Hi, so I think this applies to a lot of people. I was enrolled in SAVE and experienced immense relief when I saw that student loans were apparently in Forebearance until November 2028 for what I presumed was a legal battle over SAVE. With this, I was able to pay on my own time in the last year and anticipated aggressively paying my unconsolidated loans one at a time over the next 2 and a half years.

    But I got a US Dept of Ed (edited from Nelnet*) email today that says, SAVE is ended, blah blah, and:

    > Your student loan servicer will contact you about your specific deadline to choose a different repayment plan. Once you hear from your loan servicer, you will have 90 days to choose another repayment plan. This gives you ample time to select the plan that works best for you.

    > Our newest repayment plans—the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and Tiered Standard Plan—will be available starting on July 1, 2026. For many borrowers, RAP may be the best option. All borrowers currently enrolled in the SAVE Plan will have the opportunity to enroll in RAP.

    > If you don't want to wait until July 1, you can choose a different repayment plan now. Use our tool to estimate monthly payments, determine your eligibility, and choose the available repayment plan that best meets your needs and goals.

    So… is it NOT November 2028 anymore? My account still says it is, but all my individual loans now say: "IDR recertification date: 4/13/2027" On each, the "Due Date" says 11/12/2028.

    What does this mean exactly?

    This feels kinda messed up. I hate this new trend of the government giving things and taking them away. It should be illegal to tell someone "payment will resume [date]" and then say "psych, it'll resume earlier lol"

    Nelnet forcing me off SAVE? Confused about the timing.
    byu/Zuzu_RU inStudentLoans



    Posted by Zuzu_RU

    6 Comments

    1. 2028 was a placeholder date while the court case played out. You must move to a new plan by sometime around October and resume payments.

    2. 2028 has always been a placeholder.

      The plan to transition SAVE borrowers has been announced.

      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. ICR and PAYE will be gone. 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, like the Covid forbearance and SAVE forbearance.

      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.

      Also, many have asked: Yes, you need to “recertify” your income to change to another IDR plan because providing current income documentation is always part of the IDR application. No one is automatically being moved to any plan other than Standard, where your income doesn’t matter. You either move yourself to something else or get put onto the Standard plan.

      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/)

      Read about the current IDR plans and eligibility here: [https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven](https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven) and also here: [https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven/questions#paye-eligibility](https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven/questions#paye-eligibility

      NOTE: If you have double consolidated Parent Plus loans on SAVE then you can currently use any IDR plan you are eligible for. You cannot use RAP. By July 2028 you will only have IBR.

      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)

    3. CantaloupeEven6341 on

      I got that same email. It wasn’t from Nelnet, it’s from the Dept of Education. Personally, I’m waiting for Nelnet to email me and tell me I have to switch and then go from there.

    4. Soft_Eggplant_370 on

      Pretty amazing at the US just basically enslaved millions of middle class americans. While simultaneously forgiving hundreds of billions of dollars towards private institutions, pocketed into the hands of corrupt officials and have already spent more on the war in Iran than forgiving the debt altogether.

      We can continuously justify unfathomable of tax cuts to the rich, can forgive the PPP loans bailout Banks and let people at Kristi Noem literally take hundreds of millions of dollars without ever receiving consequence.

      Yet people who commit and sacrifice years of their lives to live in poverty to become teachers or health care workers are punished by because they made a life-changing Financial Choice when they were just 18 years old.

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