SAVE — short for Saving on a Valuable Education — was an income-driven repayment plan introduced in 2023 that offered the lowest monthly payments of any federal plan. After a long court fight, a federal court formally ended it on March 10, 2026. The U.S. Department of Education has stopped enrolling anyone in SAVE and is moving every borrower who was in it onto a different plan. If you were enrolled in SAVE or had an application pending, doing nothing is not a safe option — you'll need to choose a new plan, and a payment will be coming.
Your timeline and deadline
While SAVE was tied up in court, enrolled borrowers were placed in a forbearance — a pause with no payments due. That pause is now ending in stages. These are the dates that matter:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2025 | Interest resumed on SAVE loans. Even with payments paused, balances have been growing since this date. |
| July 1, 2026 | Loan servicers begin sending formal notices that carry a firm 90-day deadline to pick a new plan. The new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) also becomes available on this date. |
| ~90 days after your notice | Your SAVE forbearance ends. For borrowers notified in early July, that lands around September 30, 2026. |
| Oct – Nov 2026 | A monthly payment comes due for most affected borrowers, whether or not they've chosen a plan. |
| July 1, 2028 | Two older income-driven plans (PAYE and ICR, explained below) are phased out for good. |
Your exact deadline depends on the day your servicer's notice goes out, so watch your email and your servicer account closely. Officials have said the notification window may be compressed, so it's safest to plan around the end-of-September timeline rather than counting on extra weeks.
What happens if you do nothing
If you don't choose a plan before your forbearance ends, your servicer will place you on a Standard Repayment Plan automatically. That can be a hard landing: a Standard payment is based on your balance, not your income, so it is often much higher than a SAVE payment was. More than half of SAVE borrowers had a $0 monthly payment, and for them, the automatic switch can mean going from nothing to hundreds of dollars a month.
From there, the risk is real. If a bill you can't afford goes unpaid, you start down the road to delinquency and eventually default — which can lead to wage garnishment and tax refund offset. If you're already behind, our rehabilitation calculator and garnishment calculator can help you understand where you stand. The takeaway: choosing your own plan, even a low-payment one, beats letting the default option choose for you.
Which plan are you on — and what happens to it?
A lot of borrowers genuinely aren't sure whether they were on SAVE or one of the other income-driven repayment (IDR) plans. That's the first thing to nail down, because what you need to do next depends on it.
Not sure which plan you're on?
Log in at StudentAid.gov or your loan servicer's website and look for your repayment plan's name on your account dashboard. It will say something like "SAVE," "IBR," "PAYE," "ICR," or "Standard."
Here's what's happening to each plan, and what it means for you:
| If you're on… | Status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) | Ended | Choose a new plan within your 90-day window. |
| IBR (Income-Based Repayment) | Staying | You can remain on it indefinitely. Keep recertifying your income each year as usual. |
| PAYE (Pay As You Earn) | Phasing out by July 1, 2028 | Plan to move to IBR, a Standard plan, or RAP before then. |
| ICR (Income-Contingent Repayment) | Phasing out by July 1, 2028 | Plan to move to IBR, a Standard plan, or RAP before then. |
| Standard, Graduated, or Extended | Staying | These remain available to you. Keep yours, or switch if you'd prefer a lower payment. |
| RAP (Repayment Assistance Plan) | New (July 1, 2026) | A plan you can switch into. It's the only income-driven option for any loan taken on or after July 1, 2026. |
Do I keep my income-driven plan forever?
It depends which one you're on. If you're on IBR, yes — you can stay on it indefinitely. If you're on PAYE or ICR, no — those two are being retired and you'll need to move to a different plan by July 1, 2028. SAVE, of course, is already gone.
Will making a change cost me my income-driven plan?
Switching among the plans that are still open to you won't cost you anything. The thing that does is borrowing a new federal loan or consolidating your loans on or after July 1, 2026. Either move shifts all of your loans onto RAP or the new Tiered Standard plan, and the older income-driven plans go away for you. So if you like the plan you're on, be deliberate before taking out a new loan or consolidating. You can compare those two newer plans on our RAP vs. Tiered Standard page.
Your options now
You can switch repayment plans at any time, so the goal is to pick the one that fits your budget and your forgiveness goals. Broadly, your choices fall into three buckets.
Income-driven plans (payment based on your income)
IBR is still available and can give you a low payment with forgiveness after 20 or 25 years. The new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) sets your payment as a share of your income and forgives any balance left after 30 years — you can estimate it with our RAP calculator. If you had a $0 payment under SAVE, you may still qualify for a very low payment under one of these, depending on your income and family size.
Fixed plans (payment based on your balance)
The Standard, Graduated, and Extended plans set a fixed schedule and pay your loan off in full with no forgiveness. They usually cost less in total interest if you can afford the monthly payment. If you'll be borrowing after July 1, 2026, your fixed option becomes the new Tiered Standard plan — see how it stacks up against RAP on our RAP vs. Tiered Standard page.
If you can't afford to pay yet
You can ask your servicer for an unemployment deferment or a general forbearance to postpone payments. Use these sparingly: interest keeps accruing, so your balance grows while you wait. They're a short-term bridge, not a plan. And if you're pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), you may be able to use the PSLF Buyback option to get credit for months you spent in the SAVE forbearance, as long as you were working for a qualifying employer during that time.
How to switch your plan
You can apply to change plans at StudentAid.gov/idr or by contacting your loan servicer directly. Because millions of borrowers are switching on roughly the same timeline, processing can be slow during the summer 2026 rush, so applying early gives you a buffer before your first bill is due. Enrolling in a new plan resumes your payments, so make sure you've compared your options first.
Frequently asked questions
Is the SAVE plan gone for good?
For now, yes. A court ended it, the Department of Education isn't enrolling anyone, and all enrollees are being moved to other plans. A future Congress or administration could create a new income-driven plan, but you shouldn't make decisions based on that possibility.
When do my payments restart?
After your servicer's notice and the 90-day window that follows it. For most affected borrowers, the first payment comes due around October or November 2026.
Will my payment go up?
It can, especially if you had a $0 payment under SAVE. Your new amount depends entirely on the plan you choose and, for income-driven plans, on your income and family size.
I'm not on SAVE — do I need to do anything?
If you're on IBR, you can stay put. If you're on PAYE or ICR, plan to move to another plan before July 1, 2028. And remember that borrowing a new loan or consolidating on or after July 1, 2026 will change your available plans no matter which one you're on.
Did my forbearance months count toward forgiveness?
Generally, months in the SAVE forbearance don't count toward income-driven forgiveness. The exception is PSLF: if you worked for a qualifying employer during the pause, the PSLF Buyback option may let you purchase credit for those months.
Can I stay in forbearance if I can't afford to pay?
You can request a deferment or forbearance from your servicer, but interest keeps accruing the whole time, so your balance grows. It's a temporary fix to avoid missing a payment, not a long-term solution.