Key facts
- Public Goods Practice filed the request for information in its lawsuit to restore benefits for SAVE borrowers.
- The Education Department told borrowers that missing their transition window would place them automatically on the standard plan.
- The department's counsel said, per the filing, it does not know when borrowers whose 30-day period expired will be moved.
- The Education Department did not respond to repeated requests from Business Insider on the transition timeline.
- Borrowers have reported higher monthly payments under Trump's Repayment Assistance Plan than under SAVE.
The law firm Public Goods Practice filed a request for information on Monday in its ongoing lawsuit to restore benefits for borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan, asking the Department of Education to provide a timeline for moving borrowers off the plan, Business Insider reported on November 10.
Beginning in July, the Education Department sent notices to the 7.5 million borrowers enrolled in SAVE informing them of a 90-day timeframe to transition to a new repayment plan. The department said in multiple notices that borrowers who did not transition within their timeframe would be automatically placed on the standard plan, which would result in the most expensive payments.
The timeline has since shifted. After borrowers reached their 90-day deadlines, they began receiving a final notice granting an extra 30 days to transition. Those 30 days have now passed for some borrowers, who remain on forbearance with no information on new payments.
When Public Goods Practice asked the Education Department's counsel when borrowers would be involuntarily moved off SAVE, the counsel said, according to the legal filing, that it does not know when borrowers whose 30-day period has expired will be moved to new plans. The Education Department has not responded to repeated requests from Business Insider on the timeline for transferring borrowers from SAVE to a standard plan.
In July, the law firm filed a motion seeking to block borrowers from being involuntarily transferred off SAVE. The department disputed the motion at the time and encouraged borrowers to enroll in a lawful repayment option. Over the past few months, borrowers have been navigating President Donald Trump's student-loan repayment overhaul, which included a new Repayment Assistance Plan. Borrowers have reported higher monthly payments under RAP compared with SAVE and have said they are worried about the consequences of defaulting, such as wage garnishment and seizure of federal benefits.