The financial news that actually matters
Starting July 1, federal loan servicers will begin notifying the roughly 8 million borrowers still enrolled in the frozen SAVE repayment plan that they must choose a new way to pay back their student debt. Each borrower will have 90 days from the date of their individual notice to pick a plan. Those who don’t…
About 7.5 million federal student loan borrowers are still technically enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan, a plan the U.S. Department of Education now calls “unlawful” and has moved to kill. Starting July 1, 2026, loan servicers will begin mailing notices that force a decision: choose a new repayment plan within 90 days of receiving…
A federal student loan borrower carrying $80,000 in debt who gets auto-enrolled in the government’s new default repayment plan could pay roughly $30,000 to $50,000 more in total interest over the life of the loan than a borrower who actively chooses an income-driven alternative. That is the gap at stake for millions of people who…
A borrower earning $40,000 a year with $50,000 in federal student loans could go from paying nothing each month to owing more than $500, practically overnight, if they miss a fast-approaching deadline. That is the reality facing roughly 8 million people who were enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan before the U.S. Department of Education…
Roughly 7.5 million federal student loan borrowers are about to face a decision that could reshape their monthly budgets for years. The U.S. Department of Education has declared the SAVE repayment plan unlawful and is winding it down. Starting July 1, 2026, loan servicers will begin notifying SAVE enrollees that they must choose a replacement…
Someone earning $30,000 a year with $35,000 in federal student loans could soon owe just $10 a month. That is the central promise of the Repayment Assistance Plan, the new income-driven repayment option taking effect July 1, 2026. The catch: borrowers who stay on RAP could carry their debt for up to 30 years before…
For more than a year, roughly 7.5 million student loan borrowers enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan have been frozen in place. Most were put into administrative forbearance after courts blocked the program in 2024, their monthly payments paused but their futures unresolved. That uncertainty just ended, and the outcome is worse than many of…
Sometime in the next few weeks, a borrower earning $3,000 a month after taxes could open a pay stub and find $450 missing. No court hearing, no lawsuit. The federal government will have taken it directly, under rules that allow administrative wage garnishment of up to 15% of disposable income on defaulted student loans. That…
Roughly 7.7 million federal student loan accounts have fallen into default, representing about $180 billion in unpaid debt. At the same time, the one repayment plan designed to keep monthly bills affordable for lower-income borrowers has been permanently blocked by federal courts. Together, these two developments have created the most precarious moment for student loan…
As of late May 2026, roughly 8 million federal student loan borrowers enrolled in the defunct SAVE repayment plan have about 62 days before loan servicers start sending notices that will force a decision. Beginning July 1, 2026, those servicers will notify SAVE borrowers that they have 90 days to switch to a different repayment…