The Education Department has reopened the application for all income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which had been suspended for a month. Servicers will resume processing IDR applications by May 10. Borrowers who submitted an IDR application should automatically be placed in a processing forbearance for up to 60 days. Call your servicer to confirm it has received your application and put you in a forbearance.
What’s Happening with SAVE and IDR Plans
The Education Department initially took down the IDR application after a court action in the lawsuits against SAVE, a new IDR plan introduced by the Biden administration. The application reopened a week after the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed a lawsuit against the Education Department, alleging the department broke federal law by blocking borrowers’ access to IDR plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
Why Is This Causing Confusion for Borrowers?
“With this chaos, and with the uncertainty about which repayment plans are available and whether or not they can get onto these plans, and whether or not they’re going to get the loan cancellation that they’re entitled to, a lot of people are delaying very real life choices,” says Persis Yu, deputy executive director and managing counsel at the Student Borrower Protection Center, which is representing the AFT in the lawsuit.
What We Know and Don’t Know About IDR Plans
What We Know About Income-Driven Repayment
The IDR application is open, but looks different. SAVE is no longer on the updated IDR application. You no longer have the option to check a box asking your servicer to place you on the repayment plan with the lowest monthly payment. As a result, you must do your own research about which plan works best for you. Use the Education Department’s loan simulator to estimate your monthly bills and the total amount you’ll repay under various plans. Note that SAVE still appears on the simulator, though you can no longer enroll in it.
Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is the Safest IDR Plan
SAVE is likely done for, says Robert Kelchun, a professor of higher education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who studies income-driven repayment. However, there are three other IDR plans that borrowers can apply for right now:
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR)
- Pay as You Earn (PAYE)
- Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)
IBR is the Safest Option
If you need an income-driven repayment plan, experts say the IBR plan is the safest option. Unlike the other three IDR plans, IBR was established by Congress, so Congress would need to vote to change or remove it.
Retaining Forgiveness Credit When Switching to IBR
If you decide to switch from a different IDR plan to the IBR plan, you’ll retain any forgiveness credit you earned under your previous IDR plan, according to the Education Department website.
What to Do if You Need to Switch to IBR
Before making any changes, consider the following:
- Use the Education Department’s loan simulator to estimate your monthly bills and the total amount you’ll repay under various plans.
- Compare the benefits and drawbacks of each plan.
- Consult with a financial advisor or student loan expert if needed.
IDR Recertification Deadlines Extended
While the IDR application was down, borrowers already enrolled were also blocked from recertifying their income, since the process requires the same form. This left some borrowers unable to meet their recertification deadline and risk getting kicked out of their IDR plan — through no fault of their own.
Recertification Deadlines
Your IDR recertification deadline may have moved to February 2026 if your original deadline was March 18 or later. Some borrowers with recertification deadlines before March 18 also got an extension. See the Q&A section on the Education Department’s webpage for more details.
What We Don’t Know About IDR Plans
When Exactly Will Your IDR Application Be Processed?
Servicers will start processing IDR applications again by May 10, under current guidance, though the timeline could change. “We’re basically having to update the systems to go back to what they were prior to the SAVE regulation,” says Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance.
Processing Timeline
Once processing resumes, submitted applications won’t necessarily be processed in the order they were received. More likely, servicers will process them in order of complexity, he says. Applications with eligibility requirements — having to prove financial hardship, for example, which the IBR plan requires — may take longer to process.
What Happens to Existing SAVE Borrowers?
Eight million borrowers are still enrolled in SAVE, as of December 31, according to Education Department data. These borrowers have been in indefinite, interest-free forbearance since July. They don’t owe payments and no interest is building on their debt, but they’re also not earning credit toward PSLF or IDR forgiveness.
What’s Next for SAVE Borrowers?
With SAVE on the chopping block, we don’t know what options these 8 million borrowers will have in the future.
What Else Should You Do Right Now?
Watch Out for Student Loan Scams
Student loan scammers prey on borrowers during times of confusion and uncertainty. A scam might be someone calling and offering to get you into a different IDR plan — in exchange for a $300 fee.
Don’t Pay for Help
It never costs money to change your repayment plan. Generally, servicers only call you if there’s an issue with your account, Buchanan says. Any information about repayment plans would come over email, he says. “So if someone calls and says, ‘Hey, you know, I can help you get into the right plan,’ it’s probably not us,” says Buchanan. “We will call if you go delinquent, we will call if there’s a problem with your account, and we will certainly email and send you information about repayment plans, but that only will come from your actual servicer or the [Education] department.”
Keep Meticulous Student Loan Records
With mass Education Department layoffs and general chaos in the student loan system, you need to keep your own records and advocate for yourself. Download or screenshot this information in case any discrepancies or issues come up:
- Your payment counter on studentaid.gov.
- Monthly billing statements and payment records.
- Progress towards PSLF or IDR forgiveness.
- The master promissory note you signed when you took out the loan.
- Any emails or letters from the Education Department or your servicer.
- Notes or recordings from calls with your servicer.
Reach Out for Help if You Need It
Start by calling your student loan servicer with any IDR questions. If you need further student loan help, contact your college’s financial aid office (even if you left school years ago), vetted nonprofit organizations and state-based student loan ombudsman offices. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we can rely on the [Education Department’s Federal Student Aid] ombuds office, which has been gutted by this administration, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” says Yu. Yu also suggests reaching out to your congressional representatives’ constituent services offices, if student loan issues remain unresolved. Find out how to contact your elected officials on USA.gov.
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