driven repayment plans

The SAVE repayment plan isn't the only income-driven plan. Here's how the features stack up against other options:

SAVE Plan vs. PAYE

Under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan, your monthly payment is set at 10% of your discretionary income, which is calculated by subtracting 150% of the federal poverty line for your family size from your adjusted gross income (AGI). After making payments for 20 years, you may qualify for loan forgiveness.

In contrast, the SAVE Plan subtracts 225% of the federal poverty line for your family from your AGI. For undergraduate loans, the monthly payment represents 5% of your discretionary income. If you have both undergraduate and graduate loans, it's a weighted average between 5% and 10% of your discretionary income. Additionally, the SAVE Plan allows for forgiveness after as few as 10 years of payments.

However, while there's a cap for monthly payments under the PAYE Plan (if your income goes up, your payment will never be higher than what you'd pay under the Standard Repayment Plan), the SAVE Plan doesn't have this cap.

SAVE Plan vs. IBR

Under the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan, monthly payments are 10% of your discretionary income if you borrowed after July 1, 2014, and your repayment term is 20 years. If you borrowed before that date, your monthly payments are 15% of your discretionary income, and your repayment term is 25 years.

The IBR Plan also offers the same monthly payment cap as the PAYE Plan.

SAVE Plan vs. ICR

Under the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan, your monthly payment is either 20% of your discretionary income or what you'd pay on a fixed payment plan with a 12-year repayment term, adjusted to your income (whichever is less). After 25 years, you can qualify for loan forgiveness.

Like SAVE, the ICR Plan doesn't offer a payment cap.