The 2026 Federal Student Loan Changes

SAVE was eliminated. RAP replaced it and qualifies for PSLF — the new Tiered Standard Plan does not. A physician placed on the wrong plan keeps paying every month and earns zero credit.

✓What changed on July 1 — and what did not
✓Which plans still count toward PSLF, in one table
✓The 2026–2028 timeline you're working against
✓Four things to check in your servicer account this month

Attend Wealth · Physician Brief

The 2026 Federal Student Loan Changes

4 pages · sourced

Tiered Standard ✕ PSLF

Why this one matters

Most physician loan advice online is now out of date.

A great deal of content published before mid-2026 still recommends SAVE as the default for residents. That guidance is now actively harmful. This brief is dated, sourced, and tells you where to verify every claim yourself.

The expensive mistake

A physician placed on the Tiered Standard Plan keeps paying every month and earns zero PSLF credit. Nothing about the payment looks wrong. The gap usually surfaces years later, when the count gets checked.

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What's inside

Four pages. No filler.

What actually happened

SAVE eliminated after litigation, the 90-day window borrowers were given, and the two new plans that replaced it.

What still counts for PSLF

A single table: SAVE, RAP, Tiered Standard, IBR, PAYE and ICR — which qualify, which don't, and which are closing.

Your four-step action list

Confirm your plan, verify your payment count, re-certify employment, and re-run the forgiveness-versus-refinance math.