A federal appeals court has ordered the end of the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, the Biden-administration-era repayment program that brought lower monthly bills to millions of student loan borrowers.
In a judgment issued late on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a Republican-led legal challenge against SAVE.
The Biden administration introduced the SAVE plan in 2023, billing it as “the most affordable repayment plan ever created.” Under the program, many borrowers expected to see their monthly bills cut in half. But Republican-led legal challenges quickly put the plan on ice.
In February, Judge John Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed the main lawsuit against SAVE.
Consumer advocates and borrowers hoped that the development meant the program would be revived temporarily. President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” phases out the SAVE plan as of July 1, 2028.
