Student Loan Updates for April 2026
April tends to bring a sense of renewal: longer days, a bit more sunlight, and the feeling that things are starting to move forward again. April is also recognized as the National Month of Hope, which feels especially fitting right now. Because if you’ve been following student loan news lately, “uncertainty” might be the word that comes to mind first.
The good news? Even in a constantly changing environment, there are still clear paths forward. Our goal is to help you cut through the noise, understand what matters for your situation, and help you move ahead with confidence.
Navigating the Wind Down of the SAVE Plan
As most borrowers in the SAVE plan hopefully know by now, the litigation is over and the Department of Education has released details regarding how it intends to wind down the plan. In short, most borrowers are instructed to pick a new repayment plan between July 1st and September 30th, or the Department of Education will put you in a standard plan. You are also welcome to jump ship now if preferred.
Many of you have already seen the detailed article we posted a couple of weeks back breaking down the repayment options and decision points. If not, this is a must-read for anyone currently in SAVE.
The Dismantling of the Department of Education Continues
On March 19th the Department of Education announced a new partnership with The Treasury Department.
The press release stated: “Under the new interagency agreement, Treasury will assume operational responsibility for collecting on defaulted Federal student loan debt and provide operational support to ED’s efforts to return borrowers to repayment. In subsequent phases, Treasury will work to provide operational support over non-defaulted Federal student loan debt, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, while also seeking opportunities to provide operational support to FSA’s other functions.”
Secretary Linda McMahon commented, “The Federal Student Assistance Partnership marks an intentional and historic step toward breaking up the Federal education bureaucracy and dramatically improving the administration of Federal student aid programs…”
It seems the priority is to get defaulted borrowers back into repayment as soon as possible. While this issue may not be relevant to most of our readers in the graduate health professions, we expect more impactful changes will be announced in the coming year (such as letting another agency, likely the Treasury, administer all loan repayment and forgiveness programs). We’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.
New Insights on PSLF Buyback Calculation
We reported on this a few months back, before it became official news. But we’re covering it again due to recent media coverage. Since SAVE is now caput (under the premise of never being legal to start with), the Department of Education is now officially stating that the SAVE payment calculation will not be used for borrowers requesting PSLF buyback calculations.
But that was already the situation for calculations which have been done to-date. The Department of Education is currently using the REPAYE formula (which is the same as NEW IBR and PAYE formulas). All four of these payment plans use a 10% calculation, but SAVE had a larger poverty level deduction which led to a lower payment. It really isn’t a dramatic difference for graduate-level borrowers, however…about a $100 per month increase in payment for family size of 1.
The greater concern with PSLF Buyback is the processing backlog heading the wrong direction. The latest backlog report, dated April 15th, shows the backlog increased to 89,720 applications. This is yet another month of way more new applications coming in than processed applications going out, which has basically been the case from the beginning. ED says they can offer no timelines for when people should expect their Buyback application to be processed.
Just to be clear, however, processing is happening. They cranked through 3,280 applications last month, while 4,660 came in. See the problem?
Student Loan Payments Are Skyrocketing???
We also want to address a prominent headline that’s been in the news lately, and is likely to remain there for months to come: reports that millions of borrowers are about to see dramatically higher payments.
As with most things in life, whether this is actually true depends on your perspective and situation.
For borrowers who have been on the SAVE plan forbearance and not recertified their incomes in years, yes, your payment will likely increase. But the majority of that increase will be due to your pay raises over the last 4–5 years.
Below is a comparison showing a few payment scenarios across different IDR plans and income levels. These numbers assume a single borrower with $200k debt at 6%, using 2025 poverty levels:
| Income | SAVE | New IBR/PAYE | Old IBR | RAP |
| $50k | $123 | $221 | $332 | $208 |
| $100k | $540 | $638 | $957 | $833 |
| $200k | $1373 | $1471 | $2207 | $1667 |
| $300k | $2206 | $2304 | $2371 | $2500 |
This question of when to switch (and what program to switch to) is a major decision point for those currently in SAVE. Annual subscribers are encouraged to connect with their advisors in the next few months. Other readers or previous clients are encouraged to register for a student loan consultation so one of our experienced advisors can help guide you through this process.
As most of you know, April, May, and June are our busiest months of the year, and we appreciate your patience when scheduling.
Closing
If there’s one thing I want to emphasize this month, it’s this: even when the system feels unpredictable, your strategy doesn’t have to be. Having a thoughtful plan in place can replace a lot of that uncertainty with clarity, direction, and yes, a genuine sense of hope about what’s ahead.
That’s ultimately where we aim to step in. At Student Loan Professor, our goal is to help you understand your options, make confident decisions, and move forward with a strategy that works for your life. And not just for today, but for the long haul.
If you have questions about any of these updates, or if you’re trying to decide what your next move should be, don’t hesitate to reach out. Whether you’re navigating the end of SAVE, weighing repayment options, or just looking for clarity, we’re here to help you move forward with confidence and more peace of mind.
Brandon Barfield is the President and Co-Founder of Student Loan Professor, and is nationally known as student loan expert for graduate health professions. Since 2011, Brandon has given hundreds of loan repayment presentations for schools, hospitals, and medical conferences across the country. With his diverse background in financial aid, financial planning and student loan advisory, Brandon has a broad understanding of the intricacies surrounding student loans, loan repayment strategies, and how they should be considered when graduates make other financial decisions.
