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New terms starting for federal student loan repayment Major changes to the federal student loan system will take effect Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Education will end the Biden-era “Saving on a Valuable Education” plan (also known as SAVE) and another graduate borrowing program. It also calls for limits on howmuch graduate studentsand parents can borrow in federal student loans. About 43 million Americans have student loan debt, totaling nearly $1.7 trillion, reports the Office of Federal Student Aid. The roughly 7 million borrowers in the SAVE plan will have 90 days to switch to a new plan to pay back student debt: the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), a 30-year option, or the Tiered Standard repayment plan, a standard option that gives loans a 10- to 25-year life span. Education Department officials saythose two plans make the process simpler and smoother for borrowers, but advocates say the monthly payments in the RAP plan could be higher for borrowers. The Institute for College Access & Success reports the median household could see student loan defaults spike and premiums increase by hundreds of dollars a month. The changes also cap how much money graduate students …

Save student loan plan ends, leaving millions of US borrowers 90 days to find a new one <p>The Trump administration is requiring borrowers to choose new repayment options after the Biden-era plan was ruled unconstitutional</p><p>More than 7 million Americans will be forced to change their student loan repayment plan beginning on Wednesday, as the Save plan officially ends. The termination of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden">Biden</a>-era initiative, which was launched in 2023, coincides with a larger overhaul of the US student loan repayment system.</p><p>The seismic changes to the student debt landscape are the results of the Trump administration’s <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text">One Big Beautiful Bill Act </a>passed in 2025 and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/mar/21/student-loans-save-plan-frustration">March 2026 federal court ruling</a> that the Save plan, an income-driven repayment program created with the goal of cutting undergraduate loans in half, was unconstitutional.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/01/trump-biden-student-loan-save-plan">Continue reading...</a>

Major student loan changes take effect July 1: What to know - ABC News The changes mean some Americans will face higher monthly student loan payments. A major shakeup to the federal student loan system affecting millions of borrowers will take effect July 1. The changes mean some Americans -- especially lower-income borrowers -- will face higher monthly payments on their student loans. Other borrowers will face new limits on loans. Roughly 43 million Americans currently have student loan debt, totaling nearly $1.7 trillion, according to the Office of Federal Student Aid, a division of the Department of Education. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose mission is to shutter the department, has said the Trump administration will no longer tolerate American taxpayers taking on the debts that are not their own. The major overhaul of the system is part of provisions within President Donald Trump'ssignature tax law-- the Working Families Tax Cuts Act -- that passed last year, along with other executive orders targeting the Department of Education. Here’s what borrowers need to know: Fewer repayment options Department of Education and education experts are touting the Trump adm…

12 Million Behind on Student Loans: What Changed in 2026 Quick Answer: More than 12 million federal student loan borrowers are now delinquent or in default—one in four borrowers. At the same time, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is overhauling the entire student loan system starting July 2026: only two repayment plans, forgiveness now taxable, Grad PLUS loans eliminated, and wage garnishment has resumed. Here’s what every borrower needs to know right now. The student loan system is hitting borrowers from both sides: a historic default crisis meets the biggest overhaul in decades. Whether you’re current on payments or struggling, these changes affect you. Table of Contents Toggle The Default Crisis by the Numbers The numbers are staggering. According to American Enterprise Institute analysis of federal data, roughly 12 million borrowers are either delinquent or in default on their federal student loans . That’s more than one in four federal borrowers. 8.8M Borrowers in Default $208B Defaulted Student Debt 13M Projected Default by End of 2026 According to Protect Borrowers’ January 2026 fact sheet , every 9 seconds a new student loan borrower defaulted during the first year of th…

Student Loan Borrowers Can Lower Their Interest By 1% Through ... - Forbes Breaking Business Government Cuts Student Loan Interest By 1% If Borrowers Use Auto-Pay By Alison Durkee , Forbes Staff. Alison is a senior news reporter covering US politics and legal news. Follow Author Jun 18, 2026, 03:07pm EDT Jun 18, 2026, 03:07pm EDT Topline Federal student loan borrowers who have auto-pay set up can pay 1% less in interest each month through 2028, the Education Department announced Thursday, offering some relief to borrowers as major changes to the student loan repayment process take effect. A U.S. Department of Education sign is displayed outside of the agency's federal student aid office on June 3 in Washington, DC. Getty Images Key Facts Borrowers will be eligible to have their interest lowered by 1% on their monthly student loan payments starting July 1, if they are already enrolled in auto-pay—which automatically deducts payments from a borrower’s bank account—or enroll in it before Sept. 30. The rate cut will last until June 30, 2028, and borrowers who have loans that originated after July 1, 2012, are eligible. Both student and parent borrowers can enroll in auto-pay, but thos…

Student loan borrowers could see wages garnished starting this week MONEY U.S. Department of Education Add Topic Behind on student loans? You could be losing money from paycheck Mary Walrath-Holdridge USA TODAY Jan. 7, 2026 Updated Jan. 8, 2026, 6:32 p.m. ET Hear this story The federal government has officially resumed garnishing wages and withholding benefits from student loan borrowers after years of legal limbo. The Trump administration has made several moves to limit repayment options and enforce collections after an extended COVID-era pause. The federal Education Department announced a proposed legal agreement to squash the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan in December 2025, dealing a final blow to the Biden administration's efforts to forgive or reduce the $200 billion burden of repayment on 5 million federal borrowers. More than 7 million SAVE borrowers have been in administrative forbearance, not requiring payments, since June 2024. Interest on their debt restarted in August 2025 and the administration announced plans to resume wage garnishment on borrowers behind on payments beginning Jan. 7, according to reports. Here's what to know about who is at risk of ha…

Fact Sheet: The Trump Administration Is Simplifying Student Loan Repayment | U.S. Department of Education June 9, 2026 Over the last several decades, repaying federal student loans has become increasingly complex and difficult for borrowers to navigate. With more than 40 repayment and discharge options available, it is no surprise that 70 percent of borrowers report feeling overwhelmed when trying to manage their loans. President Trump’s historic Working Families Tax Cuts Act (the Act) simplifies student loan repayment by eliminating the fragmented and confusing array of income-contingent repayment plans and shifting to two affordable repayment plans: the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and the Tiered Standard repayment plan. Starting on July 1, borrowers with new student loans will have immediate access to these new plans and select benefits, including a new matching principal payment and an interest waiver for qualified borrowers, which will lower their loan balances. Repayment Assistance Plan How does the new income-driven Repayment Assistance Plan work? The Repayment Assistance Plan will provide borrowers with a simple and affordable option to repay their federal student loans…

Student loan borrowers get new repayment options in July: How to pick Millions offederal student loan holderswill have access to two newrepayment optionsstarting July 1, due to changes included in theOne Big Beautiful Bill Act. As a result of the legislation, some student loan repayment plans are also going away. The Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP, is the U.S. Department of Education's latest income-driven repayment plan, or IDR, meaning it sets borrowers' monthly bills at a share of their income. The other new option is the Tiered Standard Plan, which includes fixed payments spread over several different timelines, based on a borrower's total debt. "Borrowers are facing a great deal of confusion and anxiety ahead of the changes," said Jaylon Herbin,‌director of federal campaigns at the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy organization. "We're encouraging borrowers to carefully review all available repayment options before enrolling in a new plan," Herbin said. Here's what to know about the two new repayment options coming in July, and how to decide the right plan for you. RAP is an IDR plan, but it has several features that differ from the Education Depart…

Student Loan Debt Statistics 2026 – Total Balances, Trends, Borrower ... Across the United States, borrowing for higher education has exploded over the past two decades. What began as a relatively small component of household finance is now a central feature of the U.S. economy. The Education Data Initiative estimates that total student loan debt – including federal and private loans – topped $1.833 trillion as of late 2025, making it one of the largest categories of consumer credit. Only mortgages account for a larger share of household debt, and the average federal student‑loan borrower now carries roughly $39,547 in debt. This burden is not just a personal problem; high debt levels delay homeownership and entrepreneurship and influence the broader economy. Table of Contents A post shared by The Wall Street Journal (@wsj) The table below summarizes these quarterly totals. In the following plots, we convert the figures from millions of dollars (as reported) to trillions. Student‑loan debt has increased almost every year since the early 2010s. The annual series below shows totals at the end of each fiscal year (FY Q4). After climbing steadily throughout the 2010s, the bal…

Major student loan changes take effect July 1: What to know - ABC7 A major shakeup to the federal student loan system affecting millions of borrowers will take effect July 1. The changes mean some Americans -- especially lower-income borrowers -- will face higher monthly payments on their student loans. Other borrowers will face new limits on loans. Roughly 43 million Americans currently have student loan debt, totaling nearly $1.7 trillion, according to the Office of Federal Student Aid, a division of the Department of Education. RELATED: Nursing gains 'professional' label for student loans after judge's ruling Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose mission is to shutter the department, has said the Trump administration will no longer tolerate American taxpayers taking on the debts that are not their own. The major overhaul of the system is part of provisions within President Donald Trump'ssignature tax law-- the Working Families Tax Cuts Act -- that passed last year, along with other executive orders targeting the Department of Education. Here’s what borrowers need to know: Department of Education and education experts are touting the Trump administration's student loan…

Will the new student loan limits actually drive down tuition ... NPR News Will the new student loan limits actually drive down tuition? Economists weigh in NPR | By Cory Turner Published June 28, 2026 at 4:00 AM CDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Getty Images Students toss their mortarboards in the air at a 2018 commencement ceremony at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. For the past two decades, graduate students have been able to take out an unlimited amount of federal student loans to cover the full cost of their education. If they needed $60,000 a year, they could borrow $60,000 a year, year after year. The Trump administration has a plan to change that by capping graduate school loans for many students at $20,500 a year, and $100,000 overall — effective July 1. (A federal court temporarily blocked a small piece of that plan, but the U.S. Education Department confirmed to NPR that loan limits will indeed begin July 1.) In a year packed with changes to higher education policy, this new loan limit is one of the biggest, and one of the most controversial. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon says the endgame is to force col…

Fact Sheet: The Trump Administration is Making College More Affordable May 6, 2026 Higher education has been one the fastest-growing expenses for American families over the past 40 years. A significant driver of skyrocketing prices has been uncapped access to federal student loans. For the last two decades, graduate students have been able to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, enabling colleges and universities to raise tuition and fees with few constraints while shifting the financial burden onto students. As a result, the cost of higher education has become increasingly unaffordable for American families and has contributed to a student loan portfolio that has tripled to nearly $1.7 trillion , with nearly 25% of borrowers in default on their repayment obligations. At the same time, too many programs leave students and taxpayers with little or no return on their investment, even as institutions boast nearly $950 billion in endowment assets. Thanks to President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act (the Act), new loan limits taking effect this summer will curb excessive borrowing and force institutions to evaluate their costs. These reasonable caps will help prevent borrowe…

U.S. Department of Education Finalizes Landmark Rule to Lower ... April 30, 2026 Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) released a final rule that will lower the cost of college and make student loan repayment easier, an important step toward implementing historic reforms contained in President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act (the Act). Beginning this summer, the Department will implement commonsense loan limits on how much students and parents can borrow, simplify the current patchwork of repayment options, establish a new, congressionally authorized income-driven repayment plan, and enforce other protections for students, families, borrowers, and taxpayers. The Department’s final rule will carry out the Act's sweeping higher education reforms to support student borrowers and improve the health of the federal student lending system. For decades, students and families have been undermined by the rising cost of higher education and oftentimes negative return on borrowers’ educational investment. These challenges, along with the Biden Administration’s mismanagement, resulted in student loan debt ballooning to nearly $1.7 trillion, with less than 40 percent of…

Sweeping student loan changes arrive July 1. What to know PERSONAL FINANCE U.S. Department of Education Add Topic July to start with most student loan changes in decades. What to know Medora Lee USA TODAY June 30, 2026, 5:02 a.m. ET Hear this story July 1 is less than 24-hours away and will bring the most sweeping overhaul in decades of federal student loans. All borrowers, old and new, may be affected. New borrowers will face loan caps, elimination of Grad PLUS loans, and only two repayment options . Old borrowers may need to consolidate loans, choose new repayment plans or risk being involuntarily placed in one that may not fit their budget, loan experts said. With so many changes in store, below is a list of some key changes borrowers should be aware of. What's changing for Parent PLUS borrowers? First, Parent PLUS loans get capped at $20,000 annually and $65,000 in total, unless: The student was enrolled in the program before June 30, 2026 and, The parent has taken a Parent PLUS loan disbursement or the student had a direct loan disbursed before July 1 If the loan limits exceptions are met, then Parent PLUS loans are uncapped for three academic years of continuous study, accor…

Major Student Loan Limits Set To Take Effect, With Big ... - Forbes Editors' Pick Money Personal Finance Major Student Loan Limits Set To Take Effect, With Big Implications For Borrowing By Adam S. Minsky , Senior Contributor. Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Adam Minsky is an attorney and writer focusing on student loans. Follow Author Nov 24, 2025, 11:36am EST Nov 24, 2025, 12:19pm EST WASHINGTON,DC - SEPTEMBER 30: Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks with President Donald J Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday, Sept 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Department of Education completed a rulemaking process earlier this month to impose new limits on student loan disbursements for FAFSA-eligible loans under the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) The Washington Post via Getty Images The Department of Education is forging ahead with significant changes to the federal student loan system that will limit the ability of prospective students enrolling in college and graduate programs to finance their degree. Advocacy groups warned that the new limitations, which will take e…