The end of SAVE has left many borrowers asking the same question: What repayment plan am I supposed to use now? There isn't one answer that applies to every borrower. Repayment Options Depend on Your Loans Federal Student Aid's current guidance makes an important distinction based on when loans were disbursed. Borrowers whose loans were all disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 generally have RAP as their only income-driven repayment option. Borrowers with older loans may have a

Some former SAVE borrowers are opening their latest student loan bill and experiencing an unpleasant surprise: their student loan payment is significantly higher than it used to be. If this happened to you, the increase may be connected to the end of SAVE and the repayment arrangement that replaced it. Why Can the Difference Be So Large? SAVE was an income-driven repayment plan. Payments were calculated according to specific income and household rules rather than simply divid

For millions of federal student loan borrowers, SAVE changed what monthly student loan payments looked like. Now that the SAVE Plan has ended, borrowers who were enrolled in SAVE are entering a new phase of repayment. The biggest thing to understand is that your loans did not disappear when SAVE ended. Borrowers need to transition into another eligible repayment arrangement. Why Did SAVE End? A federal court order ended the SAVE Plan in March 2026. Borrowers enrolled in SAVE

One of the primary features of income-driven student loan repayment is that your required payment can reflect your financial circumstances. But income doesn't stay the same forever. A raise, job loss, career change, or other significant change in earnings can potentially affect a borrower's income-driven student loan payment. What If Your Income Goes Down? If your income decreases significantly, your current student loan payment may no longer reflect your financial circumstan

Public Service Loan Forgiveness receives a lot of attention, but working for a government agency or nonprofit isn't the only circumstance in which federal student loan debt may potentially be forgiven or discharged. Depending on your circumstances, there may be other student loan forgiveness or discharge options worth understanding. Forgiveness Isn't One Single Program When borrowers hear "student loan forgiveness," it's easy to imagine one federal program that either approve

If you're considering student loan rehabilitation to resolve defaulted federal student loans, one of the biggest questions is how long the process takes. For eligible Direct Loans and FFEL Program loans, rehabilitation generally requires nine qualifying monthly payments within 10 consecutive months. That means borrowers should typically expect rehabilitation to be a process that takes several months rather than an immediate solution. Why Does Rehabilitation Take So Long? Reha

Borrowers who are unable to work because of a significant disability may have federal student loan relief options that they aren't aware of. One of those programs is Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, commonly referred to as TPD discharge. For borrowers who meet the requirements, TPD discharge can eliminate the obligation to repay eligible federal student loans. What Is Total and Permanent Disability Discharge? TPD discharge is a federal program for borrowers whose phy

Federal student loan repayment has changed significantly in 2026, which means borrowers shouldn't assume that the repayment options they remember from previous years still work the same way today. Among the biggest developments are the introduction of the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and the end of the SAVE Plan. Here's what borrowers should understand. What Is the Repayment Assistance Plan? The Repayment Assistance Plan, commonly called RAP, became available beginning Jul

If your federal student loans are in default, consolidation may be one potential way to move them back toward good standing. For eligible borrowers, a Direct Consolidation Loan can replace one or more existing federal student loans with a new federal loan. When defaulted loans are involved, consolidation can also serve as a default resolution option. But consolidation is not necessarily the right choice for every borrower. How Does Consolidation Help With Default? When eligib

Completing student loan rehabilitation is an important milestone for a borrower who has been dealing with federal student loan default. But rehabilitation isn't the end of the student loan journey. Once the process is successfully completed, the focus shifts from resolving the default to managing the loans going forward. Your Loan Leaves Default Successful rehabilitation removes an eligible federal student loan from default status. This can restore access to federal student l

The terms student loan delinquency and student loan default are sometimes used interchangeably, but they represent different stages of falling behind on federal student loans. Understanding the difference can be especially important because your loan status can affect which repayment and resolution options are available. What Is Student Loan Delinquency? A federal student loan generally becomes delinquent when a scheduled payment isn't made by its due date. Delinquency essent

Falling behind on federal student loan payments can happen quickly. A change in income, unexpected expenses, or a monthly payment that is simply no longer affordable can turn one missed payment into several. If you're behind on student loan payments, understanding where your loans currently stand can help you determine what options may still be available. Missing Payments Doesn't Immediately Mean Default A missed federal student loan payment generally makes the loan delinquen

If your federal student loans are in default, you may be wondering whether the government can take your federal tax refund. Under certain circumstances, defaulted federal student loans can lead to a tax refund offset through the Treasury Offset Program. For borrowers expecting a significant refund, understanding how this process relates to student loan default can be especially important. What Is a Student Loan Tax Refund Offset? A Treasury offset allows eligible federal paym

The terms student loan forgiveness and student loan discharge are often used interchangeably, but they can refer to different types of federal student loan relief. For borrowers carrying significant federal student loan balances, understanding these differences can be important. Some borrowers may qualify for relief based on employment or repayment history. Others may have circumstances involving disability, their school, or another qualifying situation that could potentially

If your federal student loans are in default, you may have heard the term student loan rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is one of the primary federal options available for resolving certain defaulted student loans. For an eligible borrower, successfully completing the process can return the loan to good standing and restore access to federal student loan benefits. However, rehabilitation has specific requirements, timelines, and limitations that borrowers should understand befo

If you haven’t paid your student loans in years, you’re not alone. Borrowers sometimes lose track of federal student loans after financial hardship, changes in employment, or simply not knowing what to do when payments become unaffordable. The important thing to understand is that federal student loan debt generally does not disappear simply because several years have passed. However, even borrowers with long-term defaulted student loans may still have options. What Happens W

If you've fallen significantly behind on your federal student loans, you may be concerned about student loan wage garnishment. For borrowers with federal student loans in default, that concern can be very real. The federal government has collection powers that can allow it to collect defaulted student loan debt without following the same process typically required of an ordinary creditor. The good news is that receiving collection notices doesn't necessarily mean you're out o

If your federal student loans have gone into default, one of the first questions you may have is simple: Can I get my student loans out of default? For many borrowers, the answer is yes. Federal student loan default can be serious, but there are established programs designed to help eligible borrowers resolve defaulted loans. The challenge is understanding which options apply to your particular loans and what each option could mean for your financial situation. What Does Gett

Student loan rehabilitation can provide eligible borrowers with a path out of federal student loan default. But what happens if you successfully rehabilitate a loan and later fall back into default? This is an important question because student loan rehabilitation generally cannot be used more than once on the same loan. That doesn't necessarily mean you're out of options. What Happens If You Default Again After Rehabilitation? After successfully completing rehabilitation, an

For many federal student loan borrowers, the biggest concern isn't necessarily how much they owe. It's how much they're expected to pay every month. If your federal student loan payment is too high, an income-driven repayment option may provide a way to make your monthly obligation more manageable. These plans are designed to consider factors such as income and family size rather than relying solely on the amount you borrowed. However, federal repayment programs have changed