Research

The end of SAVE: Implications for student loan payments

October 8, 2026

About 7 million borrowers will need to choose a new repayment plan and resume payments with the end of the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) student loan repayment program. New JPMorganChase Institute research examines which borrowers could still lower their monthly payments through another income-driven repayment (IDR) plan—providing a benchmark for what successful re-enrollment could look like and mean for household budgets.

This page provides a summary of key insights (2 min read). You can read the full report with additional figures and methodologies here.

Topline

Most SAVE borrowers with lower incomes remain eligible for reduced payments through a remaining IDR plan, while higher-income borrowers make up the majority of those expected to lose eligibility. With full re-enrollment of eligible borrowers, IDR participation and payment burdens would be similar to those before the pandemic.

By the numbers: We find that 37 percent of SAVE borrowers could lower their payments through another IDR plan, and re-enrollment would make a substantial difference in their payment burden.

Figure 1: Share of borrowers enrolled in SAVE, split by eligibility for other IDR programs

This stacked bar chart shows the share of borrowers enrolled in SAVE, split by whether they would remain eligible for another income-driven repayment (IDR) program, across take-home income bins. The y-axis shows annual take-home income grouped into ＄20,000 bins, from "0-20k" up to "200-220k." The x-axis shows the share of borrowers as a percent, from 0% to 16%. Each bar is split into two stacked segments: a blue segment labeled "Share remaining eligible" and an orange segment labeled "Share remaining ineligible." Total bar length (SAVE enrollment) is highest at the lowest income and generally declines as income rises. In the 0-20k bin, the bar is almost entirely blue at 14.5% eligible with a negligible 0.02% ineligible share. Moving up the income scale, the eligible (blue) portion shrinks and the ineligible (orange) portion grows: 20-40k shows 10.7% eligible and 2.4% ineligible; 40-60k shows 5.1% eligible and 6.4% ineligible; 60-80k shows 2.7% eligible and 7.9% ineligible. From 80-100k onward the bars are dominated by orange, with the blue eligible share falling to 1.6% (80-100k), 1.1% (100-120k), 0.8% (120-140k), 0.7% (140-160k), 0.5% (160-180k), and 0.4% (180-200k), while the ineligible share stays high at 8.5%, 8.6%, 8.7%, 8.5%, 8.3%, and 8.6% respectively; the top 200-220k bin shows 0.2% eligible and 7.1% ineligible. Overall, nearly the entire SAVE-enrolled share is eligible at the lowest incomes, but the ineligible share overtakes the eligible share by roughly the ＄40-60k range and dominates at higher incomes.

Payment burden hinges on enrollment: Eligible borrowers who re-enroll in IDR typically face payments around 3% of take-home income; without IDR, burdens rise to roughly 12%.

What to watch

The 37 percent eligibility estimate is a benchmark for “full” IDR re-enrollment among former SAVE borrowers. If observed IDR enrollment lands meaningfully below that level, it may indicate frictions (awareness, paperwork, servicing bottlenecks) that keep some eligible borrowers from getting lower payments.

How we did this

We analyzed de-identified administrative banking and matched credit bureau data covering ~740,000 households to compare projected student loan payments with current income and spending.

Read the report to explore how payments could change after SAVE and how borrower eligibility varies by income and age.

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Authors

Chris Wheat

Chris Wheat

President, JPMorganChase Institute

Daniel M. Sullivan

Daniel M. Sullivan

Consumer Research Director, JPMorganChase Institute

Alexandra Lefevre

Alexandra Lefevre

Consumer Research Vice President, JPMorganChase Institute

Media Contact

Shelby Wagenseller,
Shelby.Wagenseller@jpmchase.com

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