TL;DR:

The SAVE repayment plan no longer exists. A federal court struck it down in March 2026, and since July 1, nurses still enrolled have been receiving 90-day notices from their servicers to choose something new.

That 90-day window closes around October 1, 2026.

If you don't choose a new plan before then, your servicer will place you on the Standard Plan or the new Tiered Standard Plan automatically. Both carry higher monthly payments than an income-driven plan. Yikes. 

This article covers what changed, what the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is, and what to do before the deadline.

You might have stopped reading emails from your loan provider. You should read this.

If you've been ignoring your loan emails for the past few years, you're not alone. Federal student loan policy has felt chaotic since 2020. Payment pauses, plan changes, court rulings, partial forgiveness announcements. Most nurses I talk to made a reasonable decision to stop paying attention because the rules kept changing.

Don't do that on this one. There was a permanent change that happened in March 2026. SAVE is going away. You have to choose a different option.

What happened to the SAVE plan

SAVE (the "Saving on a Valuable Education" plan) was introduced in 2023 as a lower-cost income-driven repayment option. For many nurses and APRNs, it offered the lowest calculated monthly payment of any available plan. That was great.

But then, a federal court ruled in March 2026 that SAVE "exceeded the Department of Education's legal authority" and ended it.

So, starting July 1, 2026, all SAVE borrowers began receiving servicer notices with a 90-day window to select a replacement plan. That window closes on approximately October 1, 2026. Borrowers who don't actively choose a new plan by that date are automatically moved to the Standard Plan or the Tiered Standard Plan — neither of which is income-driven, and both of which carry higher monthly payments for most people.

The new income-driven plan: RAP

The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is the income-driven option going forward. It replaces SAVE, PAYE, and REPAYE. 

How RAP works

RAP calculates your payment based on your income and number of dependents. That's the same framework used by the plans it replaced.

if you make your full payment on time each month, your payment will reduce your principal — not just your interest. Under some previous income-driven plans, payments were calculated so low that they didn't cover the interest accruing, which meant balances could grow even while borrowers were paying consistently. RAP fixed this problem.

Who can use RAP

• If you took out any new federal loans on or after July 1, 2026, RAP is your only income-driven option.
• If you're an existing borrower, you can stay on IBR, Standard, Graduated, or Extended plans — or opt into RAP.
• If you're currently on SAVE, PAYE, or ICR, you must move to a different plan by July 1, 2028. If you're on SAVE, your more immediate deadline is the 90-day window from July 1 — approximately October 1, 2026.

PSLF: what's unsettled, what you should still do

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is still available, but "who qualifies" is in litigation.

The Department of Education issued a rule that would have narrowed which employers count toward PSLF — excluding organizations with what it called a "substantial illegal purpose." A court blocked the rule the day before it was set to take effect, July 1, 2026. That case is ongoing.

If you're pursuing PSLF through a hospital, government agency, or qualifying nonprofit, nothing has changed for you yet. The practical action is the same regardless: certify your employment every year. That annual certification protects your progress no matter how the litigation resolves.

What to do this week

Step 1: Log into studentaid.gov

Find your account and look at what plan you're currently on. If you're on SAVE, your 90-day notice should be accessible in your account. Read it and note your specific deadline.

Step 2: Run the Loan Simulator

Studentaid.gov has a Loan Simulator that estimates your monthly payment under each available plan based on your income and loan balance. Run your numbers under RAP, IBR, and Standard Plan. Compare the monthly payments and total amounts paid over time. This takes about an hour and gives you real data for a real decision.

Step 3: Choose a plan and complete the application

Once you've run the Loan Simulator and identified the plan that makes the most sense for your income, family size, and goals, apply through studentaid.gov or directly through your servicer. Don't wait until the last week of September.

Step 4: If PSLF is part of your plan, certify your employment

Submit an employer certification form this year if you haven't already. Do not wait for the litigation to resolve before certifying. The paperwork trail matters regardless of how the rules shake out.

Step 5: Enroll in autopay by September 30

The Department of Education raised the federal student loan autopay discount from 0.25% to 1% starting July 1, 2026. To claim it, enroll in autopay — or confirm you're already enrolled — by September 30, 2026. The discount runs through June 30, 2028, then reverts to 0.25%.

On a $30,000 balance, that's roughly $1,500 in interest savings. It takes about 60 seconds on studentaid.gov. Do it while you're already logged in.

Why your loan plan is part of your investing plan

I want to quickly explain why I'm writing this as a nurse investing educator.

Your monthly student loan payment is a variable in your investing equation. A nurse who moves from SAVE to the Standard Plan and sees her payment go up by $300 a month has $300 less each month to put into a brokerage account or a Roth IRA. That's $3,600 a year. Over ten years, assuming a 7% average return, that's a signifiicantly different investment outcome.

I teach nurses how to fund their future with small portions of their paycheck so they can work less if they want to. Student loan management isn't separate from that. It's part of the equation.

The nurses I've worked with who made the most progress on building their investing foundation are the ones who looked hard at their expenses and debt payments, understood what they were paying and why, and made intentional choices rather than just going with the defaults.

Letting your servicer automatically place you on a Standard Plan because you didn't read the notice is a default choice. I want you to be able to make an intentional one!

Angel Mathis, MN, MPH, ARNP, FNP-Bc, is the founder of Nurses Investing For Wealth LLC and the creator of the first state board of nursing-approved financial literacy continuing education program. She teaches nurses how to fund their future with small portions of their paycheck so they can work less if they want to. Website: learn.nursesinvesting.com