The U.S. Department of Education announced on Dec. 9 that it will dismantle a Biden-era student loan repayment plan, citing the program’s unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars. 

The department announced the end of the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, which was created weeks after the Supreme Court struck down the Biden Administration’s issuing sweeping student loan forgiveness, after it accused the administration of having misled borrowers into enrolling in the SAVE Plan as a pathway to student loan forgiveness. 

As a result, borrowers, including 135k Wisconsin residents, faced artificially low payback costs, oftentimes as low as $0. The department has referred to the Biden-Era plan as “illegal.” 

“The law is clear: if you take out a loan, you must pay it back,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement.

Since its enactment, the plan has been struck down by federal courts. In June 2024, a federal court blocked parts of the SAVE Plan. In February 2025, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the SAVE Plan is unlawful.

As a result, borrowers enrolled had their federal student loans placed in forbearance at 0% interest. (RELATED: Milwaukee Leaders Push Back on Sheriff Office’s Plan for Facial Recognition)

The repayment plan will be replaced with a revised standard plan and a new income-driven plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan, which President Donald Trump enacted in June under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (RELATED: Palantir’s Anti-College Hiring Push Shows New Shift in America’s Talent Pipeline)

Users of the plan will be notified in 2026 of the current status of their student loan payment plan, which will factor into their decision to switch into it. 

If borrowers fail to choose their alternative repayment plan, they will be subject to a standard repayment plan.