At the end of September, the first wave of student loan borrowers will lose access to the Biden-era SAVE plan, and must choose a new payment plan. Fail to do so, and the government will automatically choose one for you. Follow these steps as you switch to a new repayment plan.
By logging into your StudentAid.gov account, you can run the numbers for your own loan using the Repayment Calculator. It pulls your loan data and displays your payment plan choices with monthly payments, total repayment costs, interest and projected payoff dates Bear in mind that not everyone has the same choices. Depending on the type of federal loan and when you borrowed it, you could see different options.
As of July 1, 2026, the new Tiered Standard plan and income-driven Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) are available. Tiered Standard provides fixed terms of 10, 15, 20 or 25 years, depending on how much you owe. The RAP bases payments on your income and dependents.
To calculate whether a monthly payment fits your budget, you need to actually calculate your budget. Unfortunately, most Americans don't have a detailed grasp of their exact spending in each category. Sure, your budget includes regular recurring expenses like housing, car payments, insurance and subscriptions.
But it also includes fluctuating expenses like gas, groceries, entertainment and meals out, travel and discretionary. Even harder for most people to calculate accurately, it includes irregular but inevitable expenses like car repairs, gifts and the like. When in doubt, estimate much higher than you think the actual numbers are.
You simply won't remember every single cost you incur every year, so give yourself some buffer for unexpected expenses. If you can comfortably pay the Tiered Standard payment, do that. It creates a predictable monthly payment with a set payoff date.
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