The Department of Education to millions of student-loan borrowers: Get off SAVE — and pay up.
The department announced on Friday that it will begin sending notices to the 7 million borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan detailing their next steps for repayment.
Starting on July 1, according to the department, servicers will notify borrowers enrolled in SAVE that they have 90 days to select a new repayment plan and resume making payments. Borrowers who do not select a new repayment plan will be moved to a standard repayment plan, and loan servicers will notify them of their specific enrollment deadline.
“The 90-day period provides borrowers with ample time to explore repayment options that best suit their needs and plan accordingly,” the department said. “A borrower who wishes to transition before their loan servicer communicates a specific 90-day deadline may contact their servicer at any time to enroll in a lawful repayment plan.”
Nicholas Kent, the undersecretary of education, said in a Friday statement that borrowers will receive further guidance “over the next week.”
“For years, borrowers have been caught in a confusing cycle of uncertainty, but the Trump Administration’s policy is simple: if you take out a loan, you must pay it back,” Kent said.
SAVE was created by former President Joe Biden to give borrowers cheaper monthly payments and a shorter timeline to loan forgiveness. The plan had been blocked since the summer of 2024 due to litigation, and borrowers on it have not been required to make monthly payments. A federal judge recently approved a settlement with President Donald Trump and Missouri — one of the states that filed the litigation — to eliminate SAVE altogether.
The settlement allowed the administration to eliminate SAVE and move borrowers to new plans ahead of schedule. Trump’s “big beautiful” spending legislation, which included new repayment plans and borrowing caps, would have eliminated SAVE by 2028. The Department of Education said that SAVE borrowers will have the option to enroll in the new Repayment Assistance Plan, which is less generous than existing plans and allows for relief after 30 years.
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