The SAVE plan ended July 1, 2026. Federal loan servicers began sending 90-day notices to nearly 7 million borrowers this week. You have until roughly the end of September to pick a new repayment plan — or your servicer will choose one for you.

If you've been in the SAVE plan, your forbearance period is over. Starting July 1, 2026, federal loan servicers began rolling out notices telling SAVE borrowers they have 90 days to switch to a different repayment plan.1

This affects nearly 7 million borrowers who were placed in involuntary forbearance when courts blocked the SAVE plan starting in 2024. The legal fight is settled now — SAVE is gone — and the clock on your transition has started.

What Happened to SAVE

The SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) plan was challenged in federal court and partially blocked by judges in 2024. Borrowers were placed in forbearance while litigation played out, meaning payments weren't required. But here's what most people don't realize: interest kept accruing on SAVE loans from August 2025 onward.2

If your balance was $42,000 when you went into forbearance, it's higher now. Pull your current balance from your servicer portal before you compare any new plans.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act formally retired SAVE and replaced it with two new federal options: the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and the Tiered Standard Plan. Both became available July 1, 2026.

Your 90-Day Clock

Here's the detail most news coverage is missing: your 90-day deadline is tied to when your notice arrives, not July 1 universally. Each servicer notice starts that individual borrower's clock on the date it's sent.1 If yours arrives July 10, your deadline is October 10. Most affected borrowers are expected to be back in active repayment by the end of September 2026.

If you do nothing within your personal window, your servicer will automatically enroll you in either the Standard Repayment Plan or the new Tiered Standard Plan.

Your New Options

Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)

RAP is the new income-driven replacement for SAVE. According to a Congressional Research Service analysis of P.L. 119-21:3

  • Payments range from 1% to 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), on a sliding scale
  • The applicable percentage increases by one percentage point for each income tier above $10,000 AGI
  • Payments drop by $50 per month for each dependent in your household
  • Minimum payment: $10 per month regardless of income
  • Forgiveness comes after 30 years of payments
  • Eligible borrowers: Direct Loan holders only — Parent PLUS is excluded

One key difference from SAVE: RAP calculates payments based on your total AGI rather than discretionary income. That removes a layer of math from the calculation. For borrowers earning below roughly $30,000, the two formulas produce similar results; above that, total-AGI-based payments can run slightly higher, so run the numbers before assuming RAP is better.

1%–10% of AGI — RAP monthly payment range — plus $50 reduction per dependent, $10 minimumCongressional Research Service, P.L. 119-21 (2026)

Tiered Standard Plan

The Tiered Standard Plan is the other new option. Unlike RAP, it is not income-driven — payments are fixed based on your loan balance and loan term, organized into tiers by balance size. Borrowers who miss the 90-day window and get auto-enrolled may land here.

Standard Repayment

The original 10-year standard plan still exists. It typically produces the highest monthly payment but the lowest total interest paid over the life of the loan. If your income is high relative to your balance, this may still be the best financial choice.

Use the Loan Simulator at studentaid.gov to compare RAP vs. Standard before choosing. Enter your current AGI and today's balance (not what you borrowed — your servicer shows the current balance). For most borrowers with balances over $30,000 and incomes under $60,000, RAP will produce a lower monthly payment. For borrowers trying to eliminate debt fast, Standard costs less in total interest.

What to Do This Week

  1. Log into your servicer portal and check whether your 90-day notice has arrived. Major servicers include MOHELA, Aidvantage, Nelnet, and EdFinancial.
  2. Note your current balance, which reflects interest accrued since August 2025.
  3. Run the numbers at studentaid.gov using the Loan Simulator with your actual AGI.
  4. Submit your repayment plan selection before your personal deadline. Servicers are processing millions of switches simultaneously — build in a buffer.

Missing the 90-day deadline doesn't permanently block you from RAP — you can apply to switch after auto-enrollment. But auto-enrollment into Standard can trigger a payment due before you've arranged it, and that first missed payment counts. Act before your personal deadline.

If you're unsure whether any of this applies to you, check your loan type first. Only federal Direct Loan borrowers were enrolled in SAVE and are eligible for RAP. FFEL loans and private loans are not part of this transition.

For more context on the wave of federal loan changes that took effect July 1, see our coverage of Grad PLUS loans ending for new borrowers, new graduate loan borrowing caps, and the House proposal to end subsidized loans entirely.

Understanding where your balance falls against your earning potential matters when you're choosing a plan. Our guides on average student loan debt by degree and how much student debt is too much can help you put the numbers in context.

Footnotes

  1. The College Investor. (2026, July). SAVE Plan Borrowers Now Getting 90-Day Notices: What They Say And What To Do. thecollegeinvestor.com. ↩ ↩2

  2. The College Investor. (2026). SAVE Plan Forbearance Ending: 7 Million Borrowers Face Repayment Restart. thecollegeinvestor.com. ↩

  3. Congressional Research Service. (2026). The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) in P.L. 119-21, the FY2025 Reconciliation Law. congress.gov/crs-product/IF13075. ↩