Feeling stuck trying to figure out what’s actually happening with IDR plans? You’re not alone. Between court rulings, blocked programs, and mixed messages from servicers, even well-informed borrowers are asking: Are IDR plans going away? Are they still available? What should I do now?
Here’s where things stand:
The SAVE Plan is blocked. Forgiveness under PAYE, ICR, and SAVE is paused. But IBR — the only plan created by Congress — is still active, still accepting applications, and still counts toward forgiveness (even for past payments under other plans).
This guide breaks down what’s paused, what’s still available, and what your options are — so you can make informed decisions without wading through legal jargon and panic tweets.
Are IDR Plans Still Available? Understanding the Current State of Enrollment
As of March 26, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education reopened online applications for the Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans. These plans, previously sunsetted effective July 1, 2024, are now available for enrollment until July 1, 2027.
The SAVE Plan, which had replaced REPAYE, is currently blocked due to a U.S. appeals court ruling and is unlikely to be reinstated under the current administration. Borrowers who were enrolled in the SAVE Plan have been placed into an interest-free forbearance.
Sherpa Thought: Want the latest scoop on the new law reshaping student loan repayment? Check out our full breakdown of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — it explains the major changes to IDR plans, forgiveness rules, and future repayment options.
Are IDR Plans Going Away? Understanding Forgiveness Uncertainty
While the primary focus of court actions has been the SAVE Plan, there have been significant changes affecting other IDR plans:
- Forgiveness Paused for Certain Plans: Forgiveness under the PAYE, ICR, and SAVE plans is currently paused because these plans were not created by Congress. Only the IBR plan, enacted by Congress, currently offers a path to loan forgiveness.
- Payment Count Adjustments: The Department of Education completed a one-time payment count adjustment as of October 1, 2024. This adjustment reviewed borrower accounts to update payment counts toward forgiveness.
Changes to Monthly Payment Calculations
Recent court rulings have led to changes in how the Department of Education calculates monthly payment amounts for the IBR, ICR, and PAYE plans. These changes may affect borrowers’ payment amounts and eligibility for forgiveness.
End of the Student Loan On-Ramp Period
The government’s “on-ramp” period, which provided protections against negative credit reporting and collections after the student loan payment pause, ended on September 30, 2024. Since then, there has been a surge in student loan delinquencies, with significant ramifications for borrowers’ credit standings.
Will IDR Plans Come Back? What Borrowers Can Do Now
Given the current landscape:
Consider Enrolling in IBR: If you are close to meeting the forgiveness threshold, enrolling in the IBR plan may be advantageous, as it currently offers the only path to loan forgiveness among IDR plans. Payments made under PAYE, SAVE, and ICR can count toward IBR forgiveness if you switch to IBR.
Monitor Your Credit: With the end of the on-ramp period, it’s crucial to stay current on payments to protect your credit score. If you’re struggling, explore options like income-driven repayment plans or loan consolidation.
Stay Informed: Regularly check for updates from the Department of Education and consult with your loan servicer to understand how changes may affect your repayment strategy.
Stay Up to Date: Student loan rules are constantly changing, and temporary programs create deadlines that can’t be missed. To help manage this issue, I’ve created a monthly newsletter to keep borrowers up to date on the latest changes and upcoming deadlines.
Click here to sign up. You’ll receive at most one email per month, and I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t overlook any critical developments.
About the Author
Pedro Gomez is the new Student Loan Sherpa and a Certified Financial Planner™ with over a decade of experience helping clients navigate complex financial decisions. He is the founder of Global Financial Plan, where he writes about international living, geoarbitrage, and strategies for retiring young, and also leads Brickell Financial Group, a registered investment advisory firm focused on accelerating financial freedom.
Pedro is the architect behind the “12 Levels of Financial Freedom” framework and blends student loan strategy with long-term planning, tax efficiency, and investing. His work is especially geared toward upwardly mobile professionals, entrepreneurs, and those looking to design a life beyond the default path.
Pedro is available for strategy sessions and press inquiries.
I am currently on PAYE with grad loans and have been for about a decade. Barring some sort of grandfathering in for those in PAYE, I will eventually need to transition back into old IBR. This situation is extremely unfortunate as I, who went back to study for a second career, will be 66 at that time. (I chose to stay on PAYE for 20 year forgiveness but now am much worse off than if I had transitioned to RePAY. My recertification date is in May. When I recertify in 2027, can I choose PAYE or will I need to transfer back onto old IBR at that time?
Yes, based on current law, you will be able to recertify under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan in May 2027.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), signed into law on July 4, 2025, both PAYE and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) will be eliminated effective July 1, 2028. Since your recertification falls before that cutoff, you can remain on PAYE through at least that year.
If you are still in repayment on or after July 1, 2028, and do not actively select a new repayment plan, your loans will be automatically moved into the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). RAP has a 30-year forgiveness timeline (360 months).
To maintain your progress toward forgiveness on a 20-year schedule, a switch to the current version of Income-Based Repayment (IBR) before July 1, 2028, may be necessary. The OBBB removed the Partial Financial Hardship requirement, making IBR accessible regardless of income level.
Importantly, payments made under PAYE will count toward the 20-year forgiveness period in IBR, provided the loans qualify under the post-July 2014 version of IBR.
While the SAVE Plan (formerly REPAYE) may have seemed like a better option in the past, it is currently blocked by court order, and time in SAVE forbearance does not count toward forgiveness. By contrast, PAYE remains an active plan, and payment credit continues to accrue toward cancellation.
Just spent hours with MOHELA. I work for the VA who is making payments on my behalf as part of a incentive. I was doing fine under PAYE until the last administration had to mess up my plan. The VA pays $384.61 biweekly ($10k annually). I should have only one year left until forgiveness. However, since SAVE doesn’t count, the last year doesn’t either. MOHELA told me that currently, only the ICR plan will qualify for PSLF. The kicker is this…if I switch out of forbearance under SAVE to ICR, I lose all the money that has been paid by the VA (twenty-two payments so far since the SAVE plan started). I am not allowed to roll the money I paid ahead over to a new plan. I am not allowed to have more than twelve months paid ahead. If I wait to see if the dust settles with SAVE, all my future payments will not count for anything. Stopping payments, while under a government service contract, will likely be complicated and near impossible to re-instate once the dust clears. Anyways, just letting you all know that every time I call MOHELA I get a different answer. If I use the student loan tool to help me pick a plan, it says I am only eligible now for ICR…even though I was on PAYE before switching to SAVE. My projected payment goes through the roof as a result. Man this is beyond frustrating. I was a year away from PSLF!
First off, thank you for your service. I’m a vet too, and I know how hard it is to keep pushing forward when the system keeps shifting under your feet.
Your frustration is absolutely valid, especially being one year away from PSLF and getting different answers every time you call. Based on what you’ve shared, here’s what’s clear from the latest guidance:
The time you’ve spent in SAVE forbearance unfortunately does not count toward PSLF — ED confirmed that once the injunction paused parts of the SAVE plan, those months stopped earning credit. That directly explains why your last year isn’t being counted, even though payments were being made on your behalf by the VA.
The good news is that PAYE, IBR, and ICR are still active and do count for PSLF. MOHELA telling you only ICR counts is incorrect. In fact, ED is still processing forgiveness under IBR and PAYE for borrowers who reach 120 qualifying payments.
What complicates your case is that the VA’s incentive payments likely pushed you into “paid ahead” status — and servicers cap that at 12 months. So if you try to switch out of SAVE forbearance now, they won’t reapply those 22 past payments toward the new plan, even though you were still employed full time at the VA. That’s a servicer policy problem, not a federal rule — and one that definitely deserves a paper trail and escalation if you can get it in writing.
With SAVE currently paused, and interest resuming August 1, the reality is that staying in forbearance means those payments will continue not to count. If you’re still eligible for IBR or PAYE (which it sounds like you should be), switching to an active repayment plan that earns PSLF credit again is likely your best shot at crossing that finish line.
You’re absolutely not alone in this. Keep documenting everything — and if you’re up for it, share what happens next.
What a debacle. Checked the website and my may is straight up missing. June to August are listed as ineligible forebearance even though I was in an eligible forebearance and got email documentation stating as such. Student aid can’t even accurately count qualifying payments. Dubious that the buy back works. Frustrated that PAYE or old REPAYE are no longer options to get off of SAVE. Old IBR is too pricy.
Well said on all counts.
You also bring up a really interesting point. With SAVE blocked for the foreseeable future, the Department of Education should bring back REPAYE as an option for the borrowers who wish to continue making payments of some type and make progress toward forgiveness.
Thanks for your response. Right now my decision is wait it out or apply for IDR switch to old IBR. The payment would be around double what I was paying on SAVE but PAYE and REPAYE disappeared. I did read that one legal expert thinks that as PAYE dissolved with the introduction of SAVE, if the ED loses the lawsuit, SAVE will go away but PAYE may thus be allowed to reappear. My payment on PAYE was almost as low as it was on SAVE and had I had the option I would switch to it right now, but they closed it to new borrowers I believe as of July 1 before any legal challenges gave thought to switch.
The Biden Administrations’ off ramp period ends on 9.30. how does this impact your payments if adjustments are made to your account for some loan forgiveness. The adjustment were estimated to take place on 9.1. I am a Parent Plus borrower who went into repayment April 2003. My loans are consolidated. I did received the email with instruction to opt out by 8/30. I didn’t opt out, because I have no idea of what I would be opting out of. This is totally confusing and frustrating, I can only see it getting worse. Thank you in advance for a reply
I think it will make the most sense to clarify the various programs that you’ve discussed in your comment. They all sound similar, but if we sort them out, hopefully it will clear things up.
The on-ramp is a program to help borrowers who have missed payments or struggled with the transition back to repayment. During the on-ramp period, negative credit reporting and other collections activities have stopped. Once the on-ramp ends, these activities will resume.
The one-time adjustment was supposed to have been completed by 9/1, and we are still waiting on results. I’m still hopeful that they finish before the election.
The opt-out email you received was in reference to forgiveness 2.0. The only circumstance were opting out makes sense is if you don’t want forgiveness because of state taxes. Most people will not need to opt out. If you want to know more, I wrote an article about Forgiveness 2.0 and the chances of it actually happening.
Thank you very much for your reply. My loans were in Administrative Forbearance, due to Covid, I lost my job (corporate downsizing) and took advantage of the on ramp period, I am retirement age so I doubt very seriously I will enter the workplace again, unless it’s on a part time basis. I could certainly benefit from some loan forgiveness. My servicer is Ed Financial, honestly they seem confused too; I was told this one time IDR adjustment was sent to Congress, it passed the House and was waiting on the Senate, I asked the Rep, is she was confusing this with the variations of the Save plan, she said no. I am not eligible for any save plan, PSLF forgiveness or any income contingent program that I am aware of. My loans are federal direct parent plus loan I signed for, for my daughter under grad loan in 2000. I understand the on ramp period that has nothing to do with potential forgiveness, however I didn’t want to start making payments if I am eligible for loan forgiveness and that what prompted my question to you. Thanks again for your reply, will have to wait it out like 30 million other borrowers. Thank you for the article.
Kind Regards