Interest will restart for SAVE borrowers whose loans remain in a general forbearance on Aug. 1. Viva Tung/CNET
As the old adage goes, the only constant student loan borrowers enrolled in SAVE have experienced over the past two years is a perpetual state of change.
Last week, the Department of Education announced that interest would resume for the nearly 8 million borrowers in the Saving on a Valuable Education plan on Aug. 1. That gives borrowers roughly two weeks to decide if they want to move onto another income-driven repayment plan or continue to stay on SAVE until the forbearance period ends.
The Department of Education has encouraged borrowers enrolled in SAVE "to quickly transition to a legally compliant repayment plan -- such as the Income-Based Repayment Plan," Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement in early July. While moving to a new payment plan before August could make sense for some borrowers, it's not a requirement.
Monthly payments for student loan borrowers in SAVE will remain on hold in a general forbearance. Starting Aug. 1, this will no longer be an interest-free forbearance. Whether you decide to move to a new repayment plan or not this month depends on your forgiveness options and financial situation.
"It's crucial for borrowers to act based on their own personal situation," said Elaine Rubin, a student loan policy expert and director of corporate communications at Edvisors. "A borrower who chooses to stay in the forbearance or who is waiting for their payment plan application to be processed will have their loan remain in good standing."
The SAVE repayment plan was officially shot down by the courts earlier this year, but borrowers' payments are expected to remain on hold until mid-2026 unless an upcoming court decision speeds up the timeline.
If you're enrolled in SAVE and not sure what you should do before interest begins accruing on your loans, here's what experts say.
Should PSLF borrowers enrolled in SAVE do anything before Aug. 1?
If you're working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness and are enrolled in SAVE, you can either stay in forbearance or switch to another repayment plan.
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