Student loan borrowers race for lower payments as changes come to a head

Student loan borrowers are in a race against the clock to keep their payments as low as possible as they navigate upcoming deadlines to get out of old repayment plans, choose a new one and potentially receive a temporary reduction in their loans’ interest rate.  

The Trump administration’s standard repayment plan and Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) officially came into play this summer, creating a whole new ballgame for fresh loans and a time crunch for many current borrowers.  

Millions of borrowers on the now-defunct SAVE plan must make a switch to a new repayment plan soon or be forced to enroll into the standard repayment option.  

Borrowers on the SAVE plan, a remanent of the Biden era that offered payments as low as $0 a month, are receiving notices on a rolling basis that they must pick a new plan within 90 days or be forced into a option that would give them the biggest jump in their monthly repayments.  

The first set of borrowers that received the notice must make a change before Sept. 29, with all borrowers in the SAVE plan expected to receive their 90-day deadline by the end of the year. 

The Education Department has not announced how many borrowers have already left the SAVE plan. The Hill has reached out to the department for comment.  

While other repayment options are available for those with loans taken out before July 1, some of those plans will also dwindle away in the future. The Pay As You Earn and Income-Contingent Repayment options are set........

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