SAVE Plan Ending: What Borrowers Need to Do Next
Credit: Jacob Wackerhausen / iStock / Getty Images Plus- Starting July 1, 2026, if you’re enrolled in the SAVE Repayment Plan, your servicer will send you a 90-day notice to switch to a new repayment plan.
- Those who do not switch repayment plans will be automatically enrolled in the new Tiered Standard Repayment Plan or another plan specified by your servicer.
- The Department of Education is implementing a new Income-Driven Repayment Plan on July 1, 2026 called the Repayment Assistance Plan.
If you are enrolled in former President Biden’s Saving on Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, you’ll need to switch repayment plans soon or you’ll be automatically transferred into a different plan.
The Department of Education (ED) announced on March 27 that, starting July 1, all students enrolled in the SAVE plan will have 90 days to switch to a new repayment plan after receiving a notice from their loan servicer.
In this guide, we’ll let you know what happened to the SAVE plan, how to switch plans, and your loan options, including a few new repayment plans releasing soon.
What’s Happening to the SAVE Repayment Plan?
The Biden Administration implemented the SAVE repayment plan in 2022 as the most affordable income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. It allowed borrowers to erase any amount of debt after 20 years of payment, and in 2024, all SAVE borrowers were placed in forbearance, or a loan repayment pause with no accrued interest.
However, the plan faced many litigations and court blocks until finally meeting its end as “illegal” on March 10, 2026, when the courts dismissed a settlement between the state of Missouri and ED, which resulted in ED no longer enrolling any new borrowers into the SAVE Plan, denying all new applications, and moving students into a new repayment plan.
Do I Need to Leave the SAVE Plan?
Yes, ED is requiring borrowers to enroll in another repayment plan once the grace period from their loan servicer ends.
Servicers will begin notifying borrowers on July 1 of when they need to switch over to a new plan. Once your servicer gives you a date, you have up to 90 days to leave the SAVE Plan and enroll in another repayment plan. If students don’t make the switch within the grace period, their loans will automatically transfer into the new Tiered Standard Plan (replacing the Standard Repayment Plan).
To find out who your student loan servicer is, you can log in to view. To view all servicers, visit this FSA guide.
How to Get off the SAVE Plan
Transferring your loan from the SAVE Plan is more manageable than you might think. And you can transfer it even before the 90-day grace period begins.
1. Log in to Your Federal Student Aid Account
Log in to your Federal Student Aid Account on the official site using your FSA ID and navigate to your student loans.
2. Review Your Current Status
Once you’re on the website, check whether you are enrolled in the SAVE Plan and whether your loans are in forbearance (paused). You have 90 days from the date your servicer sets to switch repayment plans before your servicer automatically transfers you to a Tiered Standard Plan or another specified plan.
However, if you would like to change your loan before the 90-day grace period starts, you also may, though the two new payment plans will not be live until July 1.
3. Compare Available Repayment Plans
You’ll have the option to enroll in four Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans and three fixed plans, including the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and Tiered Standard Plan (TSP), starting on July 1, 2026.
While RAP is a new IDR plan, the TSP replaces the original fixed “Standard” plan. We’ll get into the weeds of what these five plans look like below.
If you’re not sure which plan is best for you, FSA has a built-in Loan Simulator to help you analyze your loans and the best repayment plan for you to compare your loan plan options. We’ll go over what these plans entail later. Compare repayment plan options.
4. Submit a Repayment Plan Change Request
Once you make your decision on a new repayment plan, you can visit the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan Request page to change your plan.
It should take you about 10 minutes to request a new IDR plan. You’ll need to enter your personal and financial information, along with documentation such as a W-2 and your social security number.
You’ll have a chance to choose your new loan repayment plan near the end of the process and confirm your request to change.
5. Confirm Your New Payment Amount and Start Date
Once you receive confirmation that your IDR application was submitted, wait for instructions and information on your repayment plan start date and payment amount.
Why It’s Important to Switch Repayment Plans
The SAVE Plan was an IDR, and if you don’t switch to another IDR, you could be automatically placed in the fixed Tiered Standard Repayment Plan, which typically has higher monthly payments. If you don’t act and are thrown into this plan unknowingly, you could miss payments, be unable to make the higher payments, and risk entering delinquency status.
Your Repayment Plan Options After SAVE
Here are your other repayment plan options to transfer into from SAVE. One crucial thing to remember is that choosing a plan with a lower monthly payment often means you’ll pay more interest over time.
Fixed Plans
Income-Driven Plans
Frequently Asked Questions About the SAVE Plan Ending
After a long battle through multiple courts, the Department of Education settled with the State of Missouri, which ended the SAVE plan and moved all enrolled borrowers out of it. Borrowers will have 90 days from the date their servicer notifies them to switch repayment plans.