Staying In SAVE Forbearance Has Cost Borrowers $3,500 Each — Here’s What Every Scenario Costs

Formal 90-day notices began going out to more than 7 million SAVE borrowers on July 1, arriving in waves. Borrowers who don't choose a new repayment plan by their deadline (roughly September 30 for the first group) will be placed on the Standard plan automatically.

In response, a common refrain has emerged in comment sections and forums: "I refuse to switch until I'm notified I have to. That way, if any new court action benefits SAVE borrowers, it will still apply to me because I'm technically still registered under SAVE."

It makes it sound like waiting in the SAVE forbearance could be a smart move.

But when you walk through every scenario that could actually unfold (the pending lawsuit, a forbearance extension, and the even longer-shot wildcards) the strategy delivers almost nothing different that switching wouldn't also deliver, while the costs of waiting increase every month.

The simple truth is that waiting only preserves your no-payment forbearance. Your loan balance is growing, you're not making progress towards forgiveness, and the longer you wait, the more likely you are to have even higher payments in the future.

Here's what to know about each scenario and how it could impact you as a SAVE borrower thinking about waiting it out.