Student loan servicers begin 90-day countdown for borrowers to leave SAVE plan

It's official: Student borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, known as SAVE , need to exit the program .

Loan servicers have begun alerting borrowers this month that they have 90 days to move into another plan. Earlier this year, a federal appeals court ordered the end of the Biden administration-era SAVE plan.

More than 6.9 million borrowers were still in SAVE as of March, with an average debt of close to $55,000, according to an analysis by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. Borrowers have been slow to leave the plan: around 7.7 million were in the program a year ago.

SAVE enrollees will face an overhauled menu of repayment options, due to President Donald Trump's " one big beautiful bill act ." Those changes went into effect July 1.

Here's what else borrowers in SAVE need to know about what comes next.

The earliest deadline to exit SAVE will be Sept. 29, the U.S. Department of Education said in a June 25 court filing . Yet most borrowers will get more time, the department said.

For example, an FAQ on Nelnet's website notes that the servicer "is notifying nearly three million Nelnet borrowers, so we're reaching out in waves. You'll receive your notice between July 2026 and March 2027."

Once you hear from your loan servicer, you'll have a 90-day window to enroll in a different plan. Those announcements could come on different dates throughout the summer, Nicholas Kent, a top official at the U.S. Department of Education, told CNBC in June.

Servicers will inform borrowers of their specific deadline to exit, so it's important for borrowers to be on the lookout for that notice.

"There isn't one universal exit deadline, which muddies the waters for borrowers after years of policy changes," said Will Sealy, the CEO and founder of Summer, a company that provides guidance to loan holders.

But borrowers can be proactive. "You do not have to wait for the notices to switch plans," said Nancy Nierman, assistant director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York, a nonprofit that helps borrowers navigate repayment.

Whenever you're ready to start the process of switching plans, you can log into your Federal Student Aid account at StudentAid.gov .

Borrowers who do not select another repayment plan within 90 days of being notified will be placed in either the Standard Repayment Plan, or the new Tiered Standard Plan, which rolled out on July 1.

"The most important thing we tell borrowers right now is to assess your options and make a plan to enroll in a new repayment plan before your SAVE exit deadline," Sealy said.

"If you don't, you risk being automatically placed on the Standard Plan, which tends to be the most expensive repayment option," he said.

If you miss the transition deadline and are placed in a Standard plan that you cannot afford, you can still submit an application to enroll in an income-driven repayment plan later on, Nierman added. IDR plans cap your monthly bill at a share of your income.

But if you don't restart making payments on another plan after exiting SAVE, your loans could enter delinquency and, after 270 days of nonpayment, you'll likely go into default.