The SAVE Plan Is Ending: What You Need to Do Next

The Department of Education is officially ending the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) student loan repayment plan, triggering a mandatory transition for over 7 million borrowers. If you previously enrolled in SAVE and are currently in SAVE forbearance, the "wait and see" period is coming to an end. To stay on track, you must choose a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan in the next several months. 

At Summer, we're committed to helping you make informed decisions about your student loans no matter your goal. This post explains what has changed, what your options are, and what you should do based on your situation.

Your next steps depend on your household income and how close you are to the forgiveness finish line. For many borrowers, the best move right now is to use the coming months to compare other IDR plans, including the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) available in July, and enroll in the plan that fits your unique needs. Summer can help you evaluate which plan fits your income, family size, employment situation, and forgiveness goals.

What to Expect During the Mandatory Transition Period

In early April, the Department of Education began emailing all affected borrowers about the transition plans. If you received this notice, or know you are enrolled in the SAVE forbearance, you need to start planning your next moves.

Starting July 1, 2026, your servicer will send you a formal notice. Once you receive that notice, you will have 90 days remaining to select and enroll in a new plan. If you don't act within 90 days, you will likely be automatically enrolled in a Standard repayment plan — typically the highest-payment option available.

Once you enroll in a new IDR plan, your forgiveness progress is protected. Any qualifying time toward PSLF or IDR forgiveness is preserved and will count. But keep in mind, time spent in the current SAVE forbearance does not count toward forgiveness and interest continues to accrue.

As a heads up, a new income-driven repayment plan is launching July 1, 2026. The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is the newest IDR plan that will be available to almost all federal loan borrowers.

Identifying Your Situation and Potential Next Steps

Your best course of action depends largely on your long-term goals for your student loans, your income, and if you are pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

If You Are Pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

If you're working full-time for a qualifying government or nonprofit employer, every month spent in the SAVE forbearance is a month that does not count toward your PSLF total. Getting onto a PSLF-eligible plan will allow you to resume accumulating qualifying payments again.

You have two options to consider: 

Enroll in a PSLF-eligible Income Driven Repayment Plan now: This may be a good option if you can afford to make payments today, want to make progress toward forgiveness, and have a household income above $80,000. Other PSLF qualifying plans include Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), or if eligible Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). 

Let’s break down when this option makes sense:

• You can afford making required monthly payments under a new income-driven repayment plan. Income-driven repayment plan options can lower your monthly payments but not as low as SAVE. Additionally, your monthly payment under any income-driven plan may be much higher if your income has increased over the years. If you can’t afford monthly payments today, you may wish to stay in the SAVE forbearance to save for future payments. 
• You are close to 120 PSLF qualifying payments and wish to continue making progress. Borrowers close to earning forgiveness may wish to resume progress and avoid long repayment plan processing times expected as millions of borrowers switch plans. 

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Stay in the SAVE Administrative Forbearance until Fall 2026: You aren’t required to make payments for the time being, but interest is still accruing. Your PSLF forgiveness timeline will be delayed by the length of the SAVE forbearance. This may be a good option if you can’t afford to make payments today, aren’t close to PSLF forgiveness, or could benefit from the new RAP repayment plan. 

 This might be worth considering if you:

• Will have lower monthly payments under the new RAP repayment plan, available in July, compared to other income-driven repayment plans. Summer estimates RAP can give you lower monthly payments if your household income is less than $80,000 annually. You can always change income-driven repayment plans later. 
• Are not close to 120 payments and prefer the temporary payment pause, understanding the delay in forgiveness. 
• Want more time to financially prepare for monthly payments. 

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There are a few things to keep in mind, regardless of which of those two paths you choose:

• Pick the IDR plan with the lowest monthly payment - there’s no reason to pay more than the minimum monthly payment when you are in an IDR plan. The Department will process your PSLF forgiveness under any IDR plan when you hit 120 qualified monthly payments. Summer's tools can help you identify the IDR plan that offers the lowest monthly payment. Your monthly payment amount will be calculated based on the rules of the new plan you choose. 
• Plan for servicer processing delays. Servicers may take two or more months to process IDR applications as they process through historic backlogs. That means your payments may not resume immediately. IDR backlogs could grow as millions of borrowers switch plans between July and October 2026. 
• RAP is worth considering if you make around or under $80,000. Launching July 1, RAP calculates payments at 1–10% of your adjusted gross income with a $10 minimum floor. The plan also provides potentially valuable subsidies based on income and family size. For lower-income borrowers especially, this could result in a very low qualifying monthly payment. Keep this on your radar as a strong option once it becomes available.

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A Note on PSLF Buyback

The Department of Education has a PSLF Buyback option for borrowers who already have 120 months of qualifying employment but whose forbearance months weren't counted. You can make a lump-sum payment equal to what your IDR payment would have been during those months to "buy back" that forgiveness credit.

A few important caveats:

• Processing times for buyback requests have been extremely slow, with many borrowers waiting over a year.
• A lump-sum payment may not be feasible for everyone, especially not calculated under the SAVE formula. Lump sum payments are required to be paid within three months.
• Only apply if you already have 120 qualifying months of employment — this option is not available for borrowers who have yet to reach that threshold.
• Read the fine print carefully if you’re considering this option, including the specific words and phrases you must email to the Department to start your buyback request.
  

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If You Are NOT Primarily Pursuing PSLF

If your goal is to keep monthly payments low, you now need to choose an alternative repayment plan. Time in the SAVE forbearance has not counted toward your IDR forgiveness clock — so the sooner you enroll in a qualifying plan, the sooner that clock starts again.

You have two options to consider:  

Enroll in an Income Driven Repayment Plan now: This may be a good option if you can afford to make payments, want to make progress toward IDR forgiveness, and have a household income above $80,000. 

Let’s break it down when this options makes sense:

• You can afford making required monthly payments under a new income-driven repayment plan today. Income-drive repayment plan options can lower your monthly payments but not as low as SAVE. Additionally, your monthly payment under any income-driven plan may be much higher if your income has increased over the years. If you can’t afford monthly payments today you may wish to stay in the SAVE forbearance to save for future payments. 
• You want to resume making progress toward the 20-25 years required for IDR forgiveness. Borrowers close to earning forgiveness may wish to keep making progress and avoid long repayment plan processing times expected as millions of borrowers switch plans. 

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Stay in the SAVE Administrative Forbearance: You aren’t required to make payments, however interest is still accruing. Borrowers tell us this option is appealing if they are maximizing short-term cash flow, or want to wait for the new RAP plan and the delay in IDR forgiveness is an acceptable trade-off. 

A few things to keep in mind:

• If you have many years left before forgiveness, compare legacy IDR plans and RAP carefully. RAP's lower payment floor and interest subsidy (which prevents your balance from growing even when payments are small) may make it the better long-term option for many borrowers — but you won't be able to enroll until July 1. Summer estimates RAP can give you lower monthly payments if your household income is less than $80,000 annually. However, you’ll have to repay for 30 years before earning forgiveness, compared to 20-25 years under other IDR plans.
• There are pros and cons to each IDR plan. Summer's tools can help you identify the IDR plan that offers the lowest monthly payment. Your monthly payment amount will be calculated based on the rules of the new plan you choose. You can find more information about each plan in our resource center. 
• Plan for servicer processing delays. Servicers may take two or more months to process IDR applications as they process through historic backlogs. That means your payments may not resume immediately. IDR backlogs could grow as millions of borrowers switch plans between July through October 2026. 

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Summer has your back

Summer's tools can help you calculate and compare your estimated monthly payment under each available plan based on your income, family size, and loan balance. By July, our tools will also calculate your monthly payment under RAP. 

The current situation with the SAVE plan and the administrative forbearance is complex. By understanding the impact on your specific goals, particularly for forgiveness, you can make an informed decision about whether to remain in forbearance or explore other repayment options to continue making progress. Summer is here to provide you with the resources and support you need to navigate these choices effectively.

Are you an employer interested in bringing Summer to your organization? Get in touch with the Summer team.

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