The first batch of student-loan borrowers is required to switch to a new repayment plan this week — but some of them are running into issues.
After President Donald Trump’s administration eliminated the Biden-era SAVE plan, which gave borrowers cheaper monthly payments, servicers began notifying borrowers on July 1 of their 90-day timeframe to switch to a new plan.
The notices have come in waves, and September 29 is the first transition deadline. The Department of Education recommended that borrowers enroll in the new Repayment Assistance Plan, which is intended to be the more affordable option for borrowers and waives unpaid interest.
However, when some borrowers attempted to submit their RAP application, they encountered a screen that loads indefinitely, preventing them from progressing, according to videos and screenshots reviewed by Business Insider.
One borrower said he has been trying for over a month to submit the application and has about 6 weeks left before his deadline to transition off SAVE. He said that customer service agents have told him to try on multiple devices or submit a paper application; the paper application has not yet been updated to include RAP.
Another borrower said customer service attributed the issue to a “system glitch” and did not give a timeline of when it would be fixed.
An Education Department spokesperson told Business Insider that the paper application, which includes RAP, will be available “later this week” and is not aware of any widespread technical issues affecting applications.
Borrowers who do not switch to a new plan within the specified timeframe will automatically be placed on the standard plan, the most expensive option. An ongoing lawsuit seeks to stop the forced transfer of borrowers from SAVE.
The spokesperson did not provide a timeline for when borrowers who do not select a new plan will be enrolled in the standard plan and confirmed that 1.5 million borrowers had left the SAVE plan as of September 14. Some borrowers still have not received their notices to switch to a new plan, and servicers said they intend to send all remaining notices by the end of 2026.
The department said that Trump’s repayment overhaul is intended to simplify a complex repayment system and compel colleges to lower their tuition. Still, borrowers over the past few months have reported a range of errors, including incorrect monthly bills and account statuses, making it difficult to prepare for future monthly payments.
In addition to the first SAVE deadline, borrowers have until September 30 to enroll in autopay and receive a one-percentage-point interest rate reduction through June 30, 2028.
Have a story to share about student loans? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.
Read the full article here
