Student Loan Shake-Up: IBR Expanded, SAVE Plan Halted

New policy changes are shaking up federal student loans:

• Under the One Big Beautiful Bill, the Department of Education has removed the partial‑hardship requirement for Income-Based Repayment (IBR). Now borrowers with loans from 2014–2026 can choose IBR at 10% of discretionary income over 20 years, even without hardship studentaid.gov+12Investopedia+12Student Loan Borrowers Assistance+12Business Insider+13fsapartners.ed.gov+13YouTube+13.
• Meanwhile, millions on the Biden-era SAVE Plan began accruing interest again in August 2025, after courts blocked the program. About 7.7 million borrowers must switch to IBR or other plans Politico+4MarketWatch+4U.S. Department of Education+4.
• The SAVE Plan is officially suspended, and nearly 460,000 applications for SAVE have been denied Politico.

What to do now: If you’re on SAVE, enroll in IBR ASAP to lock in forgiveness eligibility—even if you don’t meet hardship criteria.