Decide What Matters Most As Interest Starts

The Department of Education has restarted interest on all loans sitting in the SAVE litigation forbearance beginning August 1 2025. At the same time, every month you stay in this forbearance does not count toward 20-, 25-, or 30-year income-driven forgiveness or Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

That leaves you with a simple but urgent choice:

  1. Keeping the $0 bill for a while longer - Stay in SAVE forbearance. Your balance will grow from day one of renewed interest. No credit toward any forgiveness clock.
  2. Earning qualifying payments toward IDR or PSLF - Exit SAVE and enroll in an income-driven plan right away. You start making payments again, but each one moves you closer to cancellation.

Choosing to Switch

You’ll need to determine which group of borrowers you fall into. Borrowers are divided into four groups based on when they first borrowed federal student loans—but with one important exception:
If you borrow any new federal loans on or after July 1, 2026, you’ll be included in the newest group, even if your earlier loans were from a prior period.

To find your group, log in to StudentAid.gov, go to “My Aid” → “Loan Breakdown,” and look for the oldest disbursement date listed. Then check whether you’ve taken out (or plan to take out) any new loans after July 1, 2026.

Your loan history will place you in one of four borrower groups. Click the link for your group to see the repayment rules and options that apply specifically to you.

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Choosing to Stay...For now

The SAVE plan will go away, but not until 7/1/2008. Here is an estimated timeline you can expect:

  • Aug 1 2025 - interest starts accruing again on SAVE-forbearance loans.
  • Dec 2025 - First full payments could be due.
  • Feb 1 2026 - First IDR-income recertifications for former-SAVE borrowers.
  • July 1 2026 - New Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) launches.
  • July 1 2028 - PAYE, ICR and SAVE shut down; only IBR and RAP remain.

If you have access to IBR but wait to be forced into RAP by the July 1, 2028 sunset, you may lose access to IBR forever. That is also a long time to go without accruing any credit toward forgiveness so consider your options carefully.
There isn't much reason to stay on SAVE after payments resume.