SAVE Plan Ended? Read This Before You Pick a New Repayment Plan

If you were on SAVE, you've probably seen the headlines, the emails and maybe a notice from your servicer. The SAVE plan ended, and now you have to pick something new. Before you click the first option you see, it helps to know how the switch works and what happens if you do nothing.

This guide walks through it in plain English, including what to do after the SAVE plan ends, in four steps.

What happened when the SAVE plan ended

SAVESaving on a Valuable Education, an income-driven repayment plan that a federal court order ended in March 2026. was an income-driven repayment (IDR)A federal repayment plan that sets your monthly payment from your income and family size, not from how much you owe. plan. A federal court order ended it in March 2026, so it's no longer available to anyone. If you were enrolled in SAVE, or had a SAVE application pending, you have to move to a different plan.

A few people don't need to do anything right now. If you never applied for SAVE because you're in school or in your grace period, or your only loans were made on or after July 1, 2026 and haven't entered repayment, there's no plan to switch yet.

The default-plan trap

Here's the part that catches busy families. Your servicer sends the notice, and the clock starts from that notice, not from an email you may have gotten from Federal Student Aid.

Servicers started sending notices on July 1, 2026, in groups. So two people with the same servicer can have different deadlines. Every SAVE borrower is set to be notified before the end of 2026. Most notices come by email. If you asked for paper mail, it comes that way instead.

Once you get it, you have 90 days to choose a plan. For example, a notice sent on July 1, 2026 meant a deadline of September 29, 2026. If those 90 days pass, a final 30-day notice follows. If that passes too, your servicer picks for you:

• Standard plan if none of your loans were made on or after July 1, 2026
• Tiered Standard plan if you have a loan made on or after July 1, 2026 that has entered repayment

Those are fixed plans. They're based on your balance, not your income, so the bill may be higher than an income-driven plan would set. And if you're on autopay, the larger amount comes out automatically. Your servicer has to tell you the new amount at least 21 days before the first due date.

We call this the default-plan trap: nothing dramatic happens, you just don't choose, and the choice gets made for you.

What to do after SAVE plan ends: your options in 4 steps

Here's the order that tends to cause the fewest surprises.

1. Confirm your deadline and loan typesFind your servicer notice and note the date. Then look at your loan types and the date each one was first paid out. July 1, 2026 is the dividing line for which plans you can use.
2. Line up the plans you can actually useLoans made before July 1, 2026 can use Standard, Graduated or Extended, plus income-driven plans that fit the loan type. Any loan made on or after July 1, 2026 has only Tiered Standard as its fixed plan.
3. Think about PSLF and long-term goals firstIf you work in public service, the plan you pick decides whether your payments count. Tiered Standard payments don't count toward PSLF.
4. Pick a plan before the final notice runs outSubmit the plan request with your income information. Your servicer may place your loans in a short processing forbearance, no longer than 60 days, while it works.

The income-driven plans still open are IBR, PAYE, ICR and the new RAP. PAYE and ICR close no later than July 1, 2028. Here's a quick look:

If you want the full side-by-side, our guide on IBR vs RAP breaks down the two plans most former SAVE borrowers end up comparing, and Repayment Assistance Plan explained covers how RAP's payment works. And once you're on a new income-driven plan, IDR recertification deadline explains the yearly step that keeps your payment from jumping.

What carries over, and what doesn't

Good news first. Changing plans doesn't remove the PSLF or income-driven payments you made before the SAVE forbearance. Those stay on your record.

The months you spent in the SAVE forbearance are different. They don't count toward PSLF or toward income-driven discharge. If you're working toward PSLF, there's a buyback option for certain forbearance months once you have 120 months of qualifying employment. Moving onto a PSLF-eligible plan sooner rather than later is what keeps new months counting.

If you had a pending SAVE application, your servicer will deny it. If you don't choose another plan within 90 days of that notice, and then the final 30 days, you go back to the plan you were on before you asked for SAVE.

And if consolidation is on the table, know this: a new Direct Consolidation LoanA federal loan that combines several federal loans into one new loan with one servicer. gets a weighted average of the qualifying payments on the Direct Loans you combine. Combine a loan with 60 payments and an equal-size loan with zero, and the new loan starts at 30.

One deadline that's worth knowing

Starting July 1, 2026, borrowers on autopay get a 1% interest rate reduction. If you're enrolled in autopay by December 31, 2026, or already enrolled, that reduction runs through June 30, 2028. If you're switching plans anyway, it's worth checking that autopay is set up on the new plan too.

Once you're on an income-driven plan, the next date to watch is your yearly recertification. Our guide to the IDR recertification deadline explains why your payment can change at that point.

Why people get help with this

None of these steps is hard on its own. The trouble is that they all land at once, often in the middle of school drop-offs, work shifts and everything else.

• Missing the servicer window. The 90-day clock starts with a notice that's easy to lose in a busy inbox.
• Picking the wrong plan for PSLF. Tiered Standard payments don't count, and that's the default for some borrowers.
• Consolidating at the wrong time. It can change your payment count and which plans you can use.
• Parent PLUS timing. The path from ICR to IBR only works with at least one ICR payment before July 1, 2028.
• Mixed loan dates. One loan made after July 1, 2026 changes the fixed-plan rules for you.

Someone who does this every day can look at your loans, your income and your deadline on one call. Want someone to handle it with you? Call (877) 444-0912.

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