U.S. District Judge John Ross of the Eastern District of Missouri has dismissed the Trump administration’s request to eliminate the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) federal student loan repayment program. The ruling immediately restores access to SAVE’s benefits—including lower monthly payments and faster loan forgiveness—for over seven million borrowers, according to consumer advocates.
Winston Berkman-Breen, legal director at Protect Borrowers, stated: “As of today, not only is there no legal barrier to delivering those rights through the SAVE plan, but the secretary has a legal obligation to do so.”
The U.S. Department of Education confirmed that more than seven million student loan borrowers remain enrolled in SAVE. During the legal challenges, these borrowers were placed in forbearance, meaning they did not owe monthly payments. The department reported that interest accrual for borrowers under SAVE forbearance resumed on August 1 and will not be retroactively assessed.
The court order may provide only a temporary reprieve as it remains unclear how the Trump administration would respond. Additionally, SAVE is scheduled to phase out by July 1, 2028. Introduced by President Joe Biden in 2023 with the description “the most affordable repayment plan ever created,” the program faced Republican-led legal challenges that paused its implementation while benefits took effect.
A key feature of SAVE is a faster forgiveness timeline: borrowers who originally took out $12,000 or less can have loans forgiven after 10 years of payments. For every $1,000 borrowed above that threshold, the repayment period increases by one year—up to 20 years for undergraduate loans and 25 years for graduate loans. The program also includes an interest benefit that waives unpaid monthly interest exceeding a borrower’s scheduled payment.
During President Biden’s term, the U.S. Department of Education approved $188.8 billion in student debt relief for more than 5.3 million borrowers through existing forgiveness programs and administrative adjustments.
