Hello, I'm currently still on SAVE plan forbearance. I've been seeing multiple articles that I should make a move now and switch otherwise I'll be put into a standard payment plan. that's the narrative I kept seeing and don't know where do I begin. Should I start switching to IBR payment plans and what do you think I should do from this point forward? I'm also interested to know what your plans are if you are in the same predicament as I am. TIA!
For people still on SAVE forbearance, what's your plan?
byu/Old-Opportunity-200 inStudentLoans
Posted by Old-Opportunity-200
36 Comments
I am on SAVE, have been in forbearance but making payments towards highest interest loans during this time. So far, I’ve paid off about $120k but still have 170k left lol (150 principal, 20 interest).
I am going to keep doing this strategy until 89 days after July 1st.
In other words, I’m waiting until the last possible minute, and when I do switch, I’ll pick my plan based on how much I have left by then. Likely, I’ll pick one with smaller monthly payments so that I can instead divert more money towards the highest interest loans after making my new “minimum” payment.
I’m high income earner so thankfully I am in a strong position to repay and be done with this within next 2 years hopefully.
Read here about the transition here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/s/BazoUbRtjx](https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/s/BazoUbRtjx).
Starting on July 1, 2026, borrowers on the SAVE forbearance will start receiving notices giving them 90 days to move themselves to another plan. If you do not switch plans by yourself then you will be put into the Standard plan at the end of your 90 days. Not every borrower will get their 90 day notice on July 1st. They will go out in waves.
Currently ICR, PAYE, and IBR are available as far as IDR plans go. RAP will start July 2026. By July 2028 there will only be IBR and RAP. You are only limited to RAP if you take any loans out on or after July 1, 2026.
Keep in mind that the Standard plan can be quite expensive for some borrowers if you have been in repayment for many years.
If you have never consolidated your loans then your Standard plan is the 10 year Standard plan. That counts towards forgiveness. If you have consolidated your loans then your Standard plan is a term between 10 and 30 years depending on what your loan balance was. This doesn’t count towards forgiveness unless your balance was very low and your consolidation Standard term is a 10 year term. See the chart here: [https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/standard?upha=](https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/standard?upha=).
Note: the new Tiered Standard plan mentioned in the Department’s messaging is only for a borrower who takes any loans out or consolidates on or after July 1, 2026. If you don’t fall into that category then your Standard plan is one of the two described above. Read about the new Tiered Standard plan as well as how RAP works here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/s/lsHO2ct2JR](https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/s/lsHO2ct2JR)
The Standard plan is designed to pay off your loans in a specific amount of time. Your 10-30 year clock started ticking as soon as you entered repayment. It only pauses for periods of forbearance and deferment.
For example, if your Standard plan is the 10 year Standard plan and you have been in repayment for 8 years then your Standard plan now would be calculated to pay off your remaining balance in 2 years. If you have been in repayment for 10+ years then your Standard payment now would be for your entire remaining balance at once. So, it’s very expensive and unexpected for many here who were already relying on an IDR plan.
I recommend you move to another plan when required. Waiting and automatically being put into the Standard plan isn’t going to be the best move for a lot of borrowers. Run the numbers and make a game plan for yourself.
Here’s a link to the loan simulator on studentaid. It can be glitchy. It can only work with the info you give it and it often assumes you are just starting repayment, but it can be a good starting point to explore your options: [https://studentaid.gov/loan-simulator/](https://studentaid.gov/loan-simulator/)
You can apply for another IDR plan here: [https://studentaid.gov/idr/](https://studentaid.gov/idr/). If you import your tax data as part of the application it would give you estimates for the IDR plans you qualify for within the application. RAP won’t be available until July 2026. You can wait until then to choose it if you wish. The 90 day notices don’t start going out until July anyway.
Here is a calculator that includes RAP: [https://www.studentloanplanner.com/income-based-repayment-calculator/](https://www.studentloanplanner.com/income-based-repayment-calculator/)
Here is one that includes ICR: [https://www.tateesq.com/calculator/income-contingent-repayment](https://www.tateesq.com/calculator/income-contingent-repayment)
Here is one you can use to estimate your Standard payment amount based on the number or years left on your assigned Standard timeline: [https://smartasset.com/student-loans/student-loan-calculator#ULZjsYILdK](https://smartasset.com/student-loans/student-loan-calculator#ULZjsYILdK)
And here is Besty’s post with, as always, a lot of helpful information and answers to common questions coming up on the topic of the SAVE transition: [https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/s/gToBveoo66](https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/s/gToBveoo66)
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I’m staying put and paying off other debt to free up income. I only qualify for old IBR at this point and will be doing PSLF so I don’t care about interest. I plan to use buyback for this time period but I’m also not going to lose my mind if it delays forgiveness as my payments will actually be lower going forward since my husband and I used to file jointly under REPAYE/SAVE. I also haven’t filed this year’s taxes and will be filing separate from my husband to lower our payments.
You don’t have to make a move now, just without the 90 day window after your loan servicer emails you – the earliest they will email you is July 1st. I plan to apply to move plans at some point within that window, probably about 30 days before it closes.
My plan is to pay towards my highest-interest loan until the end, then just let them throw me onto a Standard Plan. I’ve paid enough down during all this mess that an IBR/RAP just doesn’t make sense for me anymore based on my loan amounts and salary.
I think for most people, the answer really depends on how much they have left to pay, if they were paying during forbearance, and what they can afford per month.
What you should do depends on your situation and your goals. Are you pursuing forgiveness? Repayment? Have you looked at what you would be asked to pay under the payment plans available to you?
You do not have to switch out of SAVE immediately. To my understanding, at some point *no earlier than July 1*, you’ll be notified by your servicer that you have 90 days to switch. So unless the Dept of Ed actually contradicts its own communications (which, I mean, stranger things happen literally every day under this administration), this means you can stay in SAVE *at least* until the end of September.
To start, if you share your income and total principal and unpaid interest, we can ballpark some numbers for the various payment plans, and get a general idea of whether forgiveness or repayment would be cheaper for you in the long run.
I’m riding the forbearance as long as I can, then switching to RAP since it’s the lowest payment. I’m expecting/hoping switching over 7 million borrowers is such a clusterduck that it doesn’t happen until the next administration is in office and they act to codify save.
Planning on hopping on the extended graduated plan and paying double the amount. Also helps in case I need to drop payments for a while to the minimum
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Wait until July, see what happens. Once I get my letter saying I need to switch, switching to PAYE.
Does IDR plan payments still count toward forgiveness? I have been paying my loans prior to COVID for 8 years, then I haven’t paid any and got on save forbearance. It shows payment after 20 years are forgiven, is that still true or no?
I plan to continue paying off my highest interest loans (about 5k at 5.5%) while I remain in forbearance. I’ll switch to a different repayment plan when I get the 5k paid off, or when I am forced to, whichever comes first.
I’m not doing anything until they kick me off
Staying
My plan is to figure it out after my wedding next month. 😅
I’m on SAVE for some undergrad and graduate courses; I’m in PA school now, graduate in 2027. So I still have in school deferment right? Still monitoring how I should proceed with this lately
Staying on until day 89 of 90 when Nelnet sends me my 90 day notice email and then switching to PAYE. Hopefully if we get a democratic president they’ll do something to reverse a lot of this shit and I’ll only have to be in RAP for 1-2 years after PAYE ends for me July 2028.
Was going to hop to Standard after paying off my car but I got laid off, so there’s that
my 2024 income was lower so will likely recertify before i finish filing the 2025 tax return
My spouse is still in school and probably won’t be in repayment until 2028 anyway
Will file jointly in 2025 and in the meantime just pay down any CC debt aggressively so when next year rolls in we can max out pre tax accounts. 2026 tax year do MFS so I can lock in the lower payment of the two years.
We are both trying the PSLF route so trying my hardest to stay in Public Service in the meantime or finding a job that will pay more to cover the costs of the standard repayment plan.
I’ve flirted with the idea of filing for a tax extension to extend the payments on 2024 income but I also don’t want to cause a headache for my spouse.
Tough decisions all around.
I’m saving as much as I can, for my federal loans, from now until I ABSOLUTELY have to switch. Then when I switch, pay the amount I was saving towards the loan so that I have some breathing room. Hopefully, I can get on a plan that doesn’t require much more than what I’m anticipating
Ride it out, make any major purchases that require credit in the interim, eventually default, and ultimately get garnished for less than my monthly payment.
I was on IBR. My income went up and I’m now married filing jointly. My IBR went from $347/month to $880/month. Switching to whatever is the lowest payment which is graduated whatever.
I’ll never pay them off, I don’t care.
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I figure I’m waiting until like day 60 or so, then switch to whatever gives me the lowest payment.
Wait until I can’t wait anymore and figure out my cheapest next step. Spouse is 97/120 on PSLF and I just started my PSLF eligible job this month.
I’ve been using this time to ignore my 4% loans and pay on my 7% loans. When it’s time, I’m leaving the IDR plans and switching to extended graduated, to continue maximizing payments to my higher-interest loans.
I’m considering applying for disability to stall payments. Which, I mean I am I’ve just been trying to build my case and see necessary doctors before applying. But I’ll probably wait till end of June. Apply for disability and once denial comes in appeal a couple times. Might buy me enough time with loan services. If I get approved I can either start making small payments etc. I really can’t afford any payment atm so..eh.
do nothing until forced. don’t be tricked before the 90 day timer actually begins which cannot happen until July 1st with the begins of RAP.
stay on it til the last possible minute basically (i.e., a week before my 90 days post July 1 is up so i have buffer in case there are any issues), switch to PAYE until July 2028, then IBR when PAYE is dead. PAYE and IBR are lower for me than RAP.
Though tbh i haven’t fully looked into the pro/con between IBR vs RAP for my individual situation yet when it comes to the interest coverage/$50 payment toward principal etc so TBH.
Riding it out until the end. There is a new suit that was filed shortly after the last ruling. That suit is occuring and was occuring, before that email from DOE went out. So SAVE could end up in limbo, again. If it doesn’t, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
I’m planning to wait until the last minute. I currently have a job in community health that I absolutely love, but I only make 42,000. I have about 34,000 in student loans. The lowest payment for me right now is the Extended Graduate Plan or whatever it’s called. I am currently applying for higher income jobs and hopefully I can get one eventually so I can switch plans or just pay off faster by paying higher amounts when I am able. I tried RAP, but my payment was estimated to be over 1000 due to my husband’s income because we file jointly for taxes. I don’t really care honestly, the world is a mess anyway. I’m going to hopefully try and pay these off before the 25 year limit on the graduate plan.
I haven’t received anything from MOHELA yet. But I’m seeing things shouldn’t be done until July? Is this correct?
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Since I’m aiming for PSLF, I’ll likely switch to PAYE, ride that until it sunsets and switch to RAP.
A year and a half ago I chose to move into a shed on my parents’ property for six months to start socking away savings into a money market account with my credit union. I continued doing that as much as I could once my kiddo and I transitioned back into a house and paying rent. Going from home ownership to living in a shed was one of the hardest things I have ever done-and as soon as the SAVE plan died I was so grateful to myself for doing it. In June I will have made the last of four giant payments on my loans (started out with $60k, which ballooned to $100k and then slowly got them down to $60k before the latest round of forbearance). I could have wiped out most of my savings and done it all at once, but this allows me to pad it somewhat with a large portion of my monthly salary and keep some money in the bank.
So yeah. I’m sad seeing all my saved money disappear like a mirage, but at least l’Il be debt free before I can be forced into anything this administration wants me to have to do.