For two years, the SAVE plan was the cheapest place a federal student loan borrower could sit — low payments, a running interest subsidy, and, for most of that time, an interest-free forbearance while the courts fought over whether the plan was even legal. That chapter is closed. The Department of Education has declared SAVE unlawful and is moving all 7.5 million enrollees out of it, and this time there is no open-ended pause: each borrower gets a personal 90-day countdown, and when it ends, so does your say in the matter. The first notices went out July 1, 2026, which means the earliest deadlines hit September 29 — and roughly 80% of former SAVE borrowers still haven't picked a new plan. Do nothing and the system chooses for you, dropping you onto a Standard schedule and turning your autopay back on. This guide walks you through exactly what to do in the days you have left.
Step 1: Find out when your personal clock runs out
The single most important number in this whole transition is not an interest rate — it's the date on your servicer's notice. Servicers began mailing (and emailing) 90-day exit notices on July 1, 2026, in waves. The first wave expires September 29, 2026; later waves stretch through the end of the year, and the final individual deadlines land around March 31, 2027. Your deadline is tied to the day your specific notice was sent, not to a single national cutoff, so do not assume you have until spring.
Log in to your servicer account today and look for the notice, then mark the exact expiration date on your calendar. If you can't find it, call your servicer and ask for your 90-day deadline directly. Miss it and you don't get to negotiate — you're automatically placed on the Standard or Tiered Standard plan and billing resumes, frequently at a payment two to four times higher than your old SAVE amount.
Step 2: Understand your three real options
SAVE, PAYE, and ICR are gone or closing. For most former SAVE borrowers, the practical menu is now three items:
The three doors, side by side
- Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) — the brand-new income-driven plan. You pay 1% to 10% of your full adjusted gross income (not "discretionary" income), with a floor of $10 a month for the lowest earners. RAP waives any monthly interest above your required payment, and adds a principal-matching benefit so even low balances keep shrinking. Forgiveness comes after 30 years.
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR) — the survivor among the old income-driven plans. Payments are based on discretionary income, capped at what you'd pay on the Standard plan, with forgiveness in 20 or 25 years depending on when you borrowed. IBR still counts for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
- Standard (or Tiered Standard) plan — fixed payments that fully retire your balance, usually over 10 years. This is also the default you're dumped into if your 90 days lapse. Payments are higher, but you pay less interest overall and finish fastest.
Step 3: Let your income pick the winner between RAP and IBR
If you want the lowest monthly payment, the choice between RAP and IBR flips around roughly $80,000 to $90,000 of adjusted gross income. Below that band, RAP tends to cost less per month, and its interest waiver plus principal match protect low-balance borrowers from watching a balance grow. Above that band, IBR usually wins: because its payment is capped at the Standard amount and it forgives a decade sooner (20-25 years versus RAP's 30), higher earners often pay less in total and reach the finish line faster.
Chasing forgiveness or working toward PSLF? Weigh the timeline, not just the monthly number. RAP stretches non-PSLF forgiveness to 30 years — potentially adding a full decade to your payoff — while IBR keeps you at 20 or 25. For PSLF borrowers, both RAP and IBR count toward the 120 qualifying payments, so the deciding factor is which one gives you the lowest qualifying payment along the way.
Watch the one-way door
Switching from IBR to RAP is a one-way street. Your IBR payment history transfers into RAP, but RAP payments do not transfer back to IBR. If you're unsure, it's generally safer to start on IBR and move to RAP later than to jump into RAP and discover you can't return. And note: if you borrowed before July 1, 2026, you can still choose IBR until it closes to new enrollment on July 1, 2028 — but that's a separate clock from your 90-day SAVE deadline, which comes first.
Step 4: Grab the 1% autopay discount before it's gone
There's a small but real bonus hiding in this transition. Borrowers who enroll in autopay by September 30, 2026 (or who are already enrolled) qualify for a 1.00% interest-rate discount instead of the usual 0.25% — and that enhanced rate runs through June 30, 2028. On a $35,000 balance, moving from a 0.25% to a 1.00% reduction is worth roughly $260 in interest in the first year alone, and it stacks on top of whatever repayment plan you choose. If you're going to be billed either way, there's little reason to leave that discount on the table.
One clarification that trips people up: the new federal interest rates for the 2026-27 school year — 6.52% for undergraduate Direct loans, 8.07% for graduate unsubsidized, and 9.07% for Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS — apply only to loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026. Your existing loans keep their original fixed rates. This transition changes your repayment plan, not the rate on money you already borrowed.
Step 5: Do the math before you commit
Because the RAP-versus-IBR winner depends on your exact income, family size, and balance, this is not a decision to eyeball. Pull your latest AGI from your tax return, note your loan balance and interest rate, and run both scenarios side by side before your 90 days expire. Even a rough estimate of the monthly payment and total interest under each plan will usually make the cheaper door obvious.
You can model your monthly payment and lifetime interest for each option with LoanPal's free Student Loan Calculator — plug in your balance, rate, and term to compare a 10-year Standard payoff against a longer income-driven schedule, and see how much interest each path really costs before you lock anything in.
A quick decision checklist
- Confirm your personal 90-day deadline in your servicer account — today.
- AGI under ~$80,000 and you want the lowest payment? RAP is usually cheaper month to month.
- AGI above ~$90,000, or you want out sooner? IBR usually costs less overall and forgives a decade earlier.
- Pursuing PSLF? Both RAP and IBR count — pick the one with the lower qualifying payment.
- Can afford it and want to pay the least interest? The Standard plan finishes fastest.
- Enroll in autopay by September 30, 2026 to lock the 1.00% discount through June 2028.
- Remember: IBR-to-RAP is one-way — when in doubt, choose the plan you can still leave.
The end of SAVE is being described as a policy fight, but for you it's really a scheduling problem with money attached. The borrowers who get hurt aren't the ones who pick the "wrong" plan — they're the ones who pick nothing, let the 90-day clock run out, and get defaulted into a Standard payment that lands on their bank statement without warning. You have more control than the headlines suggest: find your deadline, compare RAP and IBR against your actual income, capture the autopay discount, and make the choice on your terms instead of the system's. An hour of math this month is a lot cheaper than a payment shock next month.
