Student loan borrowers on the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan will need to find a new repayment option this summer. 

The Department of Education is officially ending SAVE after a United States district court judge ruled the plan illegal. 

The SAVE plan started in 2023 under former President Joe Biden’s administration. It was a loan repayment plan that based payments on a borrower’s monthly income but accommodated a borrower’s living expenses, said Carole Trone, executive director of Debt Smarts, a nonprofit that provides resources for Wisconsin student loan borrowers. 

The Department of Education is offering a new income-based repayment plan. 

“The one, maybe biggest difference that’s going to affect borrowers is that (the new income-based repayment plan) is not as generous. It doesn’t provide as generous an accommodation for a borrower’s living expenses,” Trone said. “(SAVE) was much more borrower friendly, that’s why people saw their payments so low under the SAVE plan.”

Still, Trone said, SAVE borrowers have options. Here’s what borrowers should know about the changes and how to decide their next steps.

Borrowers should act sooner rather than later to get the most options

Borrowers can enroll in one of the other existing plans that determine monthly payments on household income before July 1. These are called Income-Driven Repayment plans (IDR).

These plans include an Income-Based Repayment plan (IBR) and Income-Contingent Repayment plan (ICR). Trone said these plans will end in 2028, but they can buy borrowers more time on the plan that works for them. 

On July 1, enrollment for these plans will close and loan servicers will start notifying SAVE borrowers that they have 90 days to switch to a different repayment plan. 

After July 1, Trone said the only available plans based on a borrower’s income will be a newly created Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). 

Starting in July, borrowers can choose between the Repayment Assistance Plan or a standard borrowing plan. 

What is the difference between the Repayment Assistance Plan and a standard borrowing plan?

The Repayment Assistance Plan will base payment amounts from anywhere between 1% and 10% of a borrower’s adjusted gross income, and the lowest possible monthly payment is $10, Trone said. 

The plan also factors dependents. Trone said borrowers will get a $50 deduction each month from the required monthly payment for each dependent child. 

Some borrowers with a smaller payment can get unpaid interest waived if their calculated monthly payment doesn’t cover interest. Trone said this will primarily help very low-income borrowers.

A standard borrowing plan does not base monthly payments on income. Trone said payments are calculated based on the borrowed amount and interest rate spread evenly over 10 years. 

The Department of Education will begin offering tiered repayment plans, which allows a longer period repaying the standard payment spanning 15, 20 or 25 years.

Trone warns that while a longer repayment period lowers monthly payments, it also means the borrower pays more interest overall.

How can I decide which option is best for me?

Trone said a great option for one borrower might not be good for another.

Some borrowers might want to pay their loan off as quickly as possible. Others might want the lowest payment to focus on other bills. 

Trone said the first step a borrower should take is to log into their account on studentaid.gov and get a full view of their financial aid situation.

“If you were in a program that happened over several semesters or several years … that was a new disbursement each year and each one of those counts as a separate loan,” Trone said. “Some borrowers don’t realize that there might be a loan or two that they forgot about or wasn’t part of their consolidation, and they’ve missed payment on them.”

Another helpful resource is the student loan simulator, where borrowers sign into their student aid account and see all their repayment options.

Where can I go for help?

Trone said borrowers can get answers to any student-loan related questions by contacting Debt Smart’s free Wisconsin Student Loan Hotline. 

Borrowers can contact the helpline by calling 833-589-0750 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

If you have a question outside these hours, Trone said you can email the helpline at carole@debtsmarts.org. 

“There’s no wait time and you’ll talk to a real person right away,” Trone said. “It can really prepare you very well for when you do your research and then call your loan services to request changes or updates.”

Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.

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The SAVE plan for federal student loans is ending. What should borrowers do next?

by Alex Klaus, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
May 13, 2026

<h1>The SAVE plan for federal student loans is ending. What should borrowers do next?</h1> <p class="byline">by Alex Klaus, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service <br />May 13, 2026</p> <p>Student loan borrowers on the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan will need to find a new repayment option this summer.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Department of Education is <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-next-steps-borrowers-enrolled-unlawful-save-plan">officially ending SAVE</a> after a United States district court judge ruled the plan illegal.&nbsp;</p> <p>The SAVE plan started in 2023 under former President Joe Biden’s administration. It was a loan repayment plan that based payments on a borrower’s monthly income but accommodated a borrower’s living expenses, said Carole Trone, executive director of Debt Smarts, a nonprofit that provides resources for Wisconsin student loan borrowers.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Department of Education is offering a new income-based repayment plan.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The one, maybe biggest difference that’s going to affect borrowers is that (the new income-based repayment plan) is not as generous. It doesn’t provide as generous an accommodation for a borrower’s living expenses,” Trone said. “(SAVE) was much more borrower friendly, that’s why people saw their payments so low under the SAVE plan.”</p> <p>Still, Trone said, SAVE borrowers have options. Here’s what borrowers should know about the changes and how to decide their next steps.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Borrowers should act sooner rather than later to get the most options</strong></h2> <p>Borrowers can enroll in one of the other existing plans that determine monthly payments on household income before July 1. These are called Income-Driven Repayment plans (IDR).</p> <p>These plans include an Income-Based Repayment plan (IBR) and <a href="https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/icr-plan">Income-Contingent Repayment plan (ICR)</a>. Trone said these plans will end in 2028, but they can buy borrowers more time on the plan that works for them.&nbsp;</p> <p>On July 1, enrollment for these plans will close and loan servicers will start notifying SAVE borrowers that they have 90 days to switch to a different repayment plan.&nbsp;</p> <p>After July 1, Trone said the only available plans based on a borrower’s income will be a newly created Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).&nbsp;</p> <p>Starting in July, borrowers can choose between the Repayment Assistance Plan or a standard borrowing plan.&nbsp;</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What</strong> i<strong>s the difference between the Repayment Assistance Plan and a standard borrowing plan?</strong></h2> <p>The Repayment Assistance Plan will base payment amounts from anywhere between 1% and 10% of a borrower’s adjusted gross income, and the lowest possible monthly payment is $10, Trone said.&nbsp;</p> <p>The plan also factors dependents. Trone said borrowers will get a $50 deduction each month from the required monthly payment for each dependent child.&nbsp;</p> <p>Some borrowers with a smaller payment can get unpaid interest waived if their calculated monthly payment doesn’t cover interest. Trone said this will primarily help very low-income borrowers.</p> <p>A standard borrowing plan does not base monthly payments on income. Trone said payments are calculated based on the borrowed amount and interest rate spread evenly over 10 years.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Department of Education will begin offering tiered repayment plans, which allows a longer period repaying the standard payment spanning 15, 20 or 25 years.</p> <p>Trone warns that while a longer repayment period lowers monthly payments, it also means the borrower pays more interest overall.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>How can I decide which option is best for me?</strong></h2> <p>Trone said a great option for one borrower might not be good for another.</p> <p>Some borrowers might want to pay their loan off as quickly as possible. Others might want the lowest payment to focus on other bills.&nbsp;</p> <p>Trone said the first step a borrower should take is to log into their account on <a href="http://studentaid.gov">studentaid.gov</a> and get a full view of their financial aid situation.</p> <p>“If you were in a program that happened over several semesters or several years … that was a new disbursement each year and each one of those counts as a separate loan,” Trone said. “Some borrowers don't realize that there might be a loan or two that they forgot about or wasn’t part of their consolidation, and they've missed payment on them.”</p> <p>Another helpful resource is the <a href="https://studentaid.gov/loan-simulator/">student loan simulator</a>, where borrowers sign into their student aid account and see all their repayment options.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Where can I go for help?</strong></h2> <p>Trone said borrowers can get answers to any student-loan related questions by contacting Debt Smart’s free Wisconsin Student Loan Hotline.&nbsp;</p> <p>Borrowers can contact the helpline by calling 833-589-0750 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.</p> <p>If you have a question outside these hours, Trone said you can email the helpline at <a href="mailto:carole@debtsmarts.org">carole@debtsmarts.org</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>“There’s no wait time and you’ll talk to a real person right away,” Trone said. “It can really prepare you very well for when you do your research and then call your loan services to request changes or updates.”</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <p><em>Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://milwaukeenns.org/2026/05/13/the-save-plan-for-federal-student-loans-is-ending-what-should-borrowers-do-next/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://milwaukeenns.org&quot;&gt;Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-NNS-Favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://milwaukeenns.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=155299&amp;amp;ga4=G-HGM4XK3QCM&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://milwaukeenns.org/2026/05/13/the-save-plan-for-federal-student-loans-is-ending-what-should-borrowers-do-next/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/milwaukeenns.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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