Servicers began mailing notices in July 2026. Each one starts a clock: you have at least ninety days to move to a legal repayment plan. Miss it and you are not left alone on SAVE — you are enrolled in the Standard or Tiered Standard plan, where the bill is calculated from what you owe rather than what you earn.
The quiet part is what the waiting already cost. Interest has been accruing again since August 2025, and the months spent in that forbearance count toward nothing: not income-driven forgiveness, not Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Checkpoints
- SAVE was held unlawful in federal court and cannot be your plan going forward.
- If you do nothing, you land on a fixed plan — not on an income-driven one.
- Forbearance months earned no forgiveness credit, and interest has been running since August 2025.
- If you are pursuing PSLF, only an income-driven plan keeps your qualifying payments accumulating.
1 Find your own deadline, then stop guessing
Everything starts with the servicer notice. It names your date. Read it, write the date down, and treat it as the day the decision gets made for you if you have not made it yourself. The Department has said borrowers get at least ninety days from that notice; it has not published a single date that applies to everyone.
While you are in your account, confirm which servicer holds your loans. Loans move, and the notice goes to the address the servicer has, not the one you last used.
2 Compare the two income-driven options before you pick
Two plans remain open to most borrowers. The Repayment Assistance Plan sets your payment as a share of adjusted gross income, reduces it by a fixed amount for each dependent, and never falls below a small monthly floor. Income-Based Repayment sets it as a share of discretionary income, which is defined against the federal poverty guidelines and therefore moves each year.
The shorter forgiveness timeline belongs to Income-Based Repayment, but eligibility depends on when you first borrowed. Read the two side by side against your own income and family size rather than against a summary.
| Plan | Payment based on | Forgiveness | Counts toward PSLF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repayment Assistance Plan | A share of adjusted gross income, less an allowance per dependent | After 360 payments (30 years) | Yes |
| Income-Based Repayment | A share of discretionary income | 20 or 25 years, depending on when you first borrowed | Yes |
| Standard / Tiered Standard | Your loan balance | None | No |
3 Apply early, and keep proof you did
Submit the repayment plan request through your Federal Student Aid account, consent to the IRS income transfer so the servicer can compute the payment, and save a timestamped copy of the confirmation. Millions of borrowers are moving at once; a submitted-but-pending application is what protects you if the servicer is slow.
If you are placed in a processing forbearance while they work through the backlog, ask directly whether those months count toward PSLF or forgiveness. Usually they do not, and that answer changes what you do next.
4 Common mistakes, and how to avoid them
Mistake 1
Reading “no bill” as “no problem.” Interest has accrued since August 2025, and forbearance months earned neither forgiveness nor PSLF credit.
Mistake 2
Letting the ninety days lapse. The fallback is a balance-based plan, and it is the most expensive outcome for most borrowers.
Mistake 3
Chasing PSLF from a fixed plan. Standard and Tiered Standard payments do not qualify.
Do this today
Log in to your Federal Student Aid account today and check which servicer holds your loans and whether a notice has already gone out. Everything else depends on that date.
FAQ Frequently asked questions
If I ignore the notice, what plan am I put on?
After the ninety-day window your servicer names, you are automatically enrolled in the Standard or Tiered Standard plan. Both are fixed plans calculated from your balance, not your income, and billing resumes.
Did my time in SAVE forbearance count toward forgiveness?
No. Months spent in that forbearance do not count toward income-driven forgiveness, and a general forbearance does not produce qualifying PSLF payments.
Which plans can I actually choose now?
The Repayment Assistance Plan or Income-Based Repayment if you want an income-driven payment that counts toward PSLF. Standard or Tiered Standard if you want a fixed payment. PAYE and ICR are closed to new enrollment and end in July 2028.
Key takeaways
- Your deadline is on your servicer’s notice — at least ninety days from that date, and personal to you.
- Doing nothing means a fixed, balance-based payment, not a cheaper one.
- Interest has run since August 2025, and forbearance months bought you no forgiveness credit.
- PSLF requires an income-driven plan. Apply early and keep the confirmation.
