Updates for you as a borrower on SAVE

Seth,

Earlier this year, a federal court prevented the U.S. Department of Education (ED) from implementing parts of the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan and other income-driven repayment (IDR) plans. ED is currently prohibited from using the SAVE formula to calculate monthly payments and from forgiving loans after years of payments under the SAVE, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plans.

The Biden-Harris Administration has been vigorously defending the SAVE Plan in court to give borrowers more breathing room on their student loans. Because you are a borrower on SAVE, we wanted to share some important details on the currently planned next steps.

What the SAVE Forbearance Means for You

Due to the court injunction, you are now in a general forbearance, unless you obtained a different status (for example, deferment), because your loan servicer is not currently able to bill you at an amount required by the court injunction. You will be in this forbearance until servicers are able to accurately calculate monthly payments, which FSA expects servicers to be able to do no earlier than September 2025. Borrowers will be informed of any further change to this litigation-related forbearance.

Under this general forbearance,

If you submit an application to enroll in an IDR plan other than SAVE, but your loan servicer is unable to process your application within 10 business days of receiving the application or before your next billing statement will be sent, you will be moved into a processing forbearance for up to 60 days. During this period,

When you are moved into forbearance, your loan servicer will notify you about which type of forbearance you are in and which previous months were covered by which type of forbearance. They will also notify you when you have been placed in a new IDR plan.

* with the submission of a PSLF form that includes approved certified employment.

Receiving PSLF and IDR Credit During This Time

Under PSLF and IDR, borrowers can earn forgiveness after making a certain number of payments. Borrowers interested in earning PSLF and/or IDR credit can enroll in a different repayment plan, including IDR plans other than SAVE.

Borrowers who meet the eligibility criteria can enroll in the following IDR plans: the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan, the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan, or the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan. Monthly payments made under these IDR plans do provide credit for PSLF* and IDR. However, please note that, due to the court’s injunction, forgiveness at the end of a borrower’s repayment term is not currently permitted under the PAYE, ICR, and SAVE Plans. Although forgiveness related to PAYE, SAVE, and ICR plans are currently enjoined, borrowers can have their loans forgiven if they are enrolled in the IBR Plan. Payments on PAYE, SAVE, and ICR are counted toward IBR Plan forgiveness if the borrower enrolls in IBR.

Under the PAYE Plan, borrowers pay 10% of their discretionary income above 150% of the federal poverty line but never more than the amount they would owe on the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan. To be eligible for the PAYE Plan, you must be a new borrower on or after Oct. 1, 2007 and must have received a disbursement of a Direct Loan on or after Oct. 1, 2011. You must also have a partial financial hardship, meaning that the payment calculated based on your income and family size is less than you would pay on the 10-year Standard Plan. If you are not eligible for PAYE, you may be able to enroll in the IBR or ICR Plans.

If your loan servicer needs time to process your IDR application, you will be moved into a processing forbearance for up to 60 days. This processing forbearance will provide credit towards PSLF and IDR.

We encourage you to look at the specific terms of each plan to make the best choice for your individual situation.

Borrowers enrolled in SAVE and seeking PSLF credit may also be interested in “PSLF Buyback,” which allows borrowers to make additional months of payments in order to get PSLF credit for months spent in an ineligible deferment or forbearance status. In the future, borrowers will be able to buy back months even if doing so does not qualify them for immediate loan forgiveness. Visit the PSLF Buyback info page on StudentAid.gov to learn more.

* with the submission of a PSLF form that includes approved certified employment.

What To Expect in the Months Ahead

We are working to implement the necessary system updates and provide guidance to loan servicers to be able to bill you at an amount required under the court injunction.

Servicers expect to complete the necessary technical updates to be ready to begin moving borrowers back into repayment no earlier than September 2025. Because this transition will take time, servicers expect first payments to be due no earlier than December 2025. Borrowers will be informed of any further change to this timeline.

In the meantime, we encourage you to check back often at StudentAid.gov/saveaction for the latest updates and information.

Updates to Recertification Deadlines

Under IDR plans, monthly payments are based on borrowers’ income and family size. Borrowers are required to provide their updated income and family size annually to remain enrolled in an IDR plan. This is called “recertification.”

Because SAVE Plan borrowers will be in a general forbearance until the fall of 2025, ED is directing loan servicers to change IDR plan anniversary recertification deadlines. The first recertification deadline for SAVE borrowers will be no earlier than Feb. 1, 2026. Recertification deadlines will occur on a rolling basis. Borrowers will receive information from their servicers on their specific recertification timeline.

We encourage you to visit StudentAid.gov and provide consent for autorecertification of your IDR plan if you are eligible. By doing so, we'll automatically recertify your IDR plan by its recertification deadline. This will ensure you remain enrolled in SAVE.

Beware of Scams

You never have to pay for help with your federal student aid. You might be contacted by a company via phone, email, or postal mail saying they will help you get a loan discharge, forgiveness, cancellation, or debt relief for a fee. Make sure you work only with the U.S. Department of Education and our loan servicers and never reveal your personal information or account password to anyone.

Our emails to borrowers come from noreply@studentaid.gov, noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov, or ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com. You can report scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-382-4357 or by visiting reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Learn more about how to avoid student aid scams.