Saving on a Valuable Education Plan (SAVE): What Does It Mean?

The SAVE Plan was a federal income-driven student loan repayment plan that set payments based on income and family size and offered some of the lowest monthly payments among IDR options. It capped undergraduate loan payments at 5% of discretionary income and forgave remaining balances after as few as 10 years for smaller loan amounts. A March 2026 federal court order ended the SAVE Plan, and the Department of Education has since directed enrolled borrowers to move to other repayment options such as Income-Based Repayment (IBR) or the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).

If you were on SAVE, your loan servicer should have reached out with next steps and a deadline to choose a new plan. Missing that deadline can result in being automatically placed into a plan that may not suit your budget. The SAVE Plan is a useful example of how quickly federal repayment options can change, so it's worth checking StudentAid.gov periodically even after you've enrolled in a plan.