Episode summary
How Dentists Should Prepare For The End Of The SAVE Plan
The Dentist Money Show
· · Hosts: Jake, Taylor
Summary
The episode argues that the post-COVID student loan landscape is finally snapping back toward something more normal, and dentists need to prepare for higher required payments. Jake and Taylor explain the three main paths borrowers can use: standard repayment, private refinancing, or an income-driven repayment plan. For most new dentists, income-driven repayment still matters because it can keep payments low early in the career while cash flow is tight and income is still ramping up.
Most of the discussion focuses on the end of the SAVE plan and what replaces it. They say SAVE’s main advantage was interest cancellation, not true zero payments, and that feature has already been shut off. They also stress that borrowers on SAVE have not had to recertify income for years, which is one reason many people underestimated how much their payment could jump once they are moved to a new plan.
The hosts say borrowers on SAVE should expect a notice from their servicer starting July 1st, 2026, and have 90 days to move to another plan before being shifted to standard repayment. They describe RAP as the new income-driven plan for future borrowers, while existing borrowers may still be able to use IBR, with new IBR more favorable than old IBR. Their practical message is that many dentists should either prepare for a much larger payment or consider refinancing once their income is high enough to justify it.
Key takeaways
- Jake and Taylor say SAVE is ending and borrowers should expect a servicer notice starting July 1st, 2026, with 90 days to choose another plan.
- They say the core benefit of SAVE was interest cancellation, and that feature stopped once the plan was blocked and later curtailed.
- They argue RAP is the new default income-driven option for future borrowers, but its payment formula is less favorable than SAVE.
- They say new IBR is better than old IBR because it uses a shorter 20-year forgiveness window versus 25 years and a lower payment calculation.
- They say refinancing often makes sense once a dentist’s income rises enough that income-driven repayment no longer provides meaningful relief.
Notable quotes
“Income driven repayment plans are still going to be around. They still exist”
“if you are on the save plan right now, right? Starting July 1st, you're going to get a notification from your service serer that you have to change plans within 90 days”
“The biggest differences are, as you mentioned, instead of 25 years of payments and then forgiveness, it's now 30 years of payments”
“New IBR has a 20-year forgiveness window. So, it's the shortest window of any of the plans”
How the episode opens
Consult an adviser or conduct your own due diligence when making financial decisions. General principles discussed during this program do not constitute personal advice. This program is furnished by Dennis Advisers, a registered investment adviser. Welcome everybody to the dentist money show. My name is Jake. I'm here with Taylor today. You got the student loan dream team on the podcast. Taylor, what's up? How you doing?
Oh, you know Jake and I, everything that consumes our life right now is the NBA and the Utah Jazz draft pick. So, we spent 15 minutes pre-recording talking about it. And that's the only thing that's on my mind.
Yeah, we're we're not exactly sure when this podcast will come out. Probably a few weeks from when we're recording it. I do think it's important, Taylor, to say when we're recording this podcast.
as we get into some of the student loan stuff, more information or things may come out. We're recording this on May 19th, just for like for the record here. We are very interested in our beloved Utah Jazz um and the NBA currently.
Um if you're listening to this podcast, maybe this comes out after the draft. Um uh the Jazz have the number two pick in the draft. If you're following the situation at all, there's an awesome BYU player that's here in Utah that people want the Jazz to draft.
No, no, no, no. Don't even put that out there, dude. It's a big decision. Okay, this is important to Taylor and I. This will impact our happiness over the next 10 years as we spend a decade watching the Jazz. Big deal for us here. Almost like this is in relation to Trump's new student loan plans coming out. This is more important.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- save plan
- student loan policy changes
- income-driven repayment plans
- rap plan transition
- student loan refinancing
Watch the episode
Watch “How Dentists Should Prepare For The End Of The SAVE Plan” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Dentist Money Show, this episode and its artwork belong to Dentist Advisors - Financial Planning and Investment Management. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
