The SAVE plan is the difference between crushing student loan debt and hope for many Mainers. About 180,000 people in Maine have student loans. They are our neighbors, teachers, nurses, and even our grandparents. Life doesn’t always work out the way we plan it. A lot of people struggle with student loan debt.

One lifeline for people with federal student loans is called Income-Driven Repayment (IDR). There are a couple of IDR plans, which calculate the monthly payment based on the borrower’s income. The payment is meant to be affordable. IDR plans have been around since the 1990s, and there have been new IDR plans since then. The newest one is called SAVE. SAVE is much more affordable than other IDR plans. For example, a single mom of one, who makes $50,000 and has $33,000 in student loan debt (the state average), would pay between $170-$255 on an old IDR plan. SAVE brings that payment down to just $23 per month.

But SAVE is in jeopardy. There are lawsuits challenging the SAVE plan. Overturning it would mean that many Mainers would no longer have access to an affordable repayment option. And, in the meantime, people are being put into forbearances and have limited options for managing their loans.

SAVE is the difference between food on the table and a hungry kid, the difference between saving an emergency fund and struggling the next time a big life expense comes up.

Sophie Laing
Student Loan and Consumer Attorney, Pine Tree Legal Assistance
Portland