Carrie, a single mother currently between jobs, had a student loan payment of $0 a month under the Saving on Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan.
After a court ruling against SAVE and pro-student debt forgiveness President Biden was replaced with President Trump, she acted fast to switch to an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan to secure the lowest payment possible on her more than $200,000 in student loans.
But despite approval for the new plan, Carrie’s student loan servicer, MOHELA, said she must reapply for an IDR plan or risk monthly payments of almost $2,500.
Around the country, student loan borrowers are struggling with what to do as repayment options are set to dwindle and interest accrual for the millions on SAVE restarts Friday.
“I was initially under the assumption that I was calculated from the income that I provided to them a few weeks ago when I applied for another income based repayment plan. I was very wrong,” Carrie told The Hill, adding the MOHELA staffer could not tell her what her payments were based on and that she was not currently under any IDR plan.
Carrie, who like others interviewed for this story requested anonymity to speak freely, said the employee told her, “Well, what you’re going to have to do then, in order to prevent your payments from going to the full $2,400 when your SAVE plan ends, what you’re going to have to do is go back as soon as possible and actually start a new application from scratch and reapply for a new income driven repayment plan.”
Reached for comment, MOHELA directed questions from The Hill to the Department of Education.
Last year, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the SAVE plan, a Biden-era creation that saw more than 4 million borrowers sign up before it was put into forbearance due to the ruling.
While the forbearance is still in place, the Trump administration restarted interest accrual for those on the plan, encouraging borrowers to change to another option.
“Since day one of the Trump Administration, we’ve focused on strengthening the student loan portfolio and simplifying repayment to better serve borrowers. As part of this effort, the Department urges all borrowers in the SAVE Plan to quickly transition to a legally compliant repayment plan — such as the Income-Based Repayment Plan. Borrowers in SAVE cannot access important loan benefits and cannot make progress toward loan discharge programs authorized by Congress,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon had said.
However, others intend to ride out the benefit of no payments for as long as possible.
Sean, an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles with a wife and one child, has seen his law school student debt grow $60,000 over the past 10 years despite making the payments required of him. He has decided to stay on the SAVE plan and will just make the interest accrual payments until everyone is kicked off it.
“I was paying about $1,300 a month. I have a family: I have a young son, 3 years old. We would like to have a second child. Admittedly, it has been very difficult for me to conceive the thought of having a second child,” Sean said.
“I’m going to start making payments, I think on the interest, because refinancing or going on under one of the other programs right now is going to cost me like $2,500 to $3,000 a month. You know, hardly affordable by any stretch of the imagination,” he added.
Even as the SAVE plan ends, other options will also dwindle after Republicans passed the “big, beautiful bill,” which will leave borrowers with a new Repayment Assistance Plan or a standard plan.
The new Repayment Assistance Plan would require 30 years of payments before student debt relief is allowed, up from 20 years to 25 years in previous plans. The standard plan would give a borrower a loan with a 10-to-25-year life span, depending on the amount.
“Under the SAVE plan, my monthly payments would have been capped at 10 percent of my income; now, the modified IBR [Income-Based Repayment] plan will cap my payments at 15 percent since I have loans that were disbursed before 2014. The new, higher monthly payments will significantly impact my life,” said Jessica, a borrower from New York with over $100,000 in student loans.
“I have started a family, and I currently rent. My student loan balance has always been a financial setback when it comes to purchasing my first home, and child care costs are also exorbitant. This financial strain will mean less discretionary spending and more focus on my essential family needs,” she added.
Borrowers and advocates decry the confusion they say has occurred since Trump took office in regards to the student loan system, although the Education Department noted the released timeline that includes the availability of the new Repayment Assistance Plan next year while other changes will come in the following years.
But for now, advocates are struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s ridiculously complicated. It’s unsustainably complicated. The entire chaos, chaotic system was hard enough to discern before Trump got in office. And, you know, between all the miscommunications, conflicting communications coming from the Department of Education to, supposedly, moving the loans to the Small Business Administration, I frankly, don’t think that the people in Washington, D.C. have the first clue” what’s going on, said Alan Collinge, founder of Student Loan Justice.
