Yes — if you have federal student loans serviced by MOHELA, your payments may currently be suspended, but the reason matters. The largest group of affected borrowers are those enrolled in or who applied for the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, who were placed into administrative forbearance after a federal appeals court blocked key parts of the program in 2024. Smaller groups have payments paused during MOHELA’s account migration to a new servicing platform, or through an individual forbearance or deferment. Interest is now accruing on most of these paused accounts, so what you do during the suspension affects what you owe when billing resumes.
Why SAVE Borrowers Are in Forbearance
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction blocking several components of the SAVE plan, including forgiveness of principal or interest and the plan’s lower payment thresholds.1United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Opinion in Missouri v. Trump/Carter (No. 24-2332, 24-2351) In response, the Department of Education automatically placed affected borrowers into forbearance. No application was required; the pause was applied on the servicer’s end.2StudentAid.gov. IDR Court Actions
The situation keeps moving. In December 2025, the Department of Education announced a proposed settlement that would formally end the SAVE plan, though it requires court approval. A federal judge in February 2026 separately dismissed efforts to permanently block the program. Because the timeline for ending SAVE forbearance is not fixed, check the Department of Education’s IDR court actions page at studentaid.gov before making decisions that depend on when billing will resume.
Interest Is Now Accruing on SAVE Forbearance
When the SAVE forbearance began, the interest rate on affected loans was set to zero percent, so balances didn’t grow. That changed on August 1, 2025, when the Department of Education instructed servicers to begin charging interest on SAVE forbearance accounts.3U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education Continues to Improve Federal Student Loan Repayment Options Interest is not being charged retroactively for the earlier zero-interest period, but your balance is growing now if your loans remain in this status.
For borrowers with large balances, accruing interest can add hundreds of dollars per month. Making voluntary interest-only payments during forbearance — even though nothing is required — prevents the balance from growing. Sitting in SAVE forbearance without paying is not a neutral choice anymore.
Whether to Switch to a Different Repayment Plan
If you want to make payments that count toward forgiveness, you can apply to move from SAVE into another income-driven plan. The Department of Education has confirmed that borrowers who want qualifying Public Service Loan Forgiveness payments while enrolled in SAVE must apply for a different eligible IDR plan.2StudentAid.gov. IDR Court Actions And once the proposed SAVE settlement is approved, all SAVE borrowers will eventually need to move regardless.
The IDR plans currently accepting new enrollments are:
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR) remains open and is part of the long-term repayment structure. Payments run about 10 or 15 percent of discretionary income depending on when you first borrowed.
- Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) is also open and qualifies for both IDR forgiveness and PSLF.
- Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is open only to borrowers who meet specific eligibility requirements, with new enrollments scheduled to close on July 1, 2027.
Apply through studentaid.gov and authorize the IRS to share your income data automatically, which speeds up processing. Save the confirmation.
What Paused Months Mean for PSLF and IDR Forgiveness
Months spent in SAVE administrative forbearance do not count as qualifying payments for PSLF or toward the 20- or 25-year IDR forgiveness timeline. Borrowers who have been in the forbearance since 2024 may have lost a year or more of credit, which is a real setback for anyone who was close to the 120th qualifying PSLF payment.
The PSLF Buyback Option
The Department of Education’s PSLF Buyback program lets eligible borrowers recover credit for months lost to forbearance or deferment. It’s available only if you already have 120 months of qualifying public service employment and purchasing the missed months would result in forgiveness.4Federal Student Aid. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Buyback
To use it, submit an updated Employment Certification Form covering eligible public service through what would have been your 120th qualifying month. Once the employment shows up in your studentaid.gov account, complete a PSLF Reconsideration request. If approved, you receive a buyback agreement listing the total you need to pay — the payments you would have made during forbearance — and have 90 days to pay in full. For borrowers who were only a few months short when SAVE forbearance began, buyback can be the fastest route to discharge.
Pauses During MOHELA’s Platform Migration
Separately from the SAVE litigation, MOHELA has been moving borrower accounts to a modernized servicing platform at mohela.studentaid.gov.5Federal Student Aid. MOHELA to Transition Borrowers to New Loan Servicing Platform During the transfer, accounts can enter a temporary technical suspension to prevent billing errors. Borrowers receive notices before and after the move with instructions for accessing the new platform.
Once the move is complete, set up new login credentials and re-enroll in auto-pay on the new system. If an auto-pay debit is processed during a transition-related pause, contact MOHELA to request a correction. Interest may still accrue during this window unless you are separately covered by a federal interest waiver, so check your account summary promptly after the move to confirm your balance and payment schedule.
Other Forbearance Types That May Apply
Beyond the SAVE and platform pauses, federal regulations at 34 CFR § 685.205 provide for both mandatory and discretionary forbearance on Direct Loans.6eCFR. 34 CFR 685.205 – Forbearance MOHELA must grant mandatory forbearance when you document a qualifying situation, including medical or dental residency, monthly student loan payments equal to or greater than 20 percent of your gross monthly income (up to three years), qualifying national service, or teaching service that would qualify for teacher loan forgiveness. Servicers also apply short administrative forbearances while processing IDR applications or PSLF certifications.
Discretionary or general forbearance is available for financial hardship, medical expenses, or similar circumstances, granted at the servicer’s discretion with documentation.7Federal Student Aid. General Forbearance Request It runs up to 12 months at a time, capped at three years cumulative.8Congress.gov. Direct Loan Program Student Loans: Deferment and Forbearance Unpaid interest during a general forbearance capitalizes onto the principal when the forbearance ends unless you pay it off first, which then increases what you pay interest on going forward.6eCFR. 34 CFR 685.205 – Forbearance Interest-only payments during the pause prevent that.9Nelnet – Federal Student Aid. Interest Capitalization
How to Check Your Own Status
Log into the MOHELA portal at mohela.studentaid.gov. The account summary shows your billing cycle, loan standing, and a label indicating whether each loan is in forbearance, deferment, or active repayment. If a suspension is in effect, the portal should show the reason (SAVE litigation, account transition, or a specific forbearance grant), any scheduled end date, and the amount of your next expected payment. Check the interest accrual section too, so you know whether your balance is growing.
If Something Looks Wrong
Start with the digital document center on the portal to read the most recent servicer correspondence. If you can’t resolve a billing or status problem directly, escalate to the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman — but only after you have first called MOHELA, asked about their escalated issues department, and then submitted a written dispute with documentation. Only after those two steps can you file an online assistance request through the Ombudsman portal at studentaid.gov.10Federal Student Aid. Ombudsman Self Resolution Checklist The Ombudsman Group cannot process deferment, forbearance, or discharge requests; those go through MOHELA.